Sunnyside trade fair sees triumphant return

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused plenty of changes through the past two years. The ramifications of it have even been seen on a smaller scale such as the absence of the Sunnyside Intermediate School's trade fair in 2020. The fair was then delayed from the fall of 2021. But Tuesday night, at the Sunnyside Gymnasium, the trade fair finally made its return. 

"We're just really excited to have it this year," Sunnyside Principal Pax Haslem said. "It's nice to have it back and it's nice to have our parents back in the building. Our kids did a really good job, and we're really proud of it."

At the fair, fifth graders had booths where they sold arts and crafts that they made at home.

Across the booths, Sunnyside students sold homemade coasters, candles, necklaces, dreamcatchers, bracelets and even stress balls. 

Sunnyside student Reid Holmes sold a variety of homemade items at his booth. Along with his partner, Holmes sold colored crayons, candles, a hat, as well as action figures of a spider and two ghosts. As the night went on, he said, he enjoyed trying to get parents and other students to buy his product. 

"It's really awesome because I get to experience what it's like to be a young salesman," Holmes said. 

At his booth, Sunnyside student Jericho LaFountain sold drawings that he made himself and blank fortune tellers that customers could customize themselves. While he is happy to sell his drawings to people, he said he was afraid of having to apply his studies to the real world. 

"I'm kind of nervous because I have to do math and I don't like math," LaFountain said.

The profits from the trade fair will be redistributed to the community in several ways. Half of the profits will go to a local charity such as a food bank or the Boys & Girls Club. Each classroom will then get about $100 to $125 to spend on end-of-the-year fifth grade activities. 

The rest of the profits will go toward one or two scholarships for graduating seniors from Havre High School next year. It will be the first edition of this scholarship, as these seniors were from the fifth grade class from seven years ago. Today's fifth graders will then be eligible for the scholarship funded from the trade fair when they graduate high school seven years from now. 

Through the night, the Sunnyside gym was filled with parents and students looking around the booths. After two years without the fair, Haslem said, he believes the community was ready to come out and support the students, even with the inclement weather. 

"This was a really nice, good crowd," Haslem said. "A lot of kids were selling out of things and a lot of other kids just had a little bit of things left (to sell). So I think it was a great turnout, even on this snowy day."