A particularly hot Saturday certainly did not deter thousands of families from coming to the OneBerkeley Back to School Festival last weekend for a day of a fun before the students head back to class.
The festival was held at the Moncks Corner Regional Recreation Complex. Probably the biggest attraction of the event was Berkeley County School District’s backpack giveaway. Families lined up long before the festival kicked off at 9 a.m. to get a free backpack lightly packed with basic school supplies. BCSD gave away a couple thousand backpacks.
Timberland High parent Lisa Wiggins was at the front of the line. She said she pulled into the parking lot close to 7 a.m. and was the first one to arrive, and that she and her daughter passed the time connecting with other parents while waiting in line.
Wiggins said it means a lot to her that BCSD does this backpack giveaway.
“It’s awesome,” she said, adding, “Some kids – they have to go to school with nothing. So it means a lot.”
Jerome Perry, who has children at Boulder Bluff Elementary and Sedgefield Middle, said this was his first time coming to the OneBerkeley Back to School Fest – and was also attracted to the backpack giveaway.
“It means a lot to me – prices are going up so this really helps out,” he said. “It’s a big help.”
Howe Hall AIMS parent Stephanie Olson said her family was looking forward to grabbing some backpacks – but were also eager to check out the rest of the festival. Olson said her husband is an active duty military service member, so any little bit helps.
“It’s nice to not have to not have to purchase all the school supplies and then we can use the funds that we would use for school supplies to get new shoes or back to school clothes and things like that,” she said.
BCSD Superintendent Dr. Anthony Dixon spoke to a few families while they waited in line, and the vibe he felt from everyone was families are ready for the first day of school.
“We want to create that district people run to,” he said, adding, “This just kicks off that culture climate of a positive feeling – that we’re making a positive difference.”
In addition to backpack giveaway, families were invited to check out tents that were set up for games, family resources, books and more. Children could get their face painted and burn some energy inside one of three different jump castles. BCSD’s Child Nutrition Services handed out slices of pizza and families could purchase food at one of the nearby food trucks. All BCSD divisions had some type of activity or giveaway at their station. Outside groups participated in the event as well.
There were also student performances by Berkeley High and Stratford High’s marching bands, as well as Berkeley High’s choir group and Goose Creek High’s acapella group, Creekapella. Cheerleaders from Berkeley High and Timberland High greeted families with cheers and handed out backpacks.
BCSD welcomes back students on Monday, Aug. 21.