LIHU‘E — With all of the budget cuts taking place, the success of the Elsie Wilcox Elementary School carnival will definitely impact the school positively, said Ruthie Omoto, president of the school’s PTSA.
“All the proceeds go right back to our school programs, student materials, teacher supplies and many other areas regarding our school’s needs,” Omoto said in an email. “With school budget cuts and uncertain teacher contracts, it seems as if ‘all children are being left behind.’ We are hoping this event will help our school make up a little of the financial shortage.”
Carnival goers came from the onset of the event, which opened its gates at 4 p.m., Thursday, and never left, as Paul Zina, vice principal for Wilcox Elementary, announced the closure of the rides and the final minutes of meal pick ups.
“The rides are something new this year,” said Crystal Kaya, the Wilcox School PTSA vice president. “Last year, we had the different activities and games, but there were no rides.”
Despite that, Kaya said the event was a success, parents and students alike talking about the event for months afterwards.
“This year, we added the rides,” she said. “We also changed it from a ‘dinner and talent show’ to an all-school carnival. There is no talent show, but we did have entertainment.”
Each grade level hosted a booth with a variety of carnival-type activity ranging from the popular dunking booth, fishpond, coin toss and others, while parents and patrons could indulge in a Hawaiian plate or chili dinner, the chili running in short supply due to the celebration of “National Eat Chili Day.”
Omoto said there is talk of next year’s carnival, but she needs some volunteers.
“This year, we had the help of the Kaua‘i High School Key Club and they were tremendous,” she said. “We are truly, truly appreciative of these students who did a variety of tasks to make this carnival a success. We could use more help from parents and other groups.”
Matthew Kawamura, one of the Key Clubbers, sighed as he heard Zina’s announcement.
“This should be on a Friday night,” he said. “That way, there’s no school tomorrow.”
In addition to the carnival, Omoto said the Wilcox School PTSA also hosts other family-oriented events, including a movie night where people bring a canned good that goes to the food bank, and a talent night.
“The weather held up, nice,” Zina said. “This is our own little 3,000-person mini event.”
