By STEPHANIE AGUILAR

While many attendees to the Redlands East Valley Instrumental Music program’s first Family Fun Fair on Sept. 16, 2017 were surprised at the festival’s distinct lack of pancakes, this was quite intentional. In fact, the band boosters sought to change things up. Instead of maple syrup and sausage, children and adults alike ate hamburgers and played carnival games. The money raised from this event will be used to repair instrument and stands, buy music, pay for transportation and field trips, and fund other future events.

The Family Fun Fair had most things a traditional carnival would have, but without the rides, and was indoors. There were many games to choose from, such as tire ski-ball, water pong, miniature golf, a paper airplane target game, and much more. With each game one wins or plays their card is punched, and with enough punches, participants can receive a prize. Even the music director, Brian Hollett, joined in on the fun as the students and his assistant tried to throw a wet sponge at his face in the popular sponge toss game. In addition to hamburgers and nachos, there were waffles with syrup, popcorn, hot dogs, and various types of candy to buy. What really caught the attention of the crowd was the fried oreos they were selling.

Of course, what is a fair without any music? All the students in the instrumental program from Instrumental Ensemble to String Ensemble to Wind Ensemble played fun and uplifting music to shape the vibe of the fair. A silent auction was in place as well as a raffle with the top prize of $500. The winner of the $500 was a student in the String Ensemble. The amount raised in this event was about $10,000 which will benefit the program greatly.