Preston Park foundation previews upcoming events
BUTLER TWP — The Friends of Preston Park Foundation recently announced dates for three events taking place at the park in 2025.
The foundation, established in 2019, began to host events to raise funds for Butler Township to continue to run and improve the park. This year, the foundation has planned three total events to take place in the spring and fall.
Preston Park is in Butler Township. It’s a place that foundation executive director Tony Stagno calls “the Main Street of the township.” The park hosts multiple township events a year, alongside some foundation event’s.
The first event for the foundation this year is the fourth annual “Light Up the Night” event. It will be hosted on Thursday, May 22 at the Atrium in Prospect.
According to Stagno, the event is meant to be community-oriented and friendly, and serves as a strong fundraiser for the foundation.
“It can be hard to raise funds for something like a park,” Stagno said. “We don’t have dogs or kids to help us, we’re just a park.”
“Light Up the Night” is a dinner catered by Medure’s Catering and features raffles, live music and talks about the park.
The second event is “Dining Under the Stars” on Thursday, Sept. 11, at Preston Park.
The event includes from-the-oven pizza served by Aviva Brick Oven and hoagies from Firehouse Subs, as well as drinks. Stagno said the event is meant to have more of a casual feel and provides an opportunity to enjoy brisk fall weather.
“It’s a nice community event. The first time we hosted it, guests had so much fun. They wanted to do a bonfire and karaoke. We knew we had to keep bringing it back then,” he said.
The final event for 2025 is the second annual 5/10/15K Challenge at Preston Park. Stagno said he had heard about people using the park to run and contacted Miles of Smiles Timing Services to organize a 5K.
“The guy who came out was skeptical that we had enough space for a 5K, but when he came out to the park, he got more and more excited,” he said.
After successful 5K runs with satisfactory turnouts, Stagno said he recognized the need to expand the race. The foundation then established a new 10k route to be used the same day in two separate races.
“That’s why we call it the 5/10/15K Challenge. You can just do the 5k, or just the 10k, or try to do both for a total of 15 kilometers ran,” he said.
Stagno said the event serves a dual purpose: to raise funds for the park as well as bring new people into the area.
“You get a few hundred people out here, a lot of them from outside of Butler, for the first time,” he said. “It not only lets them see the park, but also gives them the chance to shop local or eat at a local restaurant.”
The challenge’s date is set for Sunday, Oct. 19.
In the foundation’s announcement, it mentioned the partnership between the foundation and Butler Township and how the foundation supports the park.
“Serving as the township’s fundraising vehicle, the foundation is committed to obtaining the funds necessary for the care and improvement of Preston Park,” the announcement said. “These funds will enable the park to maintain its natural beauty and promote recreation for the general public and residents of Butler Township.”
With assistance from the foundation, the township is gearing up to make some improvements.
First, the township is expected to build a picnic pavilion on the property.
“In 2024, through the efforts of the foundation, Butler Township received a donation to erect a picnic pavilion. The foundation is committed to obtaining additional funding for this improvement,” the announcement said.
Secondly, the township showed interest last year in rehabilitating Preston Park’s pond, “Loch Carrie.” Butler township manager Tom Knights said last year that the buildup of sediment only leaves room for 2 to 4 feet of water.
Stagno also brought attention to the interactive series the foundation has been working on since last year. At the 2024 “Light Up the Night,” he revealed a demonstration video showcasing Preston Laboratories.
“At some point, it seems likely the township will tear down the old lab,” Stagno said. “We’re hoping to use these videos to preserve it.”
Tickets to the events will be sold on friendspp.org at a future date.
