This year marks the fifth annual Fall Festival of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) at West High. The event first began in 2013 and has become a popular tradition over the years. The Fall Festival was held on October 14 at West High School. This family friendly event allowed children to participate in various fun activities, including face painting, a petting zoo, pumpkin decorating, games and much more. Meanwhile, their parents could take photos of their children having fun. Those who attended the Fall Festival could also satisfy their hunger by purchasing food provided by FFA which included hot dogs, soda, chips, fruit, cotton candy and snow cones. According to the AG Science teacher, Ms. Abigail Farrell, FFA holds the festival every year to bring light to their program. They plan to give young students who will attend West High in the future a chance to interact with FFA. They aim to show the community what FFA of West High is doing.

Junior Seth Turner, a member of FFA, helped out with the food department of Fall Festival. From passing out boxes of tasty fruit to wrapping delicious hot dogs in foil, Turner worked really hard to put a smile on the face of the hungry children. Turner had been helping out with Fall Festival for three years. He says that if he could change something about Fall Festival, he would have made it so that there were more flowers and vibrant colors. “I would recommend Fall Festival,” Turner says, “Because it’s very fun for the whole family.” Turner says that he will without a doubt return for his fourth year.

Junior Renae Leighton had helped out with other FFA events for the past years, but she had never actually attended one until she finally decided to go this year. Leighton ran the games of Fall Festival and made sure everything was in place. She made sure all kids had fun and made certain that each kid got a prize for participating. Leighton says that she wishes that there were an additional amount of plants to sell and that the plants were advertised more. Leighton would definitely recommend Fall Festival to others as she believes it is “fun for all ages.” She says that she would love to go next year.

Ms. Farrell was the FFA advisor for Fall Festival and she made sure everything went smoothly. From the food to the petting zoo, she constructed everything within her power and made the occasion what it was this year. With this being her first year at West High, it was also her first Fall Festival at this school. Being the head of Fall Festival, Ms. Farrell had to work extra hard to keep every piece of the event held together. She says that if she could change something about the event, she would like to increase the community’s knowledge. She believes that it doesn’t hurt to start at a young age. She wants children who come to Fall Festival to be able to put it on when they’re older. Ms. Farrell says that she would also recommend Fall Festival to others. “It’s a great community outreach event,” Ms. Farrell says. We hope to see you at next year’s Fall Festival.