Rio del Oro kicks off fall festivals

Rio del Oro Elementary kicked off the fall festivities this year when the school hosted the first of several school harvest festivals Friday.

The weather was perfect for the outdoor event where several hundred parents and children showed up for an evening of food, games and laughter.

“We had an awesome turnout,” said Valerie Montalvo, president, Rio del Oro Elementary PTO. “There were more people than we had anticipated and the weather was fantastic.”

This year the school also hosted a chicken. All the school's teachers were involved choosing different games to be in charge of. Attendees could try their hand at many games including the traditional cake walk, ring toss or bean bag throw.

The school used the outdoor space to also offer some new games including an obstacle course, pumpkin bowling and a station where you had a chance to a fish to take home.

By far the most popular, though, was the cotton candy booth, where the line never stopped and the cutely dressed adults manning the booth helped attract a steady stream during the entire event.

And while it was still pretty early for many folks to be ready with costumes and Halloween spirit, there were still a good many brightly colored costumes adorned by children and adults alike.

The harvest festival was the PTO’s first large fundraiser for the school year and was a huge success, bringing in over $11,000. The money will be split evenly between the teachers and the PTO. The teachers are planning to use their funding to help pay for the school’s field trips throughout the year. The PTO will be putting funds towards purchasing a new school marquee.

“The PTO hopes this fundraiser coupled with a few others we have up our sleeve for later in the year will secure the money we need to bring the Bulldogs their sign,” Montalvo said.   

Plumas Lake Life correspondent Michele Perrault can be reached at 483-3664 or e-mail her at mperrault@plumaslakelife.com