Photo Courtesy of Mahima Basker

Mahima Basker '28 and Lasya Vijayapuram ‘28

REPORTERS

As Halloween approaches and autumn goes into full swing, many fall events are underway to celebrate the start of a new season. One such event, a festival in the school district, is Chadds Ford Elementary School's (CFES’s) Fall Fest: a popular community event which has had considerable growth in recent years.

The Fall Fest started out as a small carnival at CFES over ten years ago and has since evolved into a much larger gathering. During the early years of the Fall Fest, the event took place at Chadds Ford Elementary School and had various activities, such as face painting and bouncy castles. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, Chadds Ford decided to host their annual festival at a new location, Ramsey’s Farm, where all the Fall Fests have been hosted since. A former student of Chadds Ford, Hyrida Rupael, who went to the Fall Fest in previous years, expressed her thoughts on the change of location, saying that Ramsey’s offers much more space and many new activities. For instance, Ramsey’s offers hayrides, corn mazes, bonfires, and more, all included in the $15 entry fee.

Despite all of these changes, Fall Fest’s goal remains the same: bringing the community together with its fall festivities.

Parents, students, and organizers alike have expressed their appreciation of the Fall Fest’s unique ability to unite district families and make memories. A UCFSD senior, Neha Ruparel agreed to this idea and explained how she enjoys the Fall Fest, as it allows her to witness “the excitement of kids” while also “see[ing] friends and other parents.” This idea captures the true purpose of Fall Fest, allowing families and friends to come together. This belief is shared among the Chadds Ford community, making Fall Fest one of the most popular CFES events of the year.

The chair of Fall Fest, Amanda Frake, stated that attendance was especially high this year, as over 400 people came to the event on September 27. Regardless of these high numbers, she emphasized that the CFES Parent Teacher Organization’s (PTO) main goal is to provide entertainment for the Unionville community. She adds, “We've built such a strong foundation of community and we should keep that going [in future years].”