Vanessa Owens stood in the sun, watching one of her grandchildren be lifted on top of a pony to take a ride on Poughkeepsie High School’s track.

Nearby were her four other grandchildren, and a pen where children were petting a donkey, sheep and other farm animals.

The pony ride was the first thing the group did after arriving at the Community Schools Spring Festival, “besides eat,” Owens said with a laugh.

“This is something I appreciate,” she said of the sprawling block party event. “This will get them off the phone for at least a day.”

The annual Community Schools event drew more than 1,000 to Poughkeepsie High School Saturday afternoon.

In addition to a wide variety of free food, the event included multiple giant inflatable attractions, games, face painting, a DJ, raffles, circus skills training and a long row of representatives from community-based organizations to discuss different programs available to residents.

“It’s a family event for friends, for children, for the community, for everyone to get together and get to know everyone,” said Lus Nieves, who brought all seven of her children to the festival. She said it’s “very, very hard” to find a single event to satisfy all her children, “but here there is everything together.”

The event was the product of roughly 40 district employees and volunteers, from security staff and monitors to Honor Society students and Community Schools staff.

“Everybody had a great time,” said Jessica Ortiz, interim Community Schools administrator, noting many district employees attended and brought their families. “Engagement was really important for us to have. From teachers to principals, they were all there. That was really good that these families could see the principals and engage with them.”

Food options ranged from bagged popcorn and burgers to cotton candy, snow cones and ice cream, to a food truck of Mexican snacks and drinks.

Dozens of children walking around with painted faces added to the festival atmosphere, as did Sean Fagan – the traveling circus instructor who has taught skills to Poughkeepsie youth for a quarter-century – towering over the field on five-foot stilts. Seano, as he is known by the students and on stage, operated a station where students could practice stilt walking and balance tricks.

King Jeremy Bennett was among those children who spent time atop short stilts, while his mother, Monique Simmons Valerio, perused the community-based organization tables.

“I’m always looking for new information and ways that our community is operating and growing,” she said, noting the resources available is “not broadcast enough. Coming out to events like this helps them get broadcast.”

Organizations presenting information on Saturday included the Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum, Dutchess BOCES, gun violence prevention organization SNUG, and others. Several of the tables had activities for the children to be occupied while their parents could learn more about the organization. Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum allowed students to play with electricity circuits and The Art Effect had coloring pages.

Adam Reid, a teacher with The Art Effect, was among representatives looking to tell parents about their programs.

“You got to meet people where they are,” Reid said of attending the festival. “A lot of people don’t know where those supports are, so you have to be actively out in the community in order to show face and explain the programs.”

The Hudson Valley Justice Center aimed to inform families of the resources they offered to assist with tenant/landlord issues, and family law.

“There are a lot of tenants who may not know their rights,” said paralegal Angelia Espinoza, noting the non-profit can help both documented and undocumented peoples. “We just want to let the community know we are here and we can assist in their housing matters.”

On another end of the field, Kadijah Burnett watched as her son, Jaquaie, hit a ball at one of the inflatable sports games.

“People love this,” she said. “They love when the community throws a party and enjoys themselves.”

Owens, who also has a daughter who attends Poughkeepsie High School, appreciated the day for another reason, too.

“By the time they get home they’ll be nice and tired,” she said. “They’ll just wash up and get to bed. That’s our day.”

Visit this link for a video look at the Spring Festival.