Springamajig draws a crowd
Palm Crest Elementary School students and their families flocked to the campus on Saturday for the school PTA’s annual Springamajig fundraiser, a festive outdoor carnival complete with games, food, live music and a cornucopia of silent auction prizes.
When not busy chasing each other with squirt guns or playing any number of amusement park-style games, kids scrambled for turns in one of three deluxe bounce houses, a massive inflatable slide and the Mega Euro Bungee — a trampoline-like contraption that propels kids more than 20 feet into the air with the help of an elastic rope harness.
“It feels like you’re flying,” said Palm Crest fifth-grader Garrett Creedon after performing flips high in the air on the bungee trampoline.
There were plenty of goodies on hand to help bouncers (and parents) keep their energies up, with booths serving hamburgers, hot dogs, Korean barbecue, plus treats such as shaved ice, brownies and churros for that extra sugar rush.
Pasadena-based Modern Music School also put on a boisterous afternoon music performance by Greg Garman, drummer for Disney Channel actress and singer Celina Gomez.
Parents, meanwhile, had their eyes on dozens of silent auction items, including gift certificates for local merchants, event tickets and special shopping baskets assembled by the various Palm Crest homeroom classes.
“I’m so happy to see so many Palm Crest families enjoying the day while raising funds to support their school,” said Palm Crest PTA President and even chair Pati Patao, who has two children at the school and two at La Cañada High School.
The event typically raises between $30,000 and $40,000 for the Palm Crest PTA, money the group uses to fund teaching supplies, music and art lessons, classroom computers and reading tutorials at the school, said Patao, now in her eleventh year as a Springamajig organizer.
Leslie Ohanessian, another Springamajig veteran and mother of four former Palm Crest students, attended with two of her sons.
“It’s fun to come back. My kids get to see their old teachers and we still support the school,” she said.