A feature at the 2011 Rocky Ripple Fest, Saturday, September 28 from 10 to 6, will be the bat house project. Rocky Ripple residents have volunteered their time to construct 30 bat houses that will be sold at the fest, raising money for the playground at the fest site, Hohlt Park, located at 840 West 53rd Street.

"Our Rocky Ripple Community Association (RRCA) sergeant-at-arms, Ann Wickham, attended a day-long bat workshop at Mounds State Park," explained Dhyana Raynor, Vice-President of the RRCA and Chairperson for the 2011 Rocky Ripple Festival. "Angela Herrmann, a RR resident, and I picked up on Ann's enthusiasm to spread the word about how beneficial bat houses can be. Angela came up with the idea of stenciling 'I'm not lost; I live here. Rocky Ripple' on some bat houses. I thought of the idea to invite our RR artists to donate their talent to the project, with the plan to put their very special bat houses in our first ever silent auction.

"One idea exploded into the Rocky Ripple Community Association spearheading this new fundraising project for the parks and green spaces in our community.

"Once the idea was birthed and we had a plan, Julie Bleakley offered to approach Lowe's, asking for a donation (and Lowe's donated all of the materials). John Bleakley and Chris Wright both agreed to oversee the building of the houses with volunteer help. It's been a collaborative effort, and always with the best interests of Rocky Ripple in mind."