Clayton News Daily

Photo by Curt Yeomans Lee Street Elementary School students, parents and teachers celebrated the end of the school year with a "Spring Fling" festival on Friday. The event is a fund-raiser for the school's Parent-Teacher Association.

By Curt Yeomans

cyeomans@news-daily.com

The grounds at Lee Street Elementary School were teeming with people: Children enjoying horseback rides, playing golf and beanbag, and jumping up and down on huge inflatable toys on Friday evening. Even a Burmese python was slithering its way around the arms of several children.

In the background, a sound system blasted out tunes from popular artists, such as Parliament, Stevie Wonder, and the Jackson 5. The scene looked, and sounded, like a small carnival taking place, because the school's Parent-Teacher Association was holding its annual "Spring Fling" fund-raiser.

"Everyone's having a great time," said Lee Street PTA President Jannelle Weston, mid-way through the event. "This is the second festival we've held this year. We also had one back in the fall," Weston said. "We're hoping to get about $1,500 from this event. I'd say we've made about $800 so far, and we're only half way through it."

The children were clearly enjoying themselves with the array of opportunities before them: They could ride horses provided by Atlanta-based Cowboy Larry's Horseback rides; get up-close and personal with the Burmese python brought by Kory Glaze (who lives next door to the school); try to twirl a hoola hoop around their waists and arms; play a golf game; try to be the fastest person to blow up a balloon; climb through an inflatable obstacle course; slide down an inflatable slide; and toss footballs and basketballs.

"I like the moonwalks [the inflatable games], and the fact that there are a lot of children here," said Lee Street fourth-grader, Danteiona Brown, 10.

Brown said it was a little weird when she had the python sitting on her shoulders, though. "It was really silky and heavy," she said. "I was nervous, because it was my first time having a snake wrapped around me like that."

Third-grader, Reginald Ragin, 9, said he preferred the hoola-hoop game. "You could see how many times you can make the hoola hoop go around," he said. "I did it 10 times."