Each year, we have the Ozarks Food Harvest Fall Festival in the gymnasium at our school. Scheduled for Saturday, October 26, the festival invites everyone to contribute to a great cause by donating two cans of food to enter, which can significantly help those in need.
Many clubs will be involved in the festival. The two main attractions will be the haunted house hosted by the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and the trunk or treat hosted by our Cabinet members and the student council.
The Ozarks Food Harvest strives to help fight hunger in southwest Missouri. According to their website, ozarksfoodharvest.org, their mission is “transforming hunger into hope,” and they provide more than 20 million meals to people annually.
FBLA’s haunted house is a staple of the festival each year. It’s set up in the locker room and features many spooky displays that the Executive Vice President, Shiv Bansal, loves helping to create.
“My favorite thing about the festival is how everyone comes together. It’s a pretty fun experience overall, and I get volunteer hours for participating in it,” Bansal said.
Bansal would also like to encourage people to help FBLA in fundraising for the Alzheimers Association.
“We have our QR code posted around the school and if we could have people donate even $2, it doesn’t have to be a crazy amount, that would help a lot,”
Our Cabinets trunk or treat is located in the parking lot but is also a part of the festival and takes a lot of preparation.
“We make sure that we commit so many cars to be a part of the trunk or treat, so we will have four to six from Cabinet itself, and then the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior class officers will try to have a car,” A+ and Cabinet coordinator Kim Harris said.
Each car has a different fun theme that the hosts can pick, as well as creative costumes to go along with it.
“It is a community outreach event, so we provide the candy that we pass out but we do ask if students and parents can contribute if they’d like,” Harris said.
Cabinet hosts the trunk or treat every year, and Harris enjoys seeing the students come together.
“I think my favorite part of the festival is seeing all the kids in their little costumes and seeing all the high schoolers interacting with them,” Harris said.
In addition to the main attractions, various clubs in our school will have booths set up throughout the gymnasium to showcase their club. Any clubs are welcome and encouraged to participate to help make donations to the Ozarks Food Harvest.
With the festival just around the corner, get your canned goods ready and give back to your community by participating in a fun event you won’t want to miss. Don’t forget to explore the haunted house, participate in the trunk or treat, and take some time to visit the various clubs’ booths to see what they’re up to.
