Nicholas and his class were in charge of a booth they named the Pretzel Palace, in which they sold homemade pretzels. When I say homemade, I mean that they got wheat from the school, ground it, and (I suppose) milled it in some way to make flour. They then made dough, and the teachers baked the pretzels. The kids were in charge of greeting the customers, asking them for their orders, and making change... with the teachers' assistance. The pretzels were yummy, and I hope to put Nicholas to work in the kitchen more often!
The rest of the afternoon consisted of innumerable treats: lemon peppermint sticks (i.e. a homemade peppermint stick stuck into a lemon), caramel apples with sprinkles on top, homemade zucchini bread, etc , etc.
There was real food for lunch, entertainment, and a silent auction. For the latter, the goal of any donated item was to create a greater sense of community. Thus, rather than giving a gift certificate to a restaurant, one donated dinner at one's house. We bought 2 pairs of season tickets to the Portland Timbers soccer team, and I donated 1 pair of the seats. The seats went for more than we paid, which we were glad to see because all proceeds go to the school.
Before we left, we watched a classical guitar concert played by some of the older Arbor students. At one point, Cate ran on the stage. We, which is to say Kathleen, quickly pulled her off stage. Without missing a beat, a student, who must have been all of 10 years old and who must have sensed Cate's boredom, smiled, turned to Cate, and gave her a little doll with which to play. Needless to say, Cate spent the rest of the concert occupied and that child is going in our will. You cannot make this stuff up, people!
Here's to Arbor!
