Vencil Brown Elementary celebrates spring with carnival

Hundreds of Roseville and Rocklin families attended Vencil Brown Elementary School's inaugural spring carnival on April 1. The school is at 250 Trestle Road, Roseville. In previous years, according to Vencil Brown Elementary School parents, the carnival was held in the fall. School officials and parent volunteers planned it this year for spring as a highlight to the 2021-2022 school year. Vencil Brown Elementary's Parent Teacher Club (PTC) volunteered to plan the event. Parent Teacher Club secretary Janessa West was the leader behind the carnival and began planning the event in early March. "I have been extremely lucky to have some wonderful parents jump in and help plan this," West said. "It takes a village to put a school event together, and on short notice, it is even harder." Planning this event posed a challenge in receiving donations from large corporate businesses, West said, since most corporations require at least 60 days for donation requests from local organizations. West also emphasized how the entire event was run by parent volunteers. "All of our classroom games are run by parents who are volunteering their time," West said. "Another parent volunteered to spearhead the raffle, and other parents called and visited businesses asking for donations." Students and their families were entertained with activities, including an inflatable slide, bounce houses, a scavenger hunt, a photo booth, an obstacle course, live music and other fun activities. "The generosity of our community is amazing," West said. "This was a chance for students to share their school with their parents and siblings. It was a time for them to just be a kid and enjoy a beautiful Friday night." Local food truck vendors there included Authentic Street Tacos, Campelli's Pizza, Dave's Dawgs, NorCal KettleCorn and Snowie King. In addition, the obstacle course for the carnival was donated by Kaia Fit and the photo booth was donated by parent and Realtor Alyssa Cross. Live music included performances from Bach to Rock Music School in Rocklin. Vencil Brown Elementary School's new Principal Brandei Smith was "very impressed" with the community turnout. "I think the carnival is a great opportunity because it's free," Smith said. "It's a way for us to continue to build our connections and be a family (at the school)." Roseville resident Tiffany Cotton brought her three sons to the carnival, which has been a family tradition. Cotton said this particular carnival "stood out because of the variety of food trucks present." Alistar and Jaclyn Hutchinson of Roseville brought their two children, Amelia, 8, and Jasper, 6, to their school carnival. "When they (my kids) go to school, they don't get to play together because they're in different grades," Jaclyn Hutchinson said. "Here (at the carnival), they get to be together at school."