Gnarvana NICA Fundraiser 2026!
Join us for the Gnarvana NICA Fundraiser — good vibes, great food, and support for growing youth biking in Tucson!
$75 per person, three course meal
When: Wednesday, April 8th, 6:00pm to 9:00pm MST
Where: Kingfisher Restaurant, 2564 E. Grant Road, Tucson
What: Owners, Chef Jacki Kruder and Ted Burhans (parents of a Gnarvana Student-Athlete), are excited for us to dine with them and celebrate the launch of our youth mountain biking program in Central Tucson.
Who: Anyone interested in helping us build great humans!
The Evening’s Agenda
6:00pm- 6:30pm Arrival and Gathering (silent auction opens)
Join us, get a beverage from the bar, and browse the different silent auction baskets curated by our families, coaches and student-athletes.
6:30pm- 7:30pm Seating, Welcome and Dinner
Find a seat as we welcome and thank you for joining us with a powerclap!
Chef Kruder and the Kingfisher staff will present the first two courses while we enjoy getting to know each other.
7:30pm- 8:00pm Dessert, Coffee and Gnarvana!
Over dessert, some of our coaches and parents of student-athletes will tell stories of their experience with NICA and specifically Team Gnarvana. In our community, we call it the "NICA Why" for what we do and why we do it.
8:00pm- 8:30pm Future Goals and Thank you
The strength of our program is the community behind it. Thank you for attending and we look forward to sharing greater successes as we complete our first season and look to the future. Join us in a closing powerclap!
Settle up on your meal, tip your servers, and claim your auction winnings! Then stay for a nightcap, mingle with those last few guests you didn’t get to meet, and enjoy the glow of helping grow youth mountain biking in Tucson.
8:30pm- 9:00pm Mingle and Wrap up
Frequently Asked Questions
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For this event, the meal is a set menu. However, Kingfisher is happy to accommodate allergies, dietary restrictions, and/or dietary preferences. They have vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options and other items can be modified to suit your needs. We will share the menu as soon as received.
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The Kingfisher staff will collect your payment at the time of the event. If your plans change and you cannot attend, please let us know!
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Kingfisher does not require a dress code, other than the Pima County Health Department’s required attire: adequate shoes, shirt, and bottom covering for all patrons. Please feel free to be comfortable, or get fancy! (You will be asked to remove your bicycle helmet at the table ?)
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Kingfisher offers self-parking. They do not have valet parking or paid parking. The parking lot is limited, there is street parking along Forgeus Avenue on the east side of the property, and associated side streets.
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The silent auction is a collection of baskets that have been put together by our families, coaches and student-athletes that are themed to reflect the contents of the basket. While there is no requirement to participate, the entire proceeds of the items go directly to the team.
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Gnarvana is part of the AZ league of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (nationalmtb.org), which develops interscholastic mountain biking programs for student-athletes and coaches across the United States and promotes the values of fun, inclusivity, equity, respect, and community.
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Gnarvana is open to all student-athletes from middle school to high school (grades 5th – 12th) in Tucson, no matter their school, skill level or abilities. There are no try-outs, and no one sits on the bench. 100% of student-athletes participate!
As an adult, there are coaching and volunteering opportunities aplenty- whether you mountain bike or not. -
Setting up a team from scratch takes lots of energy, and money. We need to get gear for our team that we can use in practices and racing. At the same time, we have had interested students that we had to turn away this year due to their need for a mountain bike and scholarship for registration, and we could offer neither.
