Get ready to race those horses. At the start of this year’s old-time themed Edgewood Fair on Saturday, May 11 from 11am to 3pm, classes will watch their decorated styrofoam horses in a Derby. Think: a game board sprint where each class spins to advance their horse. Winning class gets an ice cream party and extra recess!

Fingers crossed for good weather because fair organizers Sara Farnsworth and Sam Carter have invited a stiltwalker and an accordion player to perform. There will also be a selfie booth — say cheese in your Derby hat. Expect all of the usual activities — sand art, spin art, etc. — but with some new crafts, too. Kids are invited to make toys Edgewood kids played with 100 years ago, like Cat’s Cradle and Jacob’s Ladder.

“It will be clean old-time fun,” says Sara. “We’re going for nostalgia.”

The eats are the draw, featuring street foods. You’ll find the usual stands and more, like a nacho bar, grilled Mexican corn, a fruit kebab stand, a funnel cake stand, an Italian ice station, even fresh-spun cotton candy. And there won’t just be a bake sale. There will be a rice balls station as well as a candy table featuring vintage sweets.

And for those wanting to boost school spirit, don’t miss the Edgewood Fair Shop. There are new items are up for sale, like a blue pennant advertising Edgewood School and a blue “E” kickball.

Don’t skip the carnival games — or the Gaga pit. Says Sara: “We’re going to have a lot more games than in previous years.”

Last year, Edgewood parent (and former PTA co-president) Sara Farnsworth had a novel idea: To organize a book swap at Edgewood School. Many of our kids read numerous books only to stack them on a shelf soon after to gather dust. “What if every parent donated a stack of books and other Edgewood kids could take them home?” Sara thought.

The first Edgewood Book Swap was a success, and inspired a new tradition at the school. This year’s second annual Book Swap, held in March, collected about 2,000 books, ensuring that every child who came to the event left with a book.

It was a feat to organize the massive selection of chapter and picture books into categories. Yoko Hayashi, the co-chair of the swap, worked tirelessly with library volunteers to categorize the titles. Once that job was complete, children were invited in to browse the selection with their classroom and buddy class.

“We had so many kids come in with their jaws dropped, saying, ‘These are free!?'” says Sara, who organized the swap with Yoko. “They were so excited.”

Every child could pick a few books, but the organizers were careful to make sure that first few classes of children didn’t clean out the entire selection of, say, Dog Man or Geronimo Stilton books. As the day wore on, children were encouraged to take additional books and since the swap was held on a half-day,  parents were invited after-school to select books as well. There was some worry, Sara says, that all of the books wouldn’t find a home, and they would need to find an organization to donate the rest.

In the end, all 2,000 books went.

And since so many of the books were stamped with an Edgewood Book Swap stamp, they expect they’ll see many of the same books cycle back through future swaps. Says Sara: “A book swap really shows kids that there’s value in sharing.”

With more than 50 countries represented in the student population of Edgewood, it’s no surprise that the school’s Multicultural Fair is a big hit every year. Parents who want to share about their family’s culture set up elaborate presentations to give the students a taste of what life is like in other countries of the world.

Each class at Edgewood attends the fair for half an hour, and the students are given “passports” that they can get stamped at each table.

This year, the activities offered at the stations were a huge hit. The kids got to play games, try on clothes and masks, do some arts and crafts, hold cultural artifacts, and play instruments. Here are some scenes from this year’s Multicultural Fair.

Edgewood parent Debby Franco is into collecting fine wines these days, but it’s all for a good cause — the wine raffle at the Centennial Gala. As part of her fundraising efforts, she set up a “wine cellar” on her front lawn to collect bottles of wine to raffle off. On the night of the big party, if you buy a $10 raffle ticket, you’ll have a chance to win one of these wine baskets stocked with a nice selection of vino.

There’s only one catch: She needs more wine for the raffle to be a success. The raffle is always a big fundraiser for the PTA, but as of Friday, Debby had collected only 10 bottles.

If you could pick up a bottle at the store and drop it at what Debby is jokingly calling her “wine cellar,” she’d be forever grateful. Leave the wine on her front lawn at 34 Edgewood Road, next to the gigantic nutcracker wearing an Edgewood T-shirt and crown. Ring the cow bell to celebrate your donation!

Hand-rolled cigars and long-stranded pearls as accessories. A craft beer tasting from a brewing company owned by an Edgewood alum. A live band. A red carpet with plenty of photo ops. And, of course, a speakeasy password to get in. Welcome to the Edgewood Centennial Gala!

This year’s special edition Edgewood Social promises to be more fun and festive than ever, styled as a Roaring 20’s affair in celebration of Edgewood’s 100th birthday. In addition to the special touches mentioned above, there will be the usual wine raffle, silent auction, and live auction, not to mention excellent food and drink. 

Guests are encouraged to wear black tie with a 1920s flare. “If people want to dress in the flapper style, that would be awesome,” says gala co-chair Moira Bandsma. But she also adds that there’s no pressure to do so.

The event will be held at the Westchester Country Club and promises to be an evening to remember. The early bird special rate ends this Friday, March 22! Click here to purchase your tickets now.