Six hundred people shared six cakes and the happiness of one special five-year-old girl.
Friday night in downtown Hood River was the place to be for the birthday-party/prom night that featured everything from cakes shaped like castles to arrival by carriage.
The community came up with a grand ball for Lila May Schow’s fifth birthday, the Hood River girl who has fought neuroblastoma cancer for the past three years. Her fifth birthday, bash that it was, will probably be her last, according to her family.
The party was at Butler Bank Building, the former city hall-turned-event space, and it was an event the like of which Hood River has never seen. Princesses and princes of all shapes and sizes greeted her as she got off the horse-drawn carriage driven by Alan Bennett of White Salmon, one of dozens of individuals and groups to donate to the party.
About 200 people lined the sidewalk at Oak and Fourth streets, while another 200 or so awaited inside the building — transformed into an enchanted castle of sorts, complete with wooden draw bridge installed in the entryway.
More royalty awaited, with the two main princes in her life, father Derek Schow and stepdad Blake Hall, giving her the first dances of the night as the crowd watched, surrounded by balloons, bunting, bright lights, and all those birthday cakes. Hood River Best Western Inn chef Mark DeResta provided a festive catered dinner for Lila May and family in the mezzanine of the building.
“Lila May’s fifth birthday was incredible! We woke up this morning thinking it was a beautiful dream, and then realized it was real,” her mother, Heidi Hall, wrote on Facebook. “Lila said she had her own fairy tale ball for her birthday. Brought tears to my eyes... this momma is happy. My heart is full! Thank you for making Lila feel so special in her big day.
Said organizer Jenny Lorenzen, “it was exactly what Lila was hoping for. Everything came together well. It was very emotional, and looking around at people, it was hard, but she was five and being a kid and having fun.
“There were so many people, and we just thank everyone who donated,” Lorenzen said. “They came from all over, including The Dalles, and the greater Portland area.”
Lila’s story was published Friday in the Oregonian newspaper, and OregonLive along with Portland channels 2 and 6 provided live reports. Lorenzen said, it was mind-blowing “when we keep getting messages, ‘We saw this in Detroit, or Texas.’ It has gone everywhere.” Lorenzen also said: “Heidi was completely humbled by the amount of love they feel from everyone all over, showing them how much support they have in these last few months with Lila.”
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