Fairgrieve’s Harvest Festival benefits hungry in Fulton area

November 5, 2013 Submitted article

The Fairgrieve Elementary School Harvest Festival celebrates nature, the changing season, fall activities and interests, and of course the bountiful harvest that farmers and growers reap during this season.

Native American lacrosse stick maker Alfred Jacques demonstrates the size difference between two of his handmade lacrosse and other game sticks during the Harvest Festival held at Fairgrieve Elementary School.
Native American lacrosse stick maker Alfred Jacques demonstrates the size difference between two of his handmade lacrosse and other game sticks during the Harvest Festival held at Fairgrieve Elementary School.

The annual Harvest Festival is held each year on October 31 at the school. While rainy weather cancelled some of the outdoor activities originally planned for the day, coordinators did not let the wet weather damper the spirit of the festival.

The harvest treasure hunt, which needed to be moved indoors still involved students traveling from station to station to pick a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs to be boxed and given to local food pantries and distributed to needy families.

The locally grown produce will be a welcome addition to many tables this harvest season.

The students learned the valuable lessons of community service and helping those in need as well as proper nutrition and where food comes from.

Another presentation that is always a perennial favorite was the make your own birdseed station where students harvested nature’s birdseed from plants and flowers that were grown in the nature garden behind the school.

Students in Johannah Brown’s fifth grade class fill their wagon with harvested fruits and vegetables during the Harvest Festival held at Fairgrieve Elementary School. The food items will be donated to local food pantries for distribution to needy families. The activity demonstrated to students the importance of community service as well as good nutrition from locally grown food. The students filled their wagons with potatoes, beets, carrots, cabbage, apples, and much more.
Students in Johannah Brown’s fifth grade class fill their wagon with harvested fruits and vegetables during the Harvest Festival held at Fairgrieve Elementary School. The food items will be donated to local food pantries for distribution to needy families. The activity demonstrated to students the importance of community service as well as good nutrition from locally grown food. The students filled their wagons with potatoes, beets, carrots, cabbage, apples, and much more.

The students created a mix of seeds that will be used to feed birds during the winter months in the bird feeder located in the patio garden at the school.

Pedestrian safety is especially important and a presentation by Billie Crandall Brady, Oswego County Traffic Safety Education Coordinator, included precautions that pedestrians should take when out after dark or walking on the roadway.

Native American lacrosse stick maker Alfred Jacques presented an informative program on the history of lacrosse and Native American culture and influences on the sport. He brought with him several of his world-class sticks and demonstrated their use and other Native American inspired stick games.

The Harvest Festival is an annual event at the elementary school and seeks to educate Fairgrieve students on a wide variety of topics including the importance of community service and helping those in need.

Print this entry

Discover more from Oswego County Today

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.