Carnival crews spent Monday afternoon disassembling rides from the children’s festival hosted this weekend at St. Andrew Catholic School.
The 18th annual festival is not only the largest fund-raising event for the private school, but it is also one of the largest in Lee County. The four-day festival started Thursday and ended Sunday.
Thousands of children rode on the giant Ferris wheel visible far down Del Prado Boulevard, the miniature roller coasters, Tilt-a-Whirl and carousels. It also featured fun houses, a silent auction, Texas Hold ’em Poker Tournament, other raffles and live entertainment.
Sister Elizabeth Meegan, principal of St. Andrew Catholic School, said the event was quite popular this weekend.
“I think the weather was absolutely perfect, the kids showed up in great numbers, the people were overflowing on Sunday,” said Meegan.
Organizers of the festival expected thousands of residents from Cape Coral and Fort Myers to show, but official numbers were not available Monday.
“I think a good time was had by all,” said Meegan. “It’s just what we hoped it would be, a good community event.”
The festival also raises money for the school’s endowment fund. Each year money is added and taken out of the fund, said Meegan, so that tuition stays reasonable. Those funds also are used to assist with the school’s day-to-day operations.
Officials are still counting the proceeds from the last four days, but with a high turnout it is likely they reached their goal.
“We don’t know how much. We were still counting last night,” said Meegan.
Also, St. Andrew will join 7,800 other Catholic schools across the country in observing Catholic Schools Week 2009. There will be a community open house from Jan. 26-30 for prospective students and members of the community.
For more information, contact the school at 772-3922.