by Jennifer Evans (Updated: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 3:45 PM PDT)
Students at last year’s festival.
The fall season brings cooler temperatures, the sounds of school bells, and the opportunity for community members to have some fun and show their support for Richmond Street School at its ninth annual Fall Festival that will take place this Friday, Oct. 24, on the school playground from 5 to 8 p.m.
The carnival-like event is sponsored by the Parent Teacher Association and raises more than $30,000 for the school. PTA member Heidi Wang explained that this year’s funds will go toward subsidizing the expense of school field trips as well as toward the school’s art program, which due to the state budget cuts, would otherwise be eliminated. She added that every dollar spent is entirely tax-deductible and 100 percent of the money goes directly back into the school.
“Before Richmond Street School opened nine years ago there used to be only one middle school in El Segundo - Center Street School,” Wang explained. “The event has been happening since the school’s opening nine years ago, and every year it gets bigger and better.”
With dozens of booths, the Fall Festival has something for everyone. Entrance to the carnival is free and tickets for games and food are 50 cents. Some of the main attractions include bingo and the ever-popular “Sweet Walk,” where winners get to take home tasty baked treats. “Also, new for this year, we have a remote-controlled car racing game and a balloon artist to make balloon animals for the kids,” Wang said.
This year, the music will be played by a disc jockey, who will also act as the master of ceremonies for the silent auction and other announcements. Food is another main attraction at the festival and some of the food booths will include Chef Hannes’ signature apple strudel served with Starbucks coffee. However, healthier alternatives will also be available.
Wang said that the Fall Festival committee is seeking baskets of all shapes and sizes and shrink wrap to help package the auction items. The baskets can be dropped off in the PTA room adjacent to the auditorium.
“We have a lot of great silent auction gifts,” Wang said. “Last year alone the silent auction raised about $20,000. We know that people’s budgets are a little stretched this year because of the economy, but we are hoping to raise at least about the same amount as we did last year.”
Some of the silent auction items include signed merchandise by singer/actor Hannah Montana, a signed CD by Elton John, a large popcorn popper donated by Lionel Richie, several five-star weekend getaway packages and gift baskets filled with merchandise donated by local businesses.
Michelle Lawson, festival chairwoman, said that the parents involved in organizing the event have made her job easy. “I feel like I haven’t really had to do anything because we have the most amazing group of parents here at Richmond,” Lawson said. “I feel so blessed to work with parents who care so much about the school.”
Lawson and Wang both said that although the majority of the crowd attending the festival are RSS parents, students and faculty, there are also many community members and business owners who also take the time to participate. “We have a lot of support from the community,” Wang said. “The event is just a great way for families to get together and have some fun before the craziness of the holidays begin.”
Lawson agreed with Wang, adding that the festival is a safe and inexpensive way to have fun with the family on a Friday evening. “It’s great way for families to come together and just be silly, have some fun and enjoy each other’s company,” she said.
Question: Failed propositions and voter-approved bonds have brought years of grudges and bad feelings to the Hermosa Beach school community, but that might be a thing of the past now that Project Forward has officially started. On Oct. 21, the Hermosa Beach City Council and the School District board of trustees joined forces to try and fix the fallout between the School Board, parents and volunteers who’ve never seen eye to eye on most school issues and selected members from the different groups in the community to work on the issues. * Do you think Project Forward will help heal old wounds?
* What else can be done to try and get the different groups to work together?
* Do you think the members selected for the panel are representative of all sides?
from Archives: El Segundo News 
