Festive Faces at Panther Palooza

Jun 23, 2011

Photo:Caroline, Brodey and Sarah

Nicki Gowdy, parent council chair at Prince Charles Public School in Verona, would not let the last-minute cancellation of a dunk tank dampen the festive spirit at this year’s Panther Palooza.

So an eleventh hour brain-storming session gave birth to the “wet sponge toss” event, which by far proved to be one of the most popular at this year’s Palooza. Principal Frank Girard, Prince Charles’ fearless leader, smilingly took a 15-minute turn “in the hole” and was repeatedly lambasted with soaking wet sponges. That event on its own likely raised a considerable portion of the total $2,800 that was raised on June 17.

Mrs. Gowdy was “tickled pink” with this year’s Palooza, which after a one-year hiatus, came back with a vengeance and once again proved to be the parent council’s biggest and most profitable fundraising event of the year. A plethora of additional engaging children’s activities entertained the youngsters, and throughout the evening the 10 top acts from the school’s talent show, which had been held earlier in the week, peppered the set of local band favorites Bauder Road. Also worth mentioning were the themed gift baskets compiled by each class in the school, which attracted countless wannabe winners.

The funds raised this year will go towards sprucing up the outdoor play area, more specifically on the sand box area, picnic tables and new outdoor toys for the younger students. Kudos to the parent council and staff at the school, to all who came out to the event and to all of the members of the community who generously donated their time, talents, and trinkets to help support this year’s Palooza.