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Charlo carnival supports class trip

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CHARLO – On a cold, snowy Wednesday evening in Charlo, the hot spot in town proved to be Charlo’s gymnasium, where participants of all ages flocked for an evening filled with fun and games. The event was Charlo’s winter carnival, the goal of which was to raise funds for the class of 2013’s senior trip to Florida.

“Our plan is to try to raise around $15,000 for the trip,” said Charlo High School teacher Keith Grebetz. Grebetz, along with parents Kasey and Scott Savage coordinated the carnival Wednesday, and are involved with other fund raising efforts for the senior trip.

The Savages provided a majority of the games used Wednesday evening from other carnivals they had organized over the years, and also from Kasey’s parents. “We did a school carnival in Missoula once, our parents do the Good Old Days, and some (games) we just made up on our own,” said Kasey.

The gym was packed with more than 15 activities for the carnival-goers to explore, including football toss, tetherball-bowling, bingo, and a cake walk to name a few. However, many crowded around to watch students and Charlo superintendent Paul Jennings get smashed in the face with whipped cream pies. 

“The pie-in-the-face booth is by far the fan favorite,” Grebetz.

“Bring it on, hit me, give me your best shot,” teased Jennings as he poked his face through the booth’s cutout plywood. Seventh grader Michael Delaney proceeded to hurl two pies at Jennings, while grinning from ear to ear.

As the evening progressed, the gym filled to near capacity. Parents, children and students joined in the festivities. The carnival was a wonderful opportunity for families with young children to come out and try their luck at the crafty games. Many of the games such as the fish pond, face painting, and miniature golf were geared towards a younger crowd. Other games including bingo, football toss, and pie-in-the face were available for older students.

Grebetz had high hopes for the event’s success, inching closer to their budget goals for the trip. 

“We hope to get at least a hundred (participants), if not more,” Grebetz said.

If the senior class reaches their $15,000 goal, Grebetz has an extravagant trip proposed for the students. “We plan on going to Orlando, Clearwater, Cape Canaveral, and a baseball game, during the week in Florida,” he said.

All of the festival games were reasonably priced, with every game requiring a certain number of tickets to play. One ticket was 25 cents, with some games only requiring one ticket to play, and other more popular games like pie-in-the-face requiring four. If the player won the game they received a prize. 

“All of our prizes are recycled, donated from Twice but Nice, or by parents, or staff,” Savage said. “All of the prizes donated are very nice. They are worth more than the cost of playing the game, thanks to the generous donations.”

The event was made possible through sponsor contributions and the help of Charlo students coming out after school to help operate games. The 21st Century Learning Center program donated $100 for the event, while Harvest Foods and Pepsi also made contributions. 

“This is the first time we’ve done this,” Grebetz said, “If it (winter carnival) goes well, we may decide to do a spring carnival.”

Additional events have been planned throughout the year, to help the class of 2013 raise enough money for their senior trip.

 

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