Submitted photo Tygart Valley Lions Club members prepare food during the 14th annual Treasure on the Mountain event at Snowshoe Mountain. The event raises money for the roughly $300,000 in grants and scholarships the Snowshoe Foundation provides each year.

SNOWSHOE — Snowshoe Foundation officials say the 14th annual Treasure on the Mountain event was a major success, with more than 5,000 tickets sold and more than 3,000 attendees on hand for the fundraising celebration.

The Foundation’s Fall Grant Cycle — which is funded by fundraisers including Treasure on the Mountain — kicks off today and is open to any non-profits and schools in the tri-county are who have funding needs.

“This was an incredible day, for not only the Snowshoe Foundation, but the entire community,” said Voras Haynes, president of the Board of the Snowshoe Foundation. “I love all the excitement of the folks that come up to spend the day with us and getting to see the winners of all our great prizes.”

The annual event was a sell-out, with the ticket holders enjoying food and music and the raffling off of prizes including trucks, SUVs, ATVs and a top cash prize of $30,000.

“I also want to give a big shout out to all the local businesses that helped with our event, including The Inter-Mountain that helped us get the word out,” Haynes said. “We had great volunteers and tons of food provided by local civic and school groups and local vendors.”

Treasure on the Mountain is the Snowshoe Foundation’s largest annual fundraiser and makes possible the roughly $300,000 in grants and scholarships that the Foundation funds throughout the year in Pocahontas, Webster and Randolph counties.

Since its inception, the Snowshoe Foundation has given more than $4 million to organizations and students in support of their mission of elevating the quality of life for all local residents.

“I’m just so thankful for everyone who gets involved with this event” Dave Black, the Snowshoe Foundation’s executive director, said. “I can’t say enough about all the community support that makes this possible. The crew here at Snowshoe… all of our volunteers … Davis Trust, our corporate sponsor… our Board of Directors… everyone is amazing.

“A lot of folks work tirelessly to make Treasure on the Mountain a success. I hope they feel as proud as I do about the good things this event enables us to do in the community, because they are certainly a huge part of it.”

The Aug. 5 event on Snowshoe Mountain featured live radio broadcasts, sponsor giveaways and a family-friendly Kid’s Zone. Musicians including Jason Hall, Wyatt Turner and Shane Meade and the Sound performed throughout the day and kept the after-party crowd in the village dancing well into the evening.

The next event on the Snowshoe Foundation’s calendar will be the Autumn in the Alleghenies fall fundraising dinner on Oct. 14.

To keep up to date on Foundation news or apply for a grant, visit the website at snowshoefoundation.org.