Annual Fall Fest draws big crowd
By Kathy Thomson
Hundreds of costumed children traded in tickets to play games and try to win prizes at the Albany Parent-Teacher Organization’s annual Fall Fest held at Nancy Smith Elementary School last Saturday.
“Everything went really well,” said co-organizer Malarie Sutton. “It was probably the best Fall Fest we’ve had in a long time. Everything ran smoothly, and folks said that they liked the new games and banners.”
The majority of the booths shut down at 8:30 p.m. or a little later, including Bingo and the cafeteria, according to Sutton.
“Most of the volunteers had finished cleaning up their booths and were home by 9:30 p.m.,” she said. “I know that this year we had enough cakes to run the cake walk all night, and that was great!”
Sutton said that it was a very successful evening.
“We appreciate all the volunteers and their hard work,” she said. “We could not do it without them.”
Alicia Burton and Audrey Peterson stepped in to help run the cafeteria when Michaela Smith was unable to do so.
Stew, chili, frito pie, baked potatoes, and other traditional Fall Fest foods were available to a steady stream of customers throughout the night.
“We got it all cooked, and I would love to know how many people we fed,” said Burton. “We cooked 75 pounds of hamburger meat and 40 to 50 pounds of stew meat. We ran out of frito pie, and we were down to only three potatoes at the end of the night.”
The cool weather seemed to motivate diners to come in and enjoy comfort foods like stew, chili, frito pie, and hot potatoes, according to Peterson.
“We were just about right with the amount of food,” she said. “It went great, and it seemed like we had a great turnout.”
Leftover food was donated to the Boys Ranch and to Running Man.
“It was so nice to have something that we could send,” said Peterson. “Props to all of the cafeteria staff who helped get things set up ahead of time. And we had the best dishwasher ever; she was amazing!”
Fall Fest is the major fundraiser for the PTO each year, and all the funds go back into the school to benefit the school, all of the students, and the teachers.
Costume Contest
Donnie Lucas was the emcee for the costume contest. Cory Brown, Beth Henson, and Campbell Terry judged the competition.
Winners in the annual costume competition were as follows:
Under two: 1. Sofie Tabor – Chicken, 2. Blayke Gallagher – Raggedy Ann, 3. Amelia Shack – Bear.
Two and three year olds: 1. Ivy Lowe – Dolly, 2. Greyson Hargett – Golfer, 3. River Clark – Cloud.
Four and five year olds: 1. Gannon Rankin – Optimus, 2. Beck Rozzie – Dorthy, 3. Rylen Smith – Deer.
Kindergarten and first grade: 1. Madison Swert – Cruella Deville, 2. Harper Hargett – Audrey from Descendants, 3. Claire Bellah – Little Red Riding Hood.
Second and third grade: 1. Carly Kreitler – Egyptian Princess, 2. Amberly Hobbs – Harry Potter, 3. Trevor Bellah – Coach.
Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade: 1. Judson Rogers – Indian, 2. Senio Togia – Sumo Wrestler, 3. Hunter Sutton – Marshmallow.
Adults: 1. Rachel Viertel – Winifred from Hocus Pocus, 2. Becky Barton – Hippie, 3. Stephanie Garren – Hippie.
Groups: 1. Jordan and Riley Hendley, Hunter Moutray – Rescue/Fire Department, 2. Carrion boys – The Three Amigos, 3. Stapp/Carrion family – Wizard of Oz.
