The group renovates basketball courts, plants roses and gives scholarships for swimming lessons, among other things. For the past three years, it has held the Taste of Spring event to raise money for its efforts. The event will be held at the historic Rotunda Building at 300 Frank Ogawa Plaza from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

This year is special because of the group's quarter-century anniversary and because it will honor one of its founding members, Anne Woodell, with the inaugural Friends Annual Service Award.

"Anne has acted as the driving force behind our organization," said Kathy Raymond, executive director for Friends. "She has been a wonderful asset for us."

Woodell has worked for more than 30 years as an advocate and volunteer for Oakland parks, including the Oakland Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, the Oakland-East Bay Garden Center and Fairyland.

The Taste of Spring event will feature both a live and a silent auction of items ranging from an antique bathtub to a trip to Napa. You can view other auction items at the Friends Web site www.oaklandparks.org.

Other highlights include wine tasting, acrobats and a performance by jazz guitarist Terrence Brewer. Several restaurants, including Italian Colors, Burt's Desserts and Maxwell's Lounge, will offer hors d'oeuvres.

"It's a fun mingler," Raymond said. "We want people to have a good time."

The first year Friends held the Taste of Spring it raised $30,000, a number that more than doubled with its event last year. Raymond said the group hopes to increase that number again this year.

Friends, a 501(c)3 non-profit, provides grants, project management and fiscal sponsorship to organizations in the community that wish to improve the quality of life in Oakland. For example, Friends has awarded scholarships to children who cannot afford camp tuition and has helped with park renovations. Over the past 25 years, Friends has provided 270 grants totaling $275,000 for parks-related projects.

One group Friends has helped is Sailing Into Science, a science program for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders from Oakland public schools. Students take a field trip to Lake Merritt to learn about different areas of science such as life science or physics, and then apply those ideas as they head out on the water.

Friends has also given scholarships to students who wish to take part in other boating activities at Lake Merritt.

Sailing into Science Director Dana Riley said Friends is an enormous help.

"Friends provides a significant amount of scholarships to bring in kids who wouldn't be able to be boating otherwise," she said. "Last year, they also gave us 25 life vests, which might not seem like a lot, but that's $1,500. That's a lot of money for an organization like us."

Currently, Friends' main projects are the improvement of the Rockridge Greenbelt, Raimondi Park and the McClymond mini-park.

In Rockridge at Hardy Park and the DMV corridor, the group is installing a basketball court and new swings, adding irrigation and plants and putting in American-Disabilities-Act-certified ramps and play panels. At Raimondi Park, the group is working to create a space that sports teams and members of the community can utilize at the same time. The McClymond Park project is in the planning stages.

Friends also acts as an umbrella organization for groups who have not established 501(c)3 status, but need to raise money for their projects. Groups can also write grants through Friends.

"We manage the funds they raise so the funds go toward their intended purpose," Raymond said.

If you'd like to attend the Taste of Spring, tickets are $50 for non-members and $35 for members. Those who purchase two non-member tickets will receive a one year membership to Friends. Tickets can be purchased at www.oaklandparks.org or by calling 510-465-1850.