Leadership hosted the Jack Emery Winter Festival from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8. The festival was meant to bring the community together and raise money for the Jack Emery Food Drive, Activities Director Deana Querubin said.
The festival hosted vendors, roller skating on the tennis courts, a bouncy castle for kids, food trucks, dance and cultural performances by school organizations, hot chocolate stands, Jack Emery donation stands, arts and crafts, pictures with Santa, and games.
“We had such good feedback with the homecoming festival that we knew this would be a good turnout,” Querubin said.
Junior Kylie Nguyen, a member of leadership’s student recognition committee, prepared with the rest of the leadership class for a month leading up to this event, Nguyen said. Leadership has always wanted to highlight student businesses and small businesses for their effort and hard work, she added.
“It took us a lot of work to contact so many vendors,” Nguyen said. “It was never just me. It was the whole leadership; everyone put all their heart and soul into this.”
Freshman Alexa Llaneta and other performers from the Pilipino United Student Organization (PUSO) prepared for their performance for three weeks leading up to the winter festival, Llaneta said.
“I’ve been after school every single day and we’ve been practicing non-stop,” Llaneta said. “And just seeing (our results) flourish, everyone’s watching us and all of our work, is just good.”
Each practice after school took one and a half hours, and PUSO members practiced by using their hoops and learning traditional dance sequences, Llaneta said.
“I think people would know more about Filipino culture (because) they can see it with their own eyes,” Llaneta said when asked about the impact of PUSO’s performance.
Junior Ariell Talucod enjoyed the experience despite the cold weather, Talucod said.
“I came here to hang out with my friends and have a good time,” Talucod said.
Talucod enjoyed looking at and buying the vendors’ diverse products, she said.
“I think it’s a nice event to bring the school together, and it amplifies the school spirit,” Talucod said.
Freshman Andrew Lung also came to the winter festival to spend time with friends, he said.
“It’s going good,” Lung said. “I’m just hanging out with my friends, walking around, enjoying everything happening, listening to music, (and) seeing the performances.”
The goal for future winter festivals is to “keep growing,” Querubin said. The festival is a way to celebrate the wintertime and create a space for friends and family to get together, she added.
“After this, we’ll have to wait until the end of the year for another festival (because of) the rain, but we’re really happy with what we did today,” Querubin said.