It was a first for town, and a major step for the playground upgrade project at the Innisfail schools' campus.
Erin Flewelling and the John Wilson Parents Advisory Council teamed with St. Marguerite Bourgeoys School, and Innisfail Middle School to raise funds for the first two phases of a $300,000 playground expansion in the common area shared by the Catholic and public schools with a fashion show co-sponsored by Old Navy, a clothing retailer in Red Deer.
ìWe set a goal in November of selling 300 tickets to the fashion show,î said Flewelling. ìEarlier this week, we reached 297 tickets sold. It was exciting.î
Innisfail Middle School gymnasium was decorated for the event with balloons, professional lighting, and a stage decked out with black curtains and bright Christmas trees. Music echoed through the gymnasium as MC Kerry Towle, Sylvan Lake-Innisfail Wildrose MLA, started the evening.
Models from John Wilson Elementary School enthusiastically walked the runway during the 90-minute event that had children from kindergarten to Grade 9 model Old Navy clothing hoodies, jeans, T-shirts, jackets and shoes. Teachers and educational assistants strutted their stuff, and even three dads joined the entourage.
Educational assistant Debbie Rieberger jazzed up the event portraying the ëbad' teacher, scolding three young boys scooting around the stage area.
ìErin asked me to model, and I said yes,î said Rieberger. ìSomeone else suggested that I would do a skit onstage. So I did. It was fun.î
Towle moved the audience through the evening quickly, while touting the virtues of the models.
ìWe would like to raise between four and five thousand dollars tonight,î said Flewelling. ìIn addition to ticket sales, we have door prizes, a 50-50 draw, and 28 prizes donated by the community to build our project fund.î
Behind the scenes, dozens of volunteers moved the models through their paces, dressed them, decorated, manned prize tables, sold tickets, and cleaned up after the fashion show.
The evening concluded in a dance number that saw every model strut onto stage to a modern dance beat. As with every performance there is always a show stealer, with one four-year-old student boogying, breakdancing and rocking out front and centre. It was the perfect end to the energetic, evening that was seen as being immensely successful.
Diane Moen, Old Navy manger, was pleased with how the evening unfolded.
ìOld Navy is very supportive of events like this,î added Moen. ìI live here in Innisfail, and I am pleased to be part of this. I have a daughter who was part of the evening, and I am very proud of her, just like every parent and grandparent here was proud of their kids. This was very successful.î
Results of the event were not known but a high point of the night was the donation of the 50-50 winnings back to the parents' council.
