Jacob Pickett
During
this summer and continuing into the school year, a planning committee, made up
of students, principals, and teachers, has met at Colonie High School on the
first Wednesday of each month. There, they discussed changes they hope to
create for the second annual Raiderfest in the spring of 2015.
Thomas
Kachadurian, an associate principal at Colonie and the administration force
behind Raiderfest, said that he hopes to expand all the existing parts of the
day while also adding new, interactive exhibits. For example, 15 food trucks
will be present in 2015 as compared to only 7 in 2014. Similarly, the carnival is expected to grow
from 20 games to 35 including a miniature golf course and motorized rides. Already
the craft fair has grown from 60 venders in 2014 to an expected 100 for 2015,
and Kachadurian reports that he hopes to include “a well-represented farmers
market in conjunction with the wellness piece.”
In
addition to the new attractions at the carnival, more prizes will be purchased
in advance since in 2014 the prizes ran out within the first few hours of the
day. Also, in conjunction with the expected miniature golf course, a souvenir
ICARE golf ball will be sold at $3.00 to use in the game.
Last
year, Raiderfest also included several local bands that performed at different
times of the all-day event. Thomas Kachadurian hopes, “that wider-known talent
can come in to attract new groups to Raiderfest.” New attractions, such as the
Weekend Warriors, a helicopter team, may also find their way onto the
Raiderfest agenda. The Weekend Warriors are expected to land on the Colonie
Varsity Soccer Field and give demonstrations if it is financed.
According
to Thomas Kachadurian, “money is the big thing that will turn these ideas into
a reality”. During the day of Raiderfest, there will continue to be a basket
raffle to raise money, but additional fundraisers have already begun in the
High School, including a bottle cap and aluminum can tab collection and a Disney
Frozen sing-along for children. In
addition to the amount of money raised, whether or not South Colonie’s
insurance will allow some of the attractions, specifically the motorized rides,
determines the idea’s progress.
Because
of the expansion of all the components, the overall layout and schedule of
Raiderfest has changed as well. The food trucks will be moved to a semicircle
around the football concession stand allowing the 3-on-3 basketball tournament to
take its place in the baseball field parking lot. The parking lot in front of
Colonie High School’s MUG (Multi-Use Gymnasium), previously used for the
carnival and craft fair, will be devoted, in its entirety, to the expanded
carnival. Therefore, causing the craft fair to be transferred to Colonie’s
Varsity Soccer Field along with the wellness exhibition and the new farmer’s
market.
To start the
festivities of the day, Colonie High school associate principal, William
Roemer, will organize a kids fun-run starting at 11:00 in an effort to bring
families in earlier. To avoid having the 5K race at the same time as the Freihofer's® Run-for-Women
race, the Raiderfest committee has moved it to 3:00 in the afternoon. Finally,
the main focus for Thomas Kachadurian is to keep many of the families at
Raiderfest for the 5:00 Relay-for-Life where the general mood of the day
changes from festive to hope.
In 2014,
Raiderfest earned $15,000 for the American Cancer Society and Thomas
Kachadurian desires to increase that to at least $20,000 by bringing in new
activities to attract more people.
