The smell of fried dough is the first thing that hits your senses when you walk into the Ledyard Fair. The bright might make you flinch at first, but eventually you adjust. The whirring rides and games may distract you, but if you make your way past the lights and noises that surround you, you can find a significant piece of Ledyard’s community… the students.
This past weekend was the annual Ledyard Fair. As always, student fundraising was a major part of the fair. Each class had volunteers each day selling for the benefit of their fellow peers. Chamber Choir also participated in the student fundraising at the fair this year. Fundraising money is certainly not easy. Students cannot just rely on the members of their class or group to donate; they have to find a way to draw or attract the interest of everyone going to the fair. Each group did that in a different way.
The sophomore class in particular had a tough time with the pre- fair planning this year. It is a tradition that the sophomore class uses the dunk tank for their fundraising. However, this year the dunk tank used for the fair which is usually donated to the class to use for the weekend – was unavailable. So, the sophomore class officers had to come up with a new idea to raise money.
“We had to think of something fast,” sophomore class president, Charlie Crain, said. “Eventually, we came up with a guessing game of sorts. We counted out an assortment of marshmallows, jelly beans, pennies, and rose petals. We put those separate items into several different jars. We then had people guess the number of items in each jar.”
The lucky winners of each of these would be granted a prize. Prizes consisted of different types of gift cards donated by several groups; Valentino’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Olive Garden are just three of the groups that donated cards. Despite the set–backs, Crain referred to the fair as a success for the sophomore class.
Many people– both children and adults– love getting a design done on their face or hands. For some, it’s a butterfly, for others it might be a simple burst of color. This is why another way money was raised at the fair was face – painting. The popularity of face painting is why it is the junior class tradition to host the face painting at the Ledyard Fair. Juniors were slightly hurt by a location change this year. However, they still have plenty of opportunity to raise money. “We have two upcoming events with face painting– a butterfly release at Holdridge’s and we’ll be painting at the Haunted Trail,” junior class president, Meghan Plourde said.
Two–hundred dozen doughnuts, that’s two thousand four hundred doughnuts. That is the number of doughnuts the senior class bought. It also happens to be the number of doughnuts the senior class sold. Around12:30A.M, Sunday the 13th, the senior class sold out. Even after their sell out of the doughnuts they were still selling balloons. This money will certainly help the senior class when the time comes for graduation and prom. It may seem like a long time from now, but planning ahead is always a great option.
It seems like everyone had their traditions for the Ledyard Fair, but this year a new tradition may have been born. This year Chamber Choir was also at the fair fundraising.
“We knew that we wanted to raise money at the fair, so we thought of what people did. We wanted to do something new and unique,” Music Director Russel Hammond said. “We came up with the idea for a photo booth.” Individuals could pay four dollars and get two strips of pictures. This money will be helping to finance Chamber Choir’s trip to Europe. They hope to, by the end of the year, be able to pay for the entire trip.
The Ledyard Fair is a place where the different parts of the community come together. There is someone from every corner of the town. Between a guessing game, face painting, doughnuts, and a photo booth, there is certainly a way for everyone to help support Ledyard High School.
Savannah Houdeshell, Staff Writer
THE COLONEL NEWSMAGAZINE 