Carnival brings a spring in the step

BONNERS FERRY — Valley View Elementary school concluded the school day on April 19 with a spring carnival. The hallways were lined with smiling children and their families, some with their faces painted, some holding a cupcake, and many with both.

At the entrance to the school was a table set up where the game tickets were sold. One ticket allowed an entry into a game, and several games offered a number of hole punches on a strip of paper. Once the person received five punches, they were able to go to the cafeteria and choose prizes.

Salad, lemonade, and pizza from Pizza Factory were available. The funds raised during this event went on to support the school.

Three bouncy houses adorned the gym, supplied by Northwest Inflatables.

Another attraction was a duck pond, where a participant could give a ticket to the supervisors and was able to pick a duck. The number on the bottom of the duck represented how many hole punches they got.

There was a wide assortment of cakes, pies, and cupcakes donated from community members for the cake walk, in which participants walked around a circle of numbers until the music stopped. The numbers and colors drawn were winners, which enabled most of the participants to receive a prize.

The book walk in the library consisted of letters on the floor in a circle, and similar to the cake walk, music was played and the participants stopped on a letter when the music was turned off. The drawn letters received punches towards a prize.

There was the hoop shoot, bean bag toss, and fishing pond, that were also enjoyed by the attendees.

“I love seeing so many generous people come and support our school,” said Natalie Erickson, who brought her children to the event.

“It was fun,” exclaimed student Julie Erickson. “I loved catching the fish and getting the cupcakes at the cakewalk.”

Another student, Journey Erickson said, “I loved the princess bouncy house, bouncing with my best friend, and getting our faces painted together.”

Natalie Erickson’s son John, also attended, saying, “It was cool, the activities looked fun. It gave me an opportunity to help out and work. I also loved all the cupcakes my mom and sisters won at the cakewalk.”

“I liked the jumpy house a lot,” said student Aiden Halla-Rios. “But my favorite was the fishing game. I was really happy with all the prizes I got and the snow cones were awesome.”

Smiles and laughter filled the hallways, were evidence of the fun the families and children had at the Valley View Spring Carnival.