Dillard Alumni group hosts family fun day
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on August 16, 2015 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Demaries Turnage, 10, and Anthony Lee, 9, dance around in a sprinkler provied by the Goldsboro Fire Department at the Dillard Alumni Family Fun Day on Friday.
T'Nasia Kasey stomped her feet.
A pool of water splattered around her bare feet.
The 4-year-old shrieked in delight.
She stood under the Goldsboro Fire Department's giant sprinkler in her play clothes, dancing around.
She leapt around, sending spurts of water across the lawn at Dillard High School.
Her mother, Tiffany, ate a snowcone while she watched her daughter.
The two live next door to the school. They wandered over when they saw the festivities hosted by the Dillard-Goldsboro Alumni and Friends organization.
It was the perfect way to celebrate the end of summer before school.
T'Nasia is going to School Street Elementary this year.
"She can't wait," Tiffany said.
She already has her school supplies ready.
The Dillard Alumni Family Fun Day bookends summer for many children.
Zaniah Carmichael, 8, says she is ready to go back to school.
This year, she has a "Frozen" backpack to carry all of her books for third grade at North Drive Elementary.
"I get to learn there," she said.
She played with her friends in the sprinkler, making the muddied grounds a slip and slide.
More than 200 people showed up to partake in the activities.
In addition to the sprinkler, there was a bouncy house and food.
The alumni picked neighboring children up in vans to transport them to the school building for an afternoon of fun.
"This is free to all the kids," Winston Barnes, President of the Goldsboro Dillard Alumni chapter. "We have more here than last year."
Ernest Lofton supervised the bouncy house. Inside the air-filled contraption, children climbed over obstacles and slide down inflated slides.
"They're having a ball," he said.
He helped organize the food and supplies for the event. This year, they expanded the menu beyond just lemonade to include hot dogs, grape juice, popcorn and snowcones.
Inside the school, refreshments were served and the adults enjoyed music.
"This is what we're supposed to do," he said. "We help seniors, low-income children and poor people. This is our mission."