By Nathan Ham
Community members will come together on Saturday, Aug. 4 for a good cause to help children in need around Watauga County as another school year inches closer to beginning. The festival will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The Back 2 School Festival enters its sixth year in Watauga County and is designed to help students whose families might not be able to afford the school supplies needed for the upcoming academic year.
In addition to school supplies and backpacks, socks and shoes will be given out to children in need and there will be local hair stylists in attendance to provide haircuts and new hairstyles for kids that want a nice, new look for the upcoming school year.
The 2017 festival saw a record number of children in attendance with over 1,000 students receiving school supplies with several of those children and their families lining up two hours before the festival even began.
The goal of the Back 2 School Festival remains the same each year: Helping a child feel confident and prepared for the upcoming school year.
Volunteers will also be on hand to share helpful information and activities for students and some healthy food alternatives.
Reaching out for support from the community has always been an important mission of the Back 2 School Festival. Finding people to donate supplies or volunteer their time for the event allows people from all walks of life to put their efforts together with the goal of helping local students.
Churches and other organizations in the High Country use this event to help provide information for families and students and even some fun games and activities to make the day about more than just collecting school supplies.
Each year, this event would not be possible without the help of numerous sponsors in the High Country. The full list of currents sponsors is below.
Title sponsors: Mast General Store, ECRS, North Carolina Community Foundation, Commissioner Larry Turnbow and Snow Masonic Lodge #363.
General sponsors: The Church of the Holy Cross, Valle Crucis, Meat Camp Baptist Church and Blue Ridge Energy.
Small Business sponsors: Holton Management, Ross Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Highlands Union Bank.
Individual sponsors: Kimberley Short, Timothy and Shirley Harris, Rennie and Lana Brantz, Cindy Brown (In Memory of Laura McCaskey), Carol and Hank Thompson, Rebecca Haney, Blue Ridge Vision and Deal, Moseley & Smith.
It’s not too late to volunteer to help out with the event. Information about volunteer opportunities can be found here.
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