Winter Carnival Raises Funds and Fun for Stedwick Elementary

Combating the usual cabin fever, Stedwick Elementary's Parent Teacher Association offered up some affordable fun at their annual Indoor Carnival on Saturday. Though postponed a week by this winter’s storms, there was no shortage of food and festivities.

“Basically, we do this to provide a winter indoor activity for the kids and their families to promote family and to get the kids together outside of the school. That's our big goal," said Karen Armstrong, the event’s coordinator.

This year's event boasted some 30 events, a silent auction and food vendors, with all proceeds benefitting the school.

Fun and games aside, the PTA strives to keep the carnival affordable for the usual crowd of two hundred.

“The school is 60 percent low-income; because of that we try to keep the cost down … and we try to give free tickets to students with low income,” Armstrong said. “We go out to local businesses and companies and get donations for our silent auction. Community vendors give steep discounts. It's really an event that works off a team system.”

Despite the discounts, the carnival still raised about $1,000 and the Germantown branch of Kohl’s department store donated another $500, Armstrong said.

Marie Bowman attended the carnival with her great-niece, first-grader Kiera Taylor, and her family. Bowman, who lives in North Carolina, was impressed by the school's efforts to entertain its students.

“I think it's nice to have something like this in the cold weather,” she said.  “It's nice to give them something. It's great.”

For 10-year-old Stedwick student Zach Pepperl—who had his face painted like the comic book villain The Joker—it's more than entertainment; it's a license to roam around in his school without the need for a hall pass.

A winner of the carnival’s cake walk, Pepperl prefers to play as many games as possible, because “you get stuff and they're fun.” Winning all those prizes is hard work, and requires strategy. He said he plays the games that pay in candy first.

Though he loves all the sweets he can eat and games he can play, Pepperl in the end appreciated the contribution his school receives from the event.

“It gets them money, so they can make the school better,” he said.