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Anna Maria Elementary celebrates Fall Festival

Anna Maria Elementary celebrates Fall Festival

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Entertainment, Festivals.

The Anna Maria Elementary Fall Festival at The Center of Anna Maria Island on Saturday, Oct. 18 featured a costume parade, rides, games, food and a pumpkin patch. Last year’s event was canceled due to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Costumed students participated in the Halloween parade. - Leslie Lake | Sun

Costumed students participated in the Halloween parade. - Leslie Lake | Sun

Costumed students participated in the Halloween parade. - Leslie Lake | Sun

Costumed students participated in the Halloween parade. - Leslie Lake | Sun

Madeline Jones takes a ride down the slide at the AME Fall Festival. - Leslie Lake | Sun

Madeline Jones takes a ride down the slide at the AME Fall Festival. - Leslie Lake | Sun

A monster bounce house was one of the featured rides at the AME Fall Festival. - Leslie Lake | Sun

A monster bounce house was one of the featured rides at the AME Fall Festival. - Leslie Lake | Sun

The rock wall was a big hit at the AME Fall Festival. - Leslie Lake | Sun

The rock wall was a big hit at the AME Fall Festival. - Leslie Lake | Sun

Three princesses participate in the AME Fall Festival costume parade at The Center of Anna Maria Island. - Leslie Lake | Sun

Three princesses participate in the AME Fall Festival costume parade at The Center of Anna Maria Island. - Leslie Lake | Sun

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer led the costume parade around The Center of Anna Maria Island at the AME Fall Festival. - Leslie Lake | Sun

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer led the costume parade around The Center of Anna Maria Island at the AME Fall Festival. - Leslie Lake | Sun

Fall Festival promises spooky fun

Fall Festival promises spooky fun

Written by Tom Vaught on . Posted in Entertainment, Festivals.

HOLMES BEACH – The Anna Maria Elementary School Fall Festival will feature a costume contest, haunted house and a parade on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Students will gather in costume at 9:30 a.m. at Anna Maria City Pier Park, where their costumes will be judged for prizes at 9:45 a.m. The kids will then march with their class banners to The Center of Anna Maria Island for the festival.

The theme for the haunted house is “Haunted Toy Shop,” with a crazy shopkeeper as the guide. Puppets, creepy dolls and toys will come to life and there will be a crazy laboratory that is all aglow with evil potions.

Wristbands for unlimited games and activities, excluding the haunted house, will be $15 for the first child with a $5 discount for each additional child in that family. Haunted house tickets are $3, or two for $5. The wristbands will also include five additional tickets for food or drinks.

The fundraiser for the PTO is being organized by Lisa Coba and team. For more information, call the school at 941-708-5525.

The festival date is incorrect in this week’s print edition of The Sun.

AME fall fest evil clown girl

A haunting in Anna Maria

Written by Tom Vaught on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Center of Anna Maria Island, Community News, Schools.

ANNA MARIA – Autumn was in the air Saturday morning as a cold front moved in. Anna Maria Elementary School’s PTO was holding its Fall Festival, and the fact that Halloween was coming meant the kids were wearing their scariest costumes.

This year, the PTO held the parade and Fall Festival in new venues – City Pier Park and The Center, where many of the students go after school.

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer still led the parade with AME Resource Officer Josh Fleischer and Holmes Beach Police Sgt. Vern McGowan.

The kids and their parents put effort into their costumes, and the winners were announced after the parade at The Center.

There was fun to be had after the parade disbanded. There were games, a bounce house, an inflatable slide and a tall rock-climbing wall and the haunted house, a masterpiece of terror built by the parents.

The Waterfront restaurant sponsored a hayride, and there were hot dogs and hamburgers available. Many of the kids will don their costumes again to participate in the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce Trail of Treats, starting at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 31.

Kindergarten teachers Mrs. Crawford and Mrs.Querrard dressed for the occasion. - Tom Vaught | Sun

Kindergarten teachers Mrs. Crawford and Mrs.Querrard dressed for the occasion. - Tom Vaught | Sun

Mrs. Payne's class was all smiles as they marched toward The Center. - Tom Vaught | Sun

Mrs. Payne's class was all smiles as they marched toward The Center. - Tom Vaught | Sun

Waves and smiles from Mrs. Demo's class. - Tom Vaught | Sun

Waves and smiles from Mrs. Demo's class. - Tom Vaught | Sun

Mrs. Buff's class and parents wore colorful costumes. - Tom Vaught | Sun

Mrs. Buff's class and parents wore colorful costumes. - Tom Vaught | Sun

The kids marched from the Anna Maria City Pier Park to The Center. - Tom Vaught | Sun

The kids marched from the Anna Maria City Pier Park to The Center. - Tom Vaught | Sun

A surprise waited inside the haunted house at The Center. - Tom Vaught | Sun

A surprise waited inside the haunted house at The Center. - Tom Vaught | Sun

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer led the parade. - Tom Vaught | Sun

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer led the parade. - Tom Vaught | Sun

Spooks and ghouls invade Holmes Beach

Written by Tom Vaught on . Posted in Entertainment, Festivals.

The parking lot at the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce looked like a nightmare Saturday as ghosts, monsters and some odd creatures gathered around. Judges decided who were the scariest and most original. So went the start of Anna Maria Elementary School’s Fall Festival.

AME fall fest creepy crawlies
Students marched in the parade behind classroom banners, like Mrs. Costanzo’s Creepy Crawlies. – Tom Vaught | Sun

After the judging, the kids lined up behind their classroom banners for the parade to the Holmes Beach City Hall field for presentation of the awards with fun and games afterward.

This annual event has been going on for years and it was recently modified to limit the exposure the kids had to traffic by changing the parade destination from the school to the field.

The field had bounce houses, a water slide, food, refreshments and a number of games sponsored by the classrooms and staffed by parents for kids to play. It’s a fundraiser for the PTO.