Magnolia Elementary School hosted its first “Spring Fling” fundraising carnival on Friday, April 20 to replenish funds for the Parent Teacher Club, which covers costs of special arts programs for students and various field trips.
Spring Fling chairperson Caryn Cummins said that the PTC typically holds a fall carnival but they had a goal to raise $10,000 from this first time event.
“We developed it to try to bring families and the community together to have a good time,” she said.
Cummins added that the community has been very supportive with donations and one such special donation came from an unexpected source.
Grammy-nominated guitarist Chris Broderick of the famous heavy metal band Megadeth auctioned off his autographed red, six-string Ibanez Prestige guitar on eBay, with all proceeds going to Magnolia Elementary School. The reason the guitar virtuoso donated the proceeds is because his niece and nephew are students at Magnolia.
The guitar itself was actually on display at the Magnolia Spring Fling, giving students and parents alike the opportunity to admire the instrument Broderick used while recording the 2009 album Endgame. He is pictured with the guitar inside the Endgame CD booklet. Included with his guitar was its case, two custom armbands Broderick wears on stage; nine Megadeth guitar picks – five different Broderick guitar picks from 2008-2012, two picks from lead singer and guitarist Dave Mustaine (one with 13 logo, one with Endgame logo), and two from bassist David Ellefson (one with 13 logo, one with Megadeth logo); and two autographed photos of Broderick, one picturing him holding the Ibanez guitar, the other showing him with his current Jackson guitar. The winner could also specify where on the guitar they wanted Broderick’s autograph.
The eBay auction ended at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, to coincide with when the Spring Fling event ended, with the winning bid coming in at $3,550.
All the Spring Fling game booths were manned by Oakdale High School cheerleaders so that parents could enjoy the carnival with their kids, bid on the various silent auction items, listen to deejay “Rockin Rod,” eat their carnival food favorites, and participate in the drawings.
Cummins reported that all the classes did projects to be used for prize drawings such as thumbprint flower pots and stepping stones. There was also a special grand prize drawing that included four Disneyland park hopper passes, a $100 Visa gift card, and a $100 gas card. Other Spring Fling committee members included PTC members Adrienne Scott and Chris Edwards.
