BROOKINGS A bygone tradition will make a triumphant comeback this Saturday when the first HillFest carnival since 2019 is held at Hillcrest Elementary School, 304 15th Ave.
For 32 years, the family-friendly fair with its carnival-style games raised money for the schools PTA. Because of COVID-19, the event was cancelled in 2020 and hasnt been held since.
Were expecting a pretty big crowd, Shannon Dammer-Smith, Hillcrest Elementary principal, said. Theres lot of community members who are super excited to be able to re-live their HillFest experiences, so hopefully we can do it justice. Were bringing it back on a smaller scale to start with. Then well continue to grow it as we progress down the years.
The original Hillcrest building was demolished last summer. The newly-constructed school opened its doors Sept. 3, making this weekends carnival not only the first HillFest in six years but also the first in the current structure.
It would be a great time to stop in and see our building from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. this Saturday, Dammer-Smith said. There will be some games that have been used in the past, and then well have some new games as well. Itll be a nice mix of things from the original HillFest merged into our new HillFest tradition.
Part of that new tradition is a flat fee for entrance.
Getting in is just $5 per person, and then everything else inside is covered by that, Dammer-Smith said. In the past, people have paid per ticket to play games. We really want to make sure were creating a family-friendly environment with opportunities for everyone. So for all the games, you can just play and earn tickets. Then you turn in tickets for prizes. And its all just $5 to get in.
The schools PTA is organizing the event.
The money thats raised all stays right here at Hillcrest, Dammer-Smith said. Our PTA does a great job of trying to do many events for our families that are free of charge. We try to only charge families for things a couple times a year with our fundraisers. Then were able to do like family fun nights at no cost. These dollars we raise also go to help pay for some of the supplies we need. They also support grants for our teachers, providing supplies or things teachers really want for their classrooms.
She said the kids are delighted to help revive a tradition.
Oh, the kids are very excited, Dammer-Smith said. The students here right now have not been able to experience HillFest. So it will be a first time experience for all of our learners here at Hillcrest. Junior kindergarten through third grade and then also our preschoolers they have not had the opportunity to have a Hillfest yet. That makes this the maiden voyage for everybody here.
She said the event is open to everyone not just families of Hillcrest students.
It feels like were re-starting a tradition and trying to get back to the roots of our community partnerships the things we know made Hillcrest what it was, Dammer-Smith said. This is just a great opportunity for the community to come together, have fun and support the kids.
Contact Jay Roe at [email protected].
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