The NJSP Elementary School Bluejay Fun Fair, which was recently revived after years of not being held, was a huge success, according to the school superintendent and town officials.
Superintendent Dr. Annette Zupin said a total of $4,000 was raised and while some of that money will be set aside for next year’s fun fair, a portion of it will go to new playground equipment. During Monday night’s town council meeting, Town Marshal Kelly Fisher and Fire Chief Joe Leszek talked about their experiences pitching in at the event.
Fisher said that Officer Rico Simpson and his K9 partner Jimy were there and she was happy to have the opportunity to see how well the dog behaves around kids and crowds. Chief Leszek said about 8 firefighters volunteered at the event and their booth was a big hit. They had fireman’s boots set up and kids were able to throw balls into one for a prize.
“We got to see kids’ eyes light up by giving them a fish and we got to see the parents eyes go ‘thanks a lot’,” He told chuckling council members and meeting attendees, “but we had a lot of fun and the organizers walked up to us and said we had a line wrapped around the gymnasium for about 2 hours.”
When the North Judson San-Pierre school board met Tuesday night, Superintendent Zupin shared a bit about the event as well.
The superintendent talked about one of the highlights of the night, “I saw this happen at one time out of my peripheral vision; a little girl jumping up and down showing her grandma what she had just won at one of the things and at the same time, two sets of parents saying ‘I remember the cakewalk back when I did it!’ So we had nostalgia and we had current and it was great.”
Dr. Zupin also took a moment to thank the dedicated organizers with Bluejay Strategic Planning Group for bringing back the fun fair and all the volunteers who helped make it happen.
