‘Fun on a cloudy day’ at St. Joachim’s

Deirdre Newman

Eight-year-old Sydney Gray looked shy and demure until she took a toy

bat in her hand and started whacking a piece of wood that catapulted

a stuffed frog into the air.

The goal?

To make the frog land in one of the four colored bowls on the

table to win a prize.

Sydney was one of many kids and adults who tried their hand at

various games set up on the playground of St. Joachim’s School for

its annual Community Spring Fair. This year, funds raised will go

toward a building fund for the school, which contains some classrooms

built as far back as 1949.

The fair features a variety of delectable food, a slew of

heart-pumping rides and eclectic entertainment. Saturday, one of the

first musical acts was 13-year-old Adam Knott playing a rocking

rendition of The Star Spangled Banner on his electric guitar.

Once the music stopped, the overwhelming sound became the

breathless screams of kids on the rides as they were turned upside

down, thrown for a loop and flew through the air on their stomachs.

“That was fun,” said Shane Lincoln, a fifth-grader at the school,

as he stood on terra firma after soaring on the Kite Flyer ride.

John Nulty, of Newport Beach, took on a tamer challenge as he

tried to sink a basketball into a hoop to win a humongous stuffed

animal. He had as much luck as Sydney. That didn’t seem to dampen his

spirits, though.

“We belong to the school and want to support the school and all of

our friends are here,” said Nulty, whose daughter Jenna is in first

grade. “It’s fun on a cloudy day.”

After working up an appetite, the fairgoers snacked on pizza,

Italian sausage, hamburgers and tacos. The tacos, especially, are a

crowd favorite.

“[My son] danced here last year and we remembered how good the

tacos are,” said Skip Mullins, as he prepared to watch his son Jacob,

10, perform with Wanda’s Dance Studio.

The school cafeteria hosted a garage sale of sorts with items like

an exercise bike for $25, a stroller for $50 and a telescope for $25.

Chris Olsen, who performed at the fair Friday night with his band,

the Slimtones, scooped up a record of the Butterfield Blues Band for

50 cents.

“I’ve been looking for this album for 35 years,” said Olsen, a

50-year Costa Mesa resident.