The first Park City Children’s Fair was presented by Soaring Wings Montessori School in the north field of the Park City Library and Education campus, but the event’s roots reach back to 1988, said the school’s director Lina Singleton.
“It started off as a garage sale,” Singleton told The Park Record. “The sale was part of a cultural lesson about Africa. I was actually a student when we did it.”
The goal was to raise money that would be sent to help children in Africa with education and living expenses.
As the popularity of the sale grew, students and teachers wanted to produce something bigger and more community-oriented and the fair was conceived.
“The children ran the games and charged a 50-cent donation per ticket,” Singleton said. “We decided to give the small amount of money we raised to the children of Africa and also a number of local charities.”
From those humble beginnings, the fair has grown into a major event that is held annually in City Park.
“On a good day, up to 1,000 people will attend,” Singleton said. “It’s still a 50-cent donation for tickets and we have a parent volunteer group who puts it all together.”
This year the fair, which will be held Sunday, June 3, from 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m., will include performances by Dance Tech Studios, demonstrations by Bobby Lawrence Karate and live music from the Park City Jazz Band and the local rock group Amp.
“All of these organizations are donating their time,” Singleton said.
The event will also feature games, prizes, art exhibits and live exotic animals, including reptiles and insects, from Kim’s Cold-Blooded Creatures.
“Kim is great, and has been coming to the fair for years,” Singleton said.
There will also be demonstrations by Recycle Utah, the Kimball Art Center, the Park City Police, the Park City Fire District and an assortment of food booths.
“Sammy’s Bistro, Nature’s Wraps and NY Johnny’s Italian Ices will provide food and refreshments,” Singleton said.
At the conclusion of the fair, the Soaring Wings elementary children will decide how the donations will be divided up among the Children’s Planet Fund, which includes Recycle Utah, Park City Library, Summit County Library, Swaner EcoCenter, Friends of Animals Utah, the Kimball Art Center and Adopt-a-Native Elder.
“We also have a program called Plan International, which helps children we sponsor around the world,” Singleton said.
The Plan International program was organized by Soaring Wings and gives the students an opportunity to get to know their peers in other countries.
“Our students communicate with those children and we send them money to help them go to school and get fresh water and food,” Singleton explained. “We have that constant communication between the two groups and we write letters and send pictures and they do the same until they graduate from the Plan International program.”
The Soaring Wings students have known some of their counterparts since they were three or four years old, she said.
“To have our kids communicate with these children for five to six years is really neat,” Singleton said.
This year, there are three children that are being supported through the plan Reinaldo, 12, from Paraguay, Assitan, 8, from Mali and Soureya, 7 from Niger.
“As these children graduate, we sign up for new children to sponsor,” Singleton said.
In addition to raising money through the Children’s Fair games and activities, funds are also raised by a silent auction on what the school calls class baskets.
“We started off having a separate auction night to fundraise for the school and then thought it might work better if we combined it with the Children’s Fair,” Singleton said. “The baskets originally were designed to be auctioned off at school, but we thought if we could combine it with the Children’s Fair, the community could have a chance to bid on the items.”
All the students are in charge of bringing in items for the class baskets, and the school has parent volunteers who also gather other items for the auction.
“Some of the items include hot-air balloon rides, a round of golf and a family portrait session,” Singleton said.
The silent auction started at Soaring Wings’ Jeremy Ranch location two weeks ago, and it will close at 3 p.m. the day of the fair at the Park City Library location.
“We’ll announce the winners at the end of the fair,” Singleton said.
Since 1994, Soaring Wings has donated $150,000 to the local and global causes through the Children’s Fair.
“There is a great learning experience the children get from raising money and feeling good about giving the money away,” Singleton said. “It’s something they take with them for life.
“So many of our students who have started in our toddler program at 18 months old are now in our lower and upper elementary division and have been a part of the Children’s Fair and fundraising their whole schooling career,” she said. “We have so many alumni who have actually gone to Africa to do some work and we have alumni who have started their own businesses because they have learned the entrepreneurship concept. So, the kids who have been involved in this program have that intrinsic motivation that drives them through their adult lives.”
The 19th Annual Park City Children’s Fair will be held at City Park, Sunday, June 3, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information contact Duna Strachan at Soaring Wings Montessori School at (435) 640-1350 or [email protected] or visit soaringwings.org.