Last year’s community fair and fundraiser at Leon County’s Deerlake Middle School was wildly successful. That’s the very reason event organizers decided to “go for two” this year.
Organizer Tricia Rich said the first “Taste of the Lakes at Buck Market” was beyond everyone’s expectations last year.
“We had over 800 people attend. We had about 90 vendors there. It was so successful that we won the Department of Education Family and Community Involvement Award,” she exclaimed.
Probably since the advent of the American Public School System, schools have been supplementing their funding with things like bake sales and raffles. But Rich explained today’s needs go way beyond what worked in the past.
“Yes, your taxpayer dollars do pay for some of the services at the school, but you need so much more! And this year we’re actually doing a lot of construction at our school and we are building a brand new media center. And one of the things that we’re trying to raise money for through this and other efforts is a state-of-the-art ITV room.”
Which is, in essence, Rich said, is a student television studio for originating school-wide broadcasts.
“We can have a class that will be like a news class and the kids can produce it, be the reporters, be everything on it and we need the technology to do that,” she said.
So here’s the deal for this year’s Taste of the Lakes event. Rich said the paid admission entitles attendees to cuisine samples from local eateries.
“Red Elephant, Chicken Salad Chic, Hurricane Grille and Wings, Newk’s, Zoey’s, Pepper’s Mexican, Texas Road House, the Wharf, Uncle Mateo’s Pizza, Marco’s Pizza…we have tons and tons of food vendors coming. Last year when we had our food vendors there they had such a great time giving out their products that people walked away pretty much stuffed.”
That’s before they even get to the dessert vendors. And then Rich says there are product and service vendors, not limited to the typical arts and crafts type people.
“We have lots of beauty vendors. We have Beauty Control and Mary Kay and Avon and those type of vendors. Unique, which does eye lashes and lots of people doing classes like David Hoge Guitar Studio is coming and Killearn Lakes Tae Kwan Do is coming and we also have lots of college prep people coming to tell you what you can do to have your child getting ready for college. Solution Skills is coming to do that,” she said.
And while the grownups check out all the vendors, Rich said there’ll be plenty to keep the kids occupied.
“B.J.’s Party House is coming. They’ll be doing face painting and tattoos and there will be stuff for kids to do. One of our Wild Life/Young Life came last year and brought lots of games for the kids to keep them busy so there will be shopping, eating, lots of fun for four hours that day.”
Those hours, from eleven until three on Saturday, April 9th; the Second Annual Taste of the Lakes at Buck Market, otherwise known as Deerlake Middle School.
