Fair helps readies families for school year

By Matthew Nash • August 31, 2022 1:30 am

Update: organizers said they provided more than 600 bags of school supplies to families and served about 100 children with resources at the event.

The school supplies were flowing as the cars were rolling by at the annual Back to School Fair.

Families were offered a drive through option on Aug. 27 to pick up bagged supplies and backpacks for grades kindergarten through 12th grade. On the athletic field, 30 booths offered various services, community sign-ups and more.

One popular attraction was the Care Closet, which featured donated clothes, games and other items to the district that were sorted over the summer, said Merrin Packer, the fair co-organizer and the Sequim School District’s McKinney-Vento and Foster Care liaison.

“It’s been a great hit,” Packer said.

Throughout the school year, students who show a need can “shop” for free clothes, personal care products and other necessities.

For the fair, about 30 volunteers, including representatives with Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Sequim Valley Lions Club, Sequim Sunrise Rotary Club, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, and individual community members helped put together the four-hour event directing traffic, providing free meals and more.

For more information about the upcoming school year, set to open Wednesday, Sept. 7, call 360-582-3260 or visit the school district’s main office at 503 N. Sequim Ave. Or, find more information at sequimschools.org.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Sequim Middle School principal Mark Harris talks with new middle schooler and incoming sixth grader Iylie James-Lundgren at the Back to School Fair as her mom Holly Atwood listens in.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Crystal Jones sizes up some clothes for her son Titus, 9, a fourth grader, at the Back to School Fair on Aug. 27 on the Sequim School District’s Athletic Field.

Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash Above: Sequim Middle School principal Mark Harris talks with new middle schooler and incoming sixth grader Iylie James-Lundgren at the Back to School Fair as her mom Holly Atwood listens in. At left: Volunteer Kim Rosales hands a backpack to a car as part of the Back to School Fair on Aug. 27.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash Jen Williams looks at clothes with Linnea, 8, and Sophia, 11, Mager at the Back to School Fair. The sisters will be going into third and sixth grades, they said. See story and more photos of the event on page A3.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Volunteer Kim Rosales hands a backpack to a car as part of the Back to School Fair on Aug. 27.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Donated children’s clothes were a popular draw at the Back to School Fair. It was one of many attractions, including many community booths and a drive through for school supplies.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ About 30 booths lined the Sequim School District Athletic Field for the Back to School Fair offering sign-ups, special activities and more.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ As part of the Back to School Fair drive through, participants could pick up school supplies for this year from the Boys & Girls Club.