By Jeannette Wick

The annual Valentine’s Day Cupcake Sale was a roaring success on February 10th, 2024. Neighbors appeared as soon as we opened the door on Friday afternoon for our early bird sales, and more than half of our cupcakes evaporated before the 7:00 PM closing time. Members of the not-just-for-Woman’s club opened the doors again at 8:00 AM on Saturday morning and declared the sale closed shortly after 11 when almost all of the cupcakes had been sold. Two students from Yorktown High School, Catalina and Emily, also helped, and those kids could sell honey to a bee. As always, the Red Velvet Chip cupcakes were best sellers for this romantic holiday, and this year’s surprise early sellout was the Cookies ‘n Cream cupcake.

We hear the same questions all the time, with the most frequently asked question being, “Did you bake all of these cupcakes?” Of course we did! This year a team of approximately 10 people shopped for, mixed, baked, frosted, and sold the 900 cupcakes that the neighborhood demands on such an occasion. It took roughly seven hours. The large kitchen at the Community Center becomes a veritable cloud of confectioner’s sugar perfused with the aroma of whatever variety of cupcake is parked in the ovens at the moment.

One of the biggest issues with the cupcake sale or almost any event in Lyon Park is our reliance on volunteers. For this event, the event organizer was a little bit nervous until the day before we were scheduled to bake. We were fortunate enough to have a sufficient number of volunteers. Our biggest need is for people who can frost. Handling a frosting bag is a mechanical art that takes a little bit of practice, so if you are a candidate to frost a few 100 cupcakes for the next cupcake sale, speak up!

Speaking of the next cupcake sale, we need to ensure that we have volunteers lined up. Be on the lookout for emails asking for help. The next cupcake sale will be March 30th!