WHAT IS ARBORFEST?

Arborfest is a long-standing tradition at Arbor School of Arts and Sciences. Think of it as a school-wide block party to celebrate our community and the coming year. It is also an important vehicle for raising funds for the Arbor Parent Teacher Association (APT) and the Annie Ross House (A local shelter for families experiencing homelessness). APT uses the money generated through this fun, community building event to fund new classroom equipment, travel stipends for faculty training, in-house faculty retreats and writing workshops and scholarships and grants from the community.  Arborfest is a fundraiser, but it's primary function is to serve as a community-building event.

On the day itself, students run activity booths for the attendees, past and present families visit over food and drink, and everyone enjoys musical entertainment and performances. Parents contribute to and run a Silent Auction, a Country Store full of handcrafted delights, and a Bookstore that benefits the campus and classroom libraries. This year things will look different, but a celebration of community will remain the core goal of Arborfest.

WHAT IS NEW FOR ARBORFEST 2021?

Connecting at Arborfest is vitally important to our community. We also want to protect the health and safety of our community--and avoid any disruptions to in-person learning. More details are coming, but for now there are four essential points we want you to know about.

#1: TWO IN-PERSON ARBORFEST SESSIONS ON SATURDAY, OCT 2ND
Arborfest is still planned as an all-outdoor, all-masked, in-person event on Saturday, October 2nd. However, we will divide Arborfest into two 3-hour sessions. We will let you know as soon as possible what session your family is in so you can mark your calendars and plan accordingly. You can look forward to an in-person Country Store, Book Store, Wine Wall, soccer game and the Annie Ross Basket Raffle. We will have food and beverages, but will have fewer tables and chairs.

• • Sat, October 2nd: Session #1: 10:30-1:30pm; Session #2: 2:30-5:30pm
  • We encourage you to bring a picnic blanket.
  • Imagine fewer lines, plenty of distance, and lots of fun!

#2: VIRTUAL SILENT AUCTION ON SUNDAY, OCT 3RD
The other big news is that we will move JUST the silent auction online and have the auction items available for bidding through the Greater Giving website on Sunday, October 3rd (the day AFTER Arborfest in-person sessions). All the other parts of Arborfest will continue to be in-person. You will also be able make donations and buy raffle tickets through the online auction. The Annie Ross raffle winners will be announced virtually after the auction has closed.

• • On Sunday, October 3rd, the virtual auction will start at 12:30pm and close at 5pm.

#3: ONLY CURRENT FAMILIES & STAFF ATTENDING
This year's Arborfest will be limited to current families and students only (younger/older siblings of current students may attend). To keep our numbers low, we cannot invite grandparents and friends of the family. If you have specific questions around this, please ask Peter or Lori for guidance.

#4: MORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK
We will need many more volunteers than usual to run two sessions, however your volunteer shifts will be shorter! If you are volunteering, please sign-up for shifts during your assigned session. More information coming soon on how to sign-up to volunteer.

• • If you would like to lend a hand, please contact Arborfest volunteer coordinator, Erin LeFevre at lefevre.erin@gmail.com

CONTACT THE ARBORFEST CO-CHAIRS

General questions about Arborfest can be directed to the 2021 Arborfest Co-Chairs (and parent volunteers), Samantha Younes at arborfestchair@arborschool.org and Danielle Torres-Basua at dtorresphd@yahoo.com