EATON — The Eaton Athletic and Band Boosters held their annual Holiday Craft Show and Music Festival on Saturday, Dec. 7. The event was held at Eaton High School in the gym, cafeteria, and the Performing Arts Center, and featured a craft show and music festival.
Proceeds from the event benefit all high school and middle school athletic and band programs.
The craft show and music festival ran throughout the day, with a different group performing every hour until 7 p.m. In addition to the two main attractions, visitors had a chance to have their photos taken with Santa and participate in the bake sale, purchase food items from the concession stand, and bid on raffle/silent auction items.
According to Band Booster President Tonya Jay-Sizemore, the event began years ago as a music festival. The group decided to get the community and kids involved and the event grew from there. It has been a combined event between the Athletic and Band Boosters since 2013.
“This is good for the kids, it’s good for the community – it’s a great fundraiser for us. The money raised is divvied up between the two Booster organizations. They are used to buy instruments, uniforms — any materials the school does not have the funds to buy, we try to step in and do that for them,” she said.
“This allows the community to see the facility, be around all the students, it’s just a good interaction. We are all here supporting the kids. That is the end goal with everything we do. [The Athletic and Band Boosters] get more assistance and exposure when we work together as a solid team.”
The Eaton Athletic and Band Boosters will host next year’s event on the first Saturday of December.
“We would love to have everybody continue to support us,” she said. “This keeps our facility from becoming a pay to play. As long as our Booster organizations are working together and raising money, our students don’t have to pay to participate in any sports, like most schools in the communities. That is crucial to continue to have that.”
