Lawrenceburg pickleball festival raises funds for local youth programs

The Burg Big Dill Pickleball Festival will take over the Lawrenceburg Community Center on Saturday, July 25, with organizers turning a local court setup into a full-day fundraiser for Lawrenceburg Young Life. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., spectators will be free, and the schedule will include tournaments, beginner clinics, giveaways, food, music, kids activities, door prizes and a Giant Gold Paddle Championship.

That mix is the point. Nathaniel Chitty, the Lawrenceburg Young Life area director, has framed the festival as a day built to bring the community together through friendly competition while supporting local kids, and the format reflects that goal by welcoming serious players and first-timers in the same space. The proceeds will support local youth outreach and programming, giving the tournament a direct nonprofit purpose instead of leaving it as a standalone bracket day.

Young Life Lawrenceburg is already rooted in the area through work with Lawrenceburg High School, Greendale Middle School through WyldLife and the Dearborn County Juvenile Detention Center. The ministry says its mission is to help young people explore adventure, community and faith, and it operates with a network of 60 volunteers. That footprint matters here because the festival is not just a pickleball draw, it is being used to support an established youth pipeline.

The setting fits the sport. Lawrenceburg Community Center, at 423 Walnut St. in Lawrenceburg, has two indoor pickleball courts with permanent lines and portable nets, and its public schedule lists open pickleball on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The center also offers summer lessons for beginners and intermediate players, usually in 4- to 6-week sessions that meet twice a week. Its common areas are free to use, which helps make the building a natural gathering point for casual players and families.

The numbers around pickleball help explain why this kind of fundraiser can work. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association says 24.3 million Americans played pickleball in 2025, up from about 4.2 million in 2020. That surge has turned the sport into more than a competitive niche, and Lawrenceburg is leaning into that momentum with an event that blends court play, kids’ activities and a community-center setting into one summer date.