2025 Summer OptiFest Event
Our FREE, 2025 OptiFest Event will be held on Saturday, August 2nd, 2025. Location is behind the Clarkston Renaissance High School building, 6558 Waldon Road. Youth and family fun activities will be from 11:00am to 3:00pm. Bring the whole family!
Photography Contest
The 2025 Photography Contest is now closed. Information, rules and entry form for next year's 2026 contest will be available in early 2026.
Information and Rules:
Contest Entry Form:
Flags for Kids Program - 2025
Informational Flyer:
Subscription Form:
Grant Program
Our Fall 2026 Grant Program Application is not yet available. The Fall 2026 application should be available/posted here, by the end of August 2025.
2026 Optimist WinterFest
2026 date TBD: Depot Park skating rink, 12:00noon to 3:00pm. Skating, hot chocolate, DJ music, smores with campfire and kids games. All families are invited and it's FREE!
Here are pictures from our 2025 WinterFest Event:
Club President's Page
Club President’s Page
Welcome to the Clarkston Area Optimist Club website!
In my daily travels, I’m often asked, who the Optimists are and what does the Optimist Club do? To answer the first part of that question, the Optimists are:
• The Clarkston area chapter of an 80,000-member International Service Organization that was founded in 1911
• Individuals that volunteer a portion of their time, talent and energy to serve youth and others for the betterment of the Clarkston Community
• A membership consisting of a wide range of backgrounds from non-profit organizations to independent small businesses, to former executives of large companies, all with a focus on making the Clarkston area a great place to live and raise a family
• The largest Optimist Club in the state of Michigan, now in our 39th year Regarding what the Optimists do, within the greater Clarkston community, these are the events that are 100% supported by the Optimists:
• Junior Optimist Clubs for K-12 Students
• Annual WinterFest (a day of FREE Family Fun with a winter activity theme)
• Essay Contest • Oratorical Contest • Photography Contest (NEW in 2025)
• Outstanding Student Recognition
• Scholarships for College and Trade Schools • Annual OptiFest (a day of Free Family Fun based on summer activities)
• OptiSocks Program (provides free socks for underprivileged kids)
Additionally, the Optimists sponsor the following events in the Clarkston area:
• Numerous School Programs through Financial Grants
• Renaissance High School Field Day
• Independence Township Parks, Recreation & Seniors teams
• Clarkston Independence Day Parade
• SCAMP Field Day
• Tons of Trucks
• Friendly Forest
• CIDL Trunk or Treat
• Clarkston Holiday Lights Christmas Parade
• Depot Park Ice Rink
Finally, we provide these events and this support primarily through three main fundraising events:
• Flags for Kids – Have you seen American flags throughout your subdivision or lining up and down Main Street and wondered where they came from? For $60, you can have a flag placed on your property, commercial or residential, for 6 national holidays (Memorial Day, Flag Day, July 4, Labor Day, September 11 and Veterans Day). The flags will be placed a few days prior to the holiday and removed a few days later. Please refer to the Flags for Kids Program section above to participate in this program
• Concerts in the Park – we sell pizza and refreshments to concert attendees at one of the series of concerts held on Friday evenings in the summer at Depot Park in downtown Clarkston. Stop by, purchase some pizza and refreshments and find out more about the Clarkston Area Optimist Club
• Taste of Clarkston Oktoberfest (also known as Op-toberfest!) Come by and have an adult beverage (beer or wine) to go with the delicious food you have purchased from one or more of the many restaurants in the Clarkston area. Feel free to drop in, have a beverage and get to know more about who the Optimists are and what they do. I encourage you to explore all of the pages here and learn about all of the activities we provide and support within the greater Clarkston area, then consider joining us at one of our “Upcoming Gatherings” (shown immediately below) that has a speaker and/or topic that captures your interest and see if you would like to part of the Clarkston Area Optimist Club! Thank you for visiting our website!
Rick Karlewski, 39th Club President
248-891-4333
