Susan Barr
Kern Valley Sun

The Fall Festival at South Fork School has become one of the community’s favorite annual traditions. Last Friday’s well attended event saw a large number of students and their families turn out to enjoy an evening of good old fashioned fun.

 The event certainly had something to offer everyone, from youngsters to the young at heart. All those who arrived at the school with an appetite in tow, certainly were not disappointed. While fun and games were going on in the school gym, volunteers in the cafeteria were tempting attendees with a plethora of tasty treats. From hot dogs and chili boats, to caramel apples and cotton candy, the Fall Festival had it all.

South Fork Kindergarteners Kinedy Thomey, left, and Harli Bowen, right, enjoy themselves at the South Fork Fall Festival which was held on Friday, Nov. 13.

 Sabine Mixon, a kindergarten teacher at South Fork Elementary spent the evening making cotton candy for the appreciative crowd. Not content to simply offer customers a choice of pink or blue, Mixon decided to do a little experimenting and developed a purple version which proved to be highly popular. Mixon even enlisted her husband Brent to be part of the crew putting on the evening’s festivities. He acted as the event’s unofficial photographer walking around taking candids of the multitude of kids and families enjoying themselves. Mixon added, “It was really a great family time and we had a great turnout.”

 Zach Heffner, President of the South Fork Middle School Student Council, along with other council members volunteered to help run the event. The eighth grader stated, “It was fun seeing all the kids interact with each other outside of school. You get to see a whole other side of their personalities,” Heffner added, “And it’s always great to see your teachers there outside of the classroom.”

 Amongst the evening’s favorite events were the many game booths where everyone was a winner, the popular cake walk, and a hay ride put on by Tom Creighton.

 Gloria Wellman of Weldon attended the event with her husband Glen and their granddaughter Alexis Hernandez who is a student at the elementary school. Wellman said, “There were so many activities for the kids to enjoy. And it was great to see so many staff participating in the event.“ She went on to add, “We had a great time watching our granddaughter as she skipped from one booth to another. It was a safe and inexpensive way for families to have a fun evening out.”

Sherry Nichols, South Fork School District Superintendent/Principal attended the festival with her granddaughter Katelyn. She stated, “Even though it was a chilly evening, everyone was able to have a great time because everything was held indoors.“ Nichols said that one of the highlights of the evening was the family photo booth that was run by Alta Sierra Photography. “Families were able to get a beautiful fall themed photo on the spot for only three dollars and all proceeds were donated back to the school.”

 Barb Zimmerman, who teaches the third/fourth grade combination class at South Fork volunteered at the festival. Reflecting on the annual event she stated, “It’s just so good to see the community come together for something like this. It really is this kind of event that helps to build a community and I just love to be a part of it.”