Thursday, September 29, 2022
Seeliger Elementary School’s Pumpkin Patch Festival is a family tradition with a new twist this year.
The 28th annual Fall Carnival, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 15 at the school (2800 Saliman Road), offers students and families a day of fun and community involvement.
Proceeds directly benefit Seeliger classrooms, giving teachers extra money for instructional materials or projects, field trip expenses, books or storage needs. Some professors have bought carts to store computers, or others have used their income for engineering books or to form reading groups.
Ashleigh Drongesen, Seeliger teacher and head of the event committee this year, said staff have expressed anticipation for the celebration.
“It’s an event planned by the teachers where we play games and collect things,” she said. “We ask parents to help with the cake sale, the kids can have a cake decorating competition and it all helps to work together to make the event possible.”
This year, the committee has reached out to local food trucks looking to cater to a variety of tastes, and there will be new craft vendors for parents to purchase an assortment of items, Drongesen said. Traditional pumpkins will also be sold as part of the fundraising efforts.
“I want to commend one of our families who has partnered with us,” he added. “They own Grocery Outlet, so they’re donating candy bars for our candy sale and some gift cards for our raffle.”
Students can enjoy face painting, a bouncy tank, silent auction, prizes, hot air balloon rides, bounce houses and inflatables. Teachers have created themed baskets with their classrooms for students to collect objects.
Carson City supports the festival with an average attendance of about 400 to 500 families who come to enjoy the carnival games and vendor booths. Teachers and parents volunteer to produce homemade baked goods, Drongesen said, which helps build camaraderie in school classrooms.
“We always advertise in every school,” he said. “We love seeing the new ideas because people come from different schools and we get to try new things and make sure we’re always trying to make it better.”
Past carnivals have typically generated approximately $10,000 for staff members; with about 15 teachers, which often came to about $300 to $400 per classroom, Drongesen said.
He added that one of his favorite aspects of leading the committee for the first time is seeing the community’s involvement.
“(It’s been) seeing how many people are willing to help because sometimes it feels like a burden to try to do more in the schools because we’re so busy,” she said. “But to see all the teachers say, ‘No, I want to help,’ or ‘I can’t wait,’ and to see so many members of the community help.”
