On February 12, a line wrapped around the Community Centre as eager Fernieites came together to watch Hearts and Treats, The Fernie Academy’s 17th annual Valentine’s Day performance assembly.
A lively celebration of love, 300 students from kindergarten to grade 12 took the stage to perform songs, dances, poems, and skits that exemplify affection. The Fernie Academy’s students had been preparing the presentation for five weeks prior to the event.
“We call it Hearts and Treats because the children provide the hearts via their poems, songs, and dances, and the cooking class provides the treats with their sugar cookies in the shape of hearts,” said head of school, Jocelyn Sombrowski. “This is how we celebrate Valentine’s Day at The Fernie Academy.”
The audience clapped and cheered for hours, watching kindergarteners sing love songs while holding up their hands in the shape of hearts, and listening to grade 10 students playing instruments to the beat of Come Together by The Beatles.
Belly laughs roared through the centre as grade eleven students described their ideal partners, while silence fell over the crowd when the grade 12’s sang German love ballads. The crowd even got a sneak peak of the grade fives rendition of Shakespeare, which they will be performing in full at The Fernie Academy’s Night of Shakespeare on April 29-30 at the Knox United Church.
Other performances included the delivery of cheesy love quotes, show-stopping dances, and a hilarious rendition of the Newlywed Game.
Adorning the walls were hand-drawn pictures created by the students, decorated with ample pink and red hearts. Also on display were love letters, sonnets, and poems handwritten by students. Ballots littered the tables as attendees got the opportunity to vote for their favourite printing, both block script or cursive, as part of the penmanship contest.
Sombrowski described the event as a commercial for The Fernie Academy; a presentation to show the community what they stand for, who they are, and the multi-faceted talents of their students.
The spectacle ended with a boisterous finale where students from grades four through 12 gathered on the stage to belt out Somebody to Love by Queen.
All of the proceeds from the event collected from coffee and cookies sales, as well as the auctioning off of seats for the first two rows, will go towards funding class supplies and field trips for the students. The Fernie Academy’s next community event is the Fine Arts night on April 15 from 6-7 p.m.
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