Axe Madness, a bracket-style charity axe-throwing tournament benefiting Shrivers Hospice patients in our area, is coming back to Kick-N-Ax (970 Linden Avenue, Zanesville) on March 25 at 6:00 p.m. This will be the fourth year that the event will be held at Zanesville’s axe-throwing bar.
“It’s a great cause. They packed the house in here that night. We enjoy doing lots of things with Shrivers,” said Kick-N-Ax co-owner Dee Luburgh.
Funds raised during the Axe Madness event go towards making ‘patient experiences’ possible for Shrivers Hospice patients.
“Generally not the patient that’s asking for anything. It’s our RNs and our aides are building relationships with these patients. And so when they know that they really enjoy something, or they really want to do something again before the inevitable happens, then they kind of put a request in. And so we raise this money all throughout the year to do that kind of stuff,” explained Taylor Russell, Executive Director for Shrivers Hospice Foundation. “One of our patients just really wanted to get back to church. She said, because our RN was talking to her, and she’s like, ‘Could we just leave for the day?’ She goes, ‘If we could leave for today, where do you want to go?’ She goes, ‘I think I want to go to church one more time and maybe some ice cream.’ So it’s just little things like that.”
Other instances, like taking a family to Disney and taking a patient on a fishing trip, have been requests that Shrivers Hospice Foundation has been able to bring to fruition because of support gained through fundraising events like these.
The community support for the event has been strong, with teams filling up and lane sponsors supporting the endeavor.
“And it just keeps growing, and it keeps getting bigger, and we’re almost to the point now where we have to cut teams off, because we can’t be there on a Wednesday night until midnight,” stated Russell.
Lane sponsors are South Zanesville Fire Dept, QCP, Corporate Coler Healthcare, Shrivers Hospice, Noon Rotary, Ables, Stiverson Monuments, Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, Muskingum Iron & Metal, Beckert’s OPE, Leonard & Newland Real Estate, Barnes Advertising, Lepi & Associates, People’s Bank, and Advanced Heating & Cooling. Also, Winerak Market sponsored a table.
Shrivers Hospice Foundation
Shrivers Hospice Foundation was founded in 2018, but the mission behind the organization was not clear until Art, a Shrivers Hospice patient, inadvertently helped to make the foundation’s purpose clear. According to the Shrivers Hospice website, Art loved flying and shared that with those caring for him. A flight in the same type of aircraft that Art had once piloted was arranged, and out of that experience, the mission behind the foundation came into focus, providing impactful experiences to Shrivers Hospice patients.
In addition to Axe Madness, the Shrivers Hospice Foundation holds two other big events annually, a golf outing that will be held on June 25 this year at EagleSticks Golf Club, and a Halloween Ball set this year for October 15 at EagleSticks Golf Club.
Tax-deductible donations can be made anytime at shrivershospicefoundation.com/Support-Us. For more information about Shrivers Hospice Foundation, visit their website at shrivershospicefoundation.com.
Kick-N-Ax
Kick-N-Ax opened in January of 2022, bringing a fun new experience to Zanesville. Since then, the bar has expanded beyond axe throwing, offering more to enjoy, like a billiards and bourbon room and the latest addition, a mechanical bull. There is a spacious indoor seating area with tables as well as space to sit outside during the warmer months. Randy’s BBQ is on site every night during open hours.
“They can open the garage doors, and so that works out really well. We also have cornhole that they can set up outside, or if it’s raining, they can put them in an ax lane if that lane’s not already used for that,” explained Luburgh.
Kick-N-Ax is open Thursday 4:00 to 10:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 4:00 p.m. to midnight. Happy hour is 4 to 7 on those three days. To make a reservation, you can stop in or reserve ahead of time on the website, kicknax.com. Specials and Saturday night live entertainment are posted on the Facebook page, facebook.com/KickNAxZVL.
CAPTION: Dee Luburgh of Kick-N-Ax and Taylor Russell of Shrivers Hospice Foundation pictured in front of one of the throwing lanes at Kick-N-Ax, the location for the Axe Madness event. | CREDIT: Lynette Dotson, The Buzz
