First Avenue Middle School Festival Puts the Fun in Fundraiser

This past Sunday, I attended a community event at . It was a fundraiser put on by First Avenue school parents and children in support of the .

I initially had planned only to stop by briefly, but ended up spending most of the afternoon there. There was a variety of carnival type games for the kids, a pie throwing booth (at selected First Avenue teachers), a water dunk tank (again featuring First Avenue teachers) and, of course, food for sale. I stayed for a few reasons: the musical performances by the First Avenue students, including choir, band, and orchestra, the performances of the drama students and drill team, and the big fundraiser of the day, the silent auction.

I was very impressed by the performances of the various student groups. For middle school students to be able to perform so well is a testament to the Arcadia Unified School District as well as to the families. As I have written earlier, my family only moved to Arcadia a couple of years ago (none of my kids attended First Avenue Middle School), so only now am I learning of how impressive Arcadia students are before they even get to

I was also struck by the dedication of the First Avenue parents, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, as a parent, I am willing to go the extra yard or mile for my children. One look at the performance of the First Avenue students at Sunday’s event, and it’s easy to see why their parents are willing to step up as well.

I was also gratified to see the list of local businesses that were supporting the event. I know many businesses donated items or gift cards that were included in the silent auction. I was also happy to hear that all the proceeds of the event were to go to the Arcadia Educational Foundation. I’m anxious to hear how much was raised on Sunday. If you happen to know, please let me know through the comments section. (Editor's note: A photo gallery and recap of the festival can be found by .)

I think I also played my part at Sunday’s event. I ended up as the winning bidder for a number of items in the silent auction (sorry to those I outbid) and helped drive up the bids on a number of items I didn’t win. I gladly wrote out a big check to the Arcadia Educational Foundation. I hope my family will enjoy all the different gift cards I ended up getting.