Finally stopped reeling from Founder’s Day? View photos from the weekend to relive every memorable moment.

If you happened to miss any of the action, or you’re curious who won the competitions or how much money was raised to support The Giving Tree partners, keep reading.

The weekend started with cocktail parties across the community. From Main Street to The Vic to parks and front porches, people were gathering to celebrate community.

Regardless of where you ended up, you were able to enjoy it all through everyone’s posts on the Verrado Facebook page. The Estradas won two backstage passes to meet Spin Doctors.

Saturday morning our strong community partners Vitras Swim Club (and presented in partnership with Gill Law Firm) executed the annual White Tank Heritage Run. We had first-time competitors, youth athletes, master athletes and even some athletes from Phoenix and out of state, for a total of 155 runners. Verrado residents Shawn Finnicum and Theresa Gill won the 10K.

Saturday night brought record numbers to the Village Green for our Block Party on Main Street.  This year’s party was presented by APS and Palo Verde, whose partnership allowed us to take the party up a notch.

The evening opened with Verrado’s own Anderson Institute of Music bringing the always popular Resident Variety Show highlighting the incredible musical talents living right here in Verrado. This all-ages show warmed up the crowd for opening act, Jack Vandervelde, whose talents got the crowd ready to welcome Spin Doctors to the stage. As always, they put on an amazing show and took us all back in time.

The Block Party had something for everyone. Main Street was packed with families enjoying the kids’ zone. Strong partnerships with Main Street Dental and Olson Orthodontics along with Epcor, Summit Community Church and Ebb + Flow allowed us to bring in everything from bungee trampolines to face painting to balloon making. Kids enjoyed bounce houses and the Epic Game Trailer, leaving exhausted but happy.

We were thrilled once again to invite the West Valley Mavericks to serve as our drink provider. Through their volunteers and Verrado’s love of a cold beverage, more than $10,000 was raised to support West Valley charities.

Sunday capped off a fun-filled weekend with the Community-wide Picnic at Founders Park.

Residents were up before the sun on Sunday to prepare their meat for the sold-out BBQ Rib Competition led by Connie Dreiling of Hillcrest, with assistance from Katy Custer of Rosemont Garden.

BBQ Rib Competition winners

• 1st Place:  Memo Rojo, Prospector
• 2nd Place: Armin Iranshahr, Hawthorn Park
• 3rd Place: Robert Banach, Jackson Green

We were thankful for the support of Randal Hamar of Astoria Gardens who stepped up to lead this year’s Chili Cook-off. The cooks definitely brought their “A-game” pleasing the crowd of tasters whose votes awarded the top three.

Chili Cook-off winners

• 1st Place:  Steve Manning, Turtles Landing
• 2nd Place:  Michelle Larsen, Lincoln Terrace
• 3rd Place:  Miriam Curiel, Rosemont Gardens

For those more inclined to participate in sports, the Adult Sports Club managed the always popular Bean Bag Toss Competition. This year, Jarrod Willhite of Walton Park took home the prize, and the competition was fierce.

Even four-legged residents got in the spirit through the many awards given by Verrado’s own Community Paws, led by Sarah Taylor. She always makes sure our dogs get involved in the fun.

As with the past years, our community came together to raise more than $6,500 for Feed My Starving Children. Special thanks to Peter and Helen O’Grady and the many parks that donated baskets and opened up their wallets to support Summit Community Church’s commitment to this organization.

And speaking of parks, the competition for the Neighborhood Spirit Award really heated up this year. Ultimately Astoria Gardens came out on top yet again. We suspect many of the other parks are already planning their comeback strategy for next year.

More than anything, this day is about coming together and celebrating family, as well as friends who have become like family.

A huge shoutout to the 12 volunteers who collectively contributed more than 20 hours to help the Community Life Team make the day possible. It’s about turning the TVs off and getting out to meet old and new friends in a way only Verrado does.