Lots of fall fun was experienced at the recent Fall Festival held at Eastside School. Principal Carol Prater was pleased with the results and applauded all her staff, parents and volunteers for their displays of hard work and dedication. 
“It really was an awesome festival,” said Prater. “We had a large crowd throughout the evening and everyone seemed to have a good time.”
As a result of the hard work, approximately $19,000 was raised for the school. Prater says the money will be used for technology updates and possibly for more playground equipment for the school. 
“That really was a great total, especially since we didn’t have the donation tickets this year,” said Prater. “We had class royalty, where the youngsters sought donations for votes for them to earn the title of Prince or Princess for pre-K through third-grade students, and King or Queen for the fourth through eighth grade.”
As a result of hard work on the part of the students and their family members, titles were awarded to Prince Hunter Rigsby, Princess Journey Younglove, King Kacen Nunley and Queen Katelyn Carter.
Attendees enjoyed a catered barbecue or hot dog dinner, with hash brown casserole, baked beans and desserts.
Each teacher presented a fun game in their classroom, with students taking advantage of the carnival atmosphere. They could do games of Plinko, toss a hula hoop, golf or even participate in an earthworm race. An addition of a dunking booth was a crowd pleaser this year, with new teacher Matthew Hickey manning the hot seat.
Several unique silent auction items were up for grabs, including several exotic trips to places like Antigua or St. Lucia, and an autographed Predators hockey puck.
The action really heated up during the live auction, with assorted class baskets and handmade items on the block. A hefty $1,400 was paid for a kindergarten class photo, after a bidding war ensued.
“Our PTO president Ami Wilcher and vice president Karyn Rich both worked very hard to make all this happen,” said Prater. “They both worked very hard to make it a success.”