Remember all the fun everyone has at the annual KCI Fun Night, just prior to Halloween? That’s when the high school students stage a carnival for elementary students and their parents while raising money for the senior class’s upcoming graduation.
Well, the Kamsack Comprehensive Institute band students have decided to organize another such event, but this time with a focus on winter.
The KCI Band Students’ Winter Carnival will be held February 20 beginning at 4 p.m.
This is the only fundraiser that the school’s band program will have over the course of the year, said Darren Kitsch, band instructor. The proceeds will go towards helping to cover the cost of the band program, primarily helping to pay for out-of-town trips.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Kitsch said, urging everyone in the community to come out for an afternoon of fun.
“Although many of the events will be held in the gymnasium, we also plan to have some outdoor events,” he said. “We’re going to have a bonfire and Kevin Boese will be bringing a team of horses hitched to a sleigh for sleigh rides.”
The carnival will have fun and games for the whole family, he said. In addition to the carnival games and related activities, the carnival will include a silent auction, a 50/50 draw and good food.
“Although this will be the first time we will have had such a fundraising carnival, we hope it will be a success and anticipate it becoming an annual event,” he said, adding that the event is a way for the band students to “give back” to the community.
In addition to preparing for the carnival, the band students will be showing what they’ve learned while competing in the Parkland Music Festival being held in Canora this week.
The music students from grades 5 to 8 have prepared songs that they will play on the xylophone during the festival, Kitsch said, explaining that there will be several groups of KCI students performing on xylophones at the festival today (Thursday).
Kitsch estimates that 50 KCI students, from the school’s beginner and junior bands, will be participating in the festival as soloists and ensembles.
