Purple Party to kick off Alzheimer’s fundraiser Thursday

MOSES LAKE — Purple will be the color to wear Thursday.  

“(The Purple Party) is a really great kickoff for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Disease,” said Terri Riley-Brown, one of the organizers of the event. “We’re excited. We’ve got lots of prizes to give out. We’ve got beverages and food for everyone who attends.” 

The Purple Party is a chance to build teams for the walk, as well as raise funds for research and assistance to Alzheimer’s patients. The big fundraiser, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, will take place in September. 

This year is the 11th for the Purple Party, which typically draws about 180 attendees. The food will be supplied by Brookdale Hearthstone’s cooking staff and will include sliders, fruit salad and Brookdale Barbecue Beans, said Laurie Ahmann, Brookdale Hearthstone’s executive director. 

In past years, the party has been held outdoors on the patio of the Porterhouse, but because the Porterhouse closed earlier this year, the party has been moved to Brookdale Hearthstone, which has the advantage of being indoors. That will matter this week, Ahmann said. 

“It’s really hot in the middle of July,” she said. “I think there are going to be folks who appreciate the fact that there’s air conditioning. Brookdale Hearthstone still has the patio outside, so people are still going to be able to go outside, but most of it is going to be inside.” 

The event is also a bonus Business After Hours put on by the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce. 

The 2024 Walk to End Alzheimer’s raised more than $24,000, organizers told the Columbia Basin Herald last year, with more than 170 participants. The money goes to fund research into a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias that rob so many people of their memories and dignity.

According to the National Institutes of Health, one in 13 people between the ages of 65 and 84 develops Alzheimer’s. After 85, the chances are one in three. Very little is known about the disease itself, but new drugs discovered using funds from the Walk to End Alzheimer’s have shown promise in treating it, according to Julie Reathaford, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s manager for the Tri-Cities area. 

Other communities hold Purple Parties to prepare for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Riley-Brown said, but Moses Lake’s goes above and beyond. 

“The second one we did, they had a state representative from the (Alzheimer’s Association) come, and he said he’s been to kickoff parties all over the country,” Riley-Brown said. “And he said there’s never been one that’s been as strong and as well-attended as the Moses Lake one. That says a lot for our community.” 

Purple Party 

Moses Lake 

Brookdale Hearthstone 

905 S. Pioneer Way 

Thursday, July 17 

5-7 p.m. 

    Decorated boots were the door prize at last year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s Purple Party.