SpringFest Fundraising Event Brings in $30K

The numbers are in from the 41st Annual SpringFest, benefitting the Pacifica Co-Op Nursery School.

"We had another successful year and made close to the last year's total of $30,000," said Xenia Wren, the event's co-chair.

The event was held on Saturday, March 2, at the Pacifica Community Center, continuing the annual tradition of successful FUNdraising for the cooperative school and its community of highly skilled and professional preschool educators, parents and children.

Since 1972, the school has been a treasured resource for the families of young children in Pacifica by preparing the children for Kindergarten and beyond. The school's participating families work one session per week on site, maintain the physical structure of the school, elect an administrative board of their peers and organize regular fundraisers, such as the annual SpringFest. Months of planning and preparation went into this year's event, which was spearheaded by Co-Op parents and Co-chairs Abby Mariazeta and Xenia Wren.

This year's event was themed as a “Viva Las Vegas” party, complete with casino-style gaming tables. The night's activities included a silent auction for products and services donated by many businesses and supporters from within our local community, along with a live auction hosted by award-winning and local film critic, filmmaker, writer, television and radio personality Dennis Willis and his wife Sara MaGinnis.

Throughout the evening, attendees enjoyed appetizers from neighbors such as La Costanera Contemporary Peruvian Cuisine in Montara and Casa Sanchez in Millbrae, along with desserts from Pacifica's own French Patisserie and Pacificakes Bake Shop. Parent volunteers sold tickets, tended bar, served food and cleaned the facilities. The evening culminated with live entertainment and dancing.

The event succeeded in both providing a fun evening for those who were part of the record-breaking attendance, but also in providing the much-needed funding for the program in order to sustain the essential educational services provided by the school's Director, Catherine Miller, and the Co-Op community.

On behalf of Miller, the Board of Directors, the parents and families, and everyone within the Co- Op community, Pacifica Co-Op parent Brian Smith thanks everyone who volunteered and donated products and services to the cause, as well as everyone in Pacifica for the continued support of the program.