Del Oro FFA students to host Harvest Festival Thursday

Know and Go: What: Harvest Festival When: 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday Where: Del Oro High School, 3301 Taylor Road, Loomis Admission: Free Info: Follow Del Oro FFA on Facebook As Katelyn Wright of the Del Oro High School Future Farmers of America sees it, the club's Harvest Festival on Halloween night is its way of giving back to the community. But what will make the free family-friendly event even more special is that every last detail of the Harvest Festival has been organized by students. One might think organizing the Harvest Festival would be a simple task for FFA members, given their responsibility of animals twice their size. But as Wright explains, handling the myriad of details was no small feat. "Organizing was definitely a great learning experience," Wright said. "I was able to see all of the small details that go into putting an event on and see how we can improve upon this in the future. It was also a way for us to get some of the other parts of our campus involved and to make this event very community-orientated. Being able to organize this event as a team has been really great and I think that we all were able to have our own takeaways from putting the Harvest Festival together." Wright added that organizing the Harvest Festival has not only proved a way to connect with other youth in the community but reinforced the concepts of teamwork and responsibility among its own ranks. Teacher advisor Stephanie Belli has a large amount of pride in seeing students utilize lessons learned from teachers and advisors. "In FFA, we put a lot of emphasis on student leadership and hold our students to a high standard." Belli said. "They have really surpassed themselves with this event. The students have made all of the phone calls, have made the fliers, have rallied other groups on campus and scheduled adult and student volunteers." The Harvest Festival will include a trunk or treat, an inflatable slide, a petting zoo, pumpkin decorating, photo booth and a plethora of activities for all ages. For Del Oro FFA member Abby Donovan, the Harvest Festival will be a great event for the community and an opportunity to showcase what the club does. "What stands out to me most about the Harvest Festival is it has something for everyone in the community to enjoy," Donovan said. "There are so many activities and opportunities to learn a little about agriculture and what we do in FFA. It is a chance for our chapter to give back and show how much we appreciate all of their support." The Harvest Festival is from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Del Oro High School, 3301 Taylor Road, Loomis. To stay up to date with the Harvest Festival, follow Del Oro FFA on Facebook.