Canyon Vista Carnival Raises $40,000

Students, parents and teachers of Canyon Vista Elementary gathered for the second annual Croc-A-Palooza festival on Friday.

The event welcomed locals with carnival rides and attractions like food trucks, live music and a silent auction featuring more than 250 items. The carnival committee of the Canyon Vista Elementary PTA, which includes Breann Shook, Darcy Tropila, Jennifer Klenske, Terri Crones, Triss Chesney and Elina Faulkner, have been working on Croc-A-Palooza for more than six months.

“I’ve been trying to bring this event to the school for years and with all the budget cuts, things became more difficult but I finally got the OKAY and budget approved by the principal,” Faulkner said.

Compared to last year’s first event, the PTA said they stepped things up with added attractions like the bubble roller game, teacup ride and the biggest addition of all—the silent auction that featured a wide variety of items from Volcom Apparel to ballet lessons and even a day at the Toscana spa.

Children spent the day running around enjoying the rides, food and live music, provided by Rikochet and Whiplash, two bands composed of Canyon Vista graduates. Le Polynesia LUAU also performed. Along with classic carnival treats like shave ice, churros and funnel cakes, renowned food trucks—The Brunt Truck and Dogzilla were also present at the event. This was Dogzilla’s second time at the carnival.

“Events like these are great and I really enjoy supporting the kids and communities of Orange County,” said Dogzilla’s owner Martin Tse.

This was Dogzilla’s second time at the Canyon Vista carnival and could possibly be an annual event for them, Tse said.

The 25 classrooms each helped decorate and set up a booth for the carnival.

“My class was in charge of the obstacle course. We had a Survivor theme so we even have like Tiki polls and an immunity necklace,” said third grader Ryan Balducci.

First grader Alex Shook, (daughter of PTA mom Breann Shook) said her class organized the popular cake walk where they raffled off delicious treats baked by fellow parents. Angie Kilroy’s second grade class of 27 kids was in charge of creating the bowl-o-rama booth that featured puck bowling. Kilroy said helping mothers Michelle Schilling and Sabrina Pattschull created the amazing decorations and graphic art.

Kilroy said Croc-A-Palooza puts the “fun in fundraiser.”

“This event is just fabulous and I really hope it continues. It’s just nice how it gets the whole community together in an entertaining way," Kilroy said.

As Croc-A-Palooza continued into the night, older students and siblings from neighboring middle schools and high schools came to the campus.

After the event, Breann Shook confirmed that the carnival raised $40,000 for the PTA. The money will be used for student field trips and teacher aid to alleviate some of the state budget cuts.