It was great to see so many families out today. I have not had a chance to look at our check in sheet but we definitely had 20+ adorable costumed food allergic kids and their families enjoying the festivities at Montlake Community Center today.
I must plug Montlake Community Center. When I told them we had food allergic kids coming to the event, they asked the custodian to clean the floors last night with a machine and he wiped surfaces and mirrors down really well. The only group using it before us was a karate class so we didn't have nearly as much pre-event clean up as we expected. Whew! On top of that, I am very grateful that the City of Seattle granted us a nonprofit rental fee discount (not as easy to get as one might think).
Now I must thank 3 members of the WA FEAST Board for their commitment to making this happen. Desi Tucker is responsible for the cheeky signage and flyer as well as the cool carnival games and the portable PA system and she was assisted by husband Trent and kids on loading, decorating and clean-up;, Teisha Stiles brought 6 members of her family including her artistic and helpful children (and their friend Patrick) who turned the hall into a festive space in no time and helped with the carnival games, and Tiesha whipped up the cutest homemade Wishing (fishing?) Cauldron I have ever seen; Jenny Nolan kept us all organized and oversaw a very successful craft and coloring area. My family made good on their promises to me (OK, so maybe I did a little begging and bribing!) and did a great job with their DJ Checkit Skit and my kids and I played dance music for Dina Blade's family dance which was a lot of fun.
Everyone pitched in on clean-up - THANK YOU! We were out by 4:30ish!
I am privileged to also say thank you to the WA FEAST Board for a very kind and unexpected gesture. They decided that they would like to help my 13 yo PA daughter and I attend FAAN's Teen Summit in Washington DC. We may not be able to go this year, due to jazz band commitments, but I am touched and honored and feel that I barely deserve such generosity. If we do go, I hope to bring back some first hand knowledge of how to run such an event and perhaps try to do the same thing here on the West Coast. I am humbled. Thank you.
Finally, I wanted to acknowledge the businesses who made donations to the door prize raffle. I think this is the complete list but please let me know if you took something home that isn't listed here.
Allerbling,http://www.allerbling.com - two bracelets
Allermates, http://www.allermates.com - 8 bracelets, two lunch boxes
Allergic Living, http://www.allergicliving.com - subscription
The Bugabees Friends with Food Allergy, children's book by Amy Recob, http://thebugabees.com/
Princess and the Peanut Allergy, children's book by Wendy McClure, http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Peanut-Allergy-Wendy-McClure/dp/0807566233
Sophie Safe Cooking, Cookbook by Emily Hendrix, http://www.sophiesafecooking.com
Food Allergies and Children (3) /Food Allergies and Schools (3) - Pocket Guides from the Allergy Free Table series. http://www.allergyfreetable.com/
Flourishing with food allergies, book by A. Anderson,http://www.flourishingwithfoodallergies.com/
And last but not least, the "oh so adorable that I wish I had an epipen to put in it for myself" the Epi-Puppy, http://epipuppy.com/
Now the good news for those of you who did not make it today is that we did not send all of this stuff home which means that you may have a chance to win some of it at a future FEAST event!
Be sure to check out "How to have a not-so-spooky Halloween." It was created by Thanita Clancy of Loudoun Allergy Network and is being share with WA FEAST members with her permission, thanks to the magic of the FAAN Food Allergy Support Group Advisory Commitee Facebook page.
Kelly Morgan
