PTO Craft Fair raises funds

The Thirkill elementary PTO hosted the annual Fall/Winter Craft Fair at Thirkill elementary over the weekend, bringing in many vendors from the county as well as the wider region.  Some of the names and goods were familiar while others were new, attending the event for the first time. A total of at least 27 vendors were on hand for the event, including Ranch Queen Loaded Fries, which did steady business in front of the school entrance. 

PTO members Megan Ozburn and Lindsay Panek were in attendance at the event throughout the weekend, and remarked that it seemed to be going well, and had stayed fairly busy throughout.  “People have said there’s been good steady traffic, and it’s been good.  I mean, I just bought a lot of stuff myself!” Panek laughed.

The PTO plans to use the booth fees gathered from vendors to support the teachers of the school through Teacher Appreciation Week.  Last year, the PTO provided a meal and cinnamon rolls from Baked Fresh Sourdough Bakery for the teachers.  “We try to do something for our teachers just to let them know how much we appreciate how much they do,” Ozburn said.   

“This craft fair has been going on for many of years—I don’t know the exact number, but we’ve been doing it a long time,” Ozburn said.  Lindsay Panek, in her first year as the organizer of the fair added, “There are a lot of really, really creative vendors in our town and our area.  We have people from Pocatello, American Falls, Chesterfield—some really great people that came out.”

David and Jody Perkins are two of the vendors from American Falls area.  Their raw and infused honey products contain a number of different flavor profiles, based on the flowers the bees gather pollen from.  Charleigh Carlson was with her daughter Ocean to promote their very newly acquired cider business, Cidre de Pomme.  Alyson and Mike Smith were selling a variety of holiday items including wreaths as part of Alyson’s Creations and Décor.  Alexis Carroll and Macie Wyler-Sturges were selling etched wood and other items.  Soleil Somsen was raising money for touring sports expenses, and was teamed up with Ann Poulsen, who, along with her husband, creates beautiful rock jewelry using a lapidary machine.

Many other vendors were in attendance, including Baked Fresh, the Chamber of Commerce, the FCCLA, and at least a dozen more, with the space fees going to support Thirkill.

Right now, Thirkill is in the midst of a food drive to support the local food pantries.  Whichever classroom brings in the most food pantry items will win an ice cream party.  The food drive will run until November 21.  Donations can be made directly to the school by any parents or community members, and directed on behalf of a particular classroom to help it win the competition.  “If anyone has a child or grandchild in a particular class and they want to support their student, they absolutely can,” Ozburn said.  “They can drop those items off to Shannon [Steele] at the office, and tell her which class it goes with.”  The cutoff for any donations is the 21st, and food will be taken to the food banks on the 22nd.

The school is also working on an “Angel Tree” at the moment, where each teacher creates a wish list for their classrooms, and the list is given out to help obtain needed classroom items and supplies.  The PTO will help supplement any needs that are not otherwise met for the classrooms.  “The teachers know what they need a lot better than we do,” Ozburn said.

Upcoming events for next year by the PTO include a “Neon Nights Dance” planned for the end of January.  This will be a black light dance event for families of Thirkill students, which will be free to students and their families.  

February is Literacy month, and the final planning for that month is still underway. 

The PTO raised funds from its recent Fun Run to support a number of events for its students, and will be able to invite those students and families as a courtesy.  The PTO will obviously still take donations, and is always seeking to raise funds to support Thirkill’s teachers and staff.  Any funds raised without an immediate earmark are used to purchase materials for the library.  

“We are honored to be able to support the incredible staff we have at Thirkill.  Our goal is to support our teachers in giving our kids the best education they can.  The community has been very generous at supporting us, and the kids,” Ozburn said.

“We have a really great community that supports our children, and we’ve raised a lot of needed money for the school and the kids.  I think that’s the biggest thing for our community is supporting our children.  I don’t think the teachers get enough recognition of just how amazing they really are, and that’s what we try to do," Panek said.