St. Gregory’s hosting Holiday Fun Fest
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St. Gregory’s School will open up this Sunday for its second annual Holiday Fun Fest.
Principal Susan Martin said the festival will include a number of activities for all ages.
“Santa and Mrs. Claus will be here for pictures,” Martin said. “We’ll also have inflatables in the gym and a station to make ornaments.
“In addition, we’ll have a station like Build-a-Bear, but with different stuffed animals. Kids will be able to make a moose, a snowman and a few other animals.”
Other games and activities include Skee-Ball, minigolf, a cake walk and a ring toss game. But the highlight of the festival, Martin said, will be the silent auction.
“The silent auction will have all kinds of items, from camps at Northwest Missouri State University to donated items,” she said. “The great thing about the silent auction is that there’s a little bit of something for everyone and that it’s fun for the family and the community.
“There are always some unique items that get donated, and different businesses and people will donate fun things,” she said. “But the kids look forward to what the teachers will offer for the kids to bid on. For instance, one teacher offers up a movie day after school where they will provide snacks, and a couple of parents will combine to buy it so that around 20 students end up at the movie day.”
In addition, Martin said past items up for bid included being principal for a half-day, being the school chef for the day and lunch with a teacher.
While this is the second year for the Holiday Fun Fest, Martin said the festival itself is derived from a different festival celebrating the fall.
“Over the last few years of the Family Fun Fest, which was held in September, attendance really began to dwindle,” Martin said. “It was a fun event, and mostly held outside, but people lost interest in going to it.
“When we decided to cancel it, we brainstormed a few ideas to bring it back, and some parents said that they would make a trip to St. Joseph to take pictures with Santa Claus since there weren’t many venues to do so in Maryville. They asked if we could incorporate that into a festival at some point, and that’s where the Holiday Fun Fest was born.”
The games at the Holiday Fun Fest will cost tickets, which can be purchased for 50 cents each. Patrons also can purchase wristbands for $10 for all-day access to inflatables and $20 for the inflatables and the build-your-own stuffed animal.
Martin said this is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the St. Gregory’s Parent Teacher Organization, which helps to buy supplies that are above and beyond the school’s budget.
“In the past, the PTO helped us to purchase Chromebooks so that we could be one-to-one from third through eighth grade,” Martin said. “They’ve also helped us to upgrade our textbooks and do anything else that we need to stay above the curve.”
Last year’s Holiday Fun Fest raised a total of $8,000 for the PTO. Martin said she hopes to do even better this year.
Wristbands are on sale right now by contacting the St. Gregory’s School office, 660-582-2462. Martin said wristbands purchased early will be sold at a discounted rate.