Burgess Peterson Fall Festival

By Jeanne Fore
The Burgess Peterson Fall Festival was a huge success! The first PTA event of the 2011-2012 school year took place on Friday October 28 from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. This was a fully realized event put on by a small group of parents and community partners. It is estimated that over 300 kids were in attendance, not including parents, teachers and members of the community. The turn out was simply amazing and surpassed the PTA’s expectations.
Once the festival started, the children swarmed to a huge variety of games and craft activities. Jeri Bentley and her husband Dean Norris made most of the games. They did a superb job. The school halls were decorated with handmade scarecrows, which were made by students from Pre-K to fifth grade. The school gymnasium had been transformed into a magical venue with the aid of colored lanterns and fabric streamers. A giant Pumpkin, made from scrap lumber, bamboo, twine, and ribbon greeted the students and their guests. The children quickly learned that the pumpkin would spin when each child would take a rib and run in a circle. While not the intended purpose, it seemed to be the hit of the carnival. Others enjoyed burning off energy in the two bounce castles located outside.
The face painting station filled with children getting butterflies and spiders on their cheeks. Almost every child donned a new colorful hair-do with the aid of neon colored hair spray. Nails 579 donated materials and time to help our budding fashionistas (and some mommies) get their nails done. After getting all dolled up, a portrait sitting was just what was needed. Photographer Vyvyan Hughes, a staple at Park Pet Supply known for her holiday pet portraits, snapped pictures of ghouls and fairies; a souvenir for their memory books. It must have been very hard to sit still with the scent of Coach Poehlein’s popping popcorn that wafted thru the building. The volunteers were fortified against the popcorn with the help of SOBA Vietnamese restaurant’s chicken egg rolls. Delicious!
Also in attendance were some special guests. Forty-nine ROTC cadets from Maynard Jackson High School led the charge at 1:30pm to help set-up and run the carnival. The new Attendance Specialist “Ms. V” (Vershion Funderbunk) helped bring the MJHS ROTC Cadets, who earned volunteer credit for their work. Undying thanks goes out to them for stepping up for the kids. Judging by the number of neon hairstyles among the cadets, it appears that they enjoyed themselves too. Firefighters from AFD station Number 13 brought a truck and showed the kids how it worked, co-coordinated by David Morrill. Denzil Mathis, a 7-year-old student, commented “Mommy, I bought the firefighters some popcorn, so maybe they’ll come to our next party, which will be even bigger.” The Chick-Fil-A cow received many hugs that day. Second-grader Aliyah Johnson said, “This is the best Friday ever! I got to hug the Chick-Fil-A cow and paint a pumpkin the same color pink as my glitter hair!” She was jumping up and down so much she forgot her food. The goddesses of the garden, Ms. Michelle and Ms. Rebecca, clad in overalls and sun hats, proudly displayed the harvest from the BPA organic garden, while Chef Seth Freedman, the local farmer’s market guru and chef at Forage & Flame, was cooking up some fried green tomatoes that smelled and looked delicious. Unfortunately, by the time this reporter went back for some, they were all gone. A lesson learned.