By Marie Kennedy, The Mountain Times
On Oct. 25, Welches students, staff and parent volunteers celebrated the annual Welches Harvest Festival, a much-anticipated day of costumes, games and fall fun. All came dressed for the occasion.
Festivities started at 10 a.m., with classes gathering in the elementary stage area to pick out their pumpkins, smaller ones but perfect nonetheless.
Werewolves and fairies, witches, SWAT team officers, ballerinas and superheroes were among the pumpkin pickers. After locating their favorite pumpkin, students posed for a class photo, smiling as they called out a resounding “Halloween!”
Once the last pumpkin was chosen, it was time for the parade with their costumes on display. Winding through the building, older students high-fived the younger students waiting to join the parade.
As the group wound its way up to and through the middle school, the students waved happily to the onlookers. “Their favorite part is definitely the costume parade,” shared WPTCO (Welches Parent Teacher Community Organization) president Heather Ostrander. “All the classes march through the middle school. It’s adorable.”
Meanwhile, parent volunteers were busily making preparations for the afternoon events, starting with the carnival. Once those activities started, the rest of the afternoon was a blur. Students lined up for the ping pong toss, the Duck Dip, a classic ring toss game and the ever-popular Dum Dum pull, followed by popcorn, juice and colorful mask decorating. Students also enjoyed the Thank You Ticket Store which offered plenty of cool merchandise in exchange for tickets.
WPTCO promotes many activities throughout the school year. Volunteer coordinator Tanya Kayser remains the driving force behind organizing and managing the volunteers. “At the beginning of the year, I try to recruit more helpers for these events. I let parents know what events are coming up and see who can help out.”
Once again, the Harvest Festival was a great success. Principal Kendra Payne said, “The Harvest Festival is a fun fall tradition at the Welches schools! Kids wear costumes, play games, join a parade and enjoy snacks. This year we added a costume contest for middle school grades.” She added, “Thanks to the WPTCO and volunteers, we were able to provide this fun fall activity for all students in grades kindergarten through eighth!”