The Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) of East Petersburg Elementary School, 5700 Lemon St., East Petersburg, will host a spring festival on Friday, May 5, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. The rain-or-shine event will be free to attend and will include a variety of games, live entertainment, prize drawings and food trucks.

To participate in the games, attendees of the festival will need to purchase tickets on the day of. For each game, the players will have a chance to earn prize tickets, which may be exchanged at the end of the festival for rewards such as stuffed animals, stickers, temporary tattoos and food items. The prize drawing will include a selection of items donated by local businesses as well as themed gift baskets from different classrooms at East Petersburg Elementary.

Many of the offered activities will return from last year's festival, including the tic-tac-toe toss and the spinning prize wheel. The cake walk, a community favorite, will return as well. During the game, players move across 10 to 15 numbered spaces as music is playing. Once the music stops, each player remains on his or her current space, and a number is picked at random. The player on the space with the corresponding number is awarded a cake.

Throughout the evening, live entertainment and demonstrations will be provided by local performers and organizations, including magician Erick Hershey, Triple J Reptiles, Pulse Dance Studio and Premier Martial Arts. In addition to a board-breaking demonstration, Premier Martial Arts will provide information on martial arts to children who visit its tent.

Food and beverages will be available to purchase from G's Concessions during the event. Frozen treats will also be sold by Mr. Ice Cream Kid, operated by a young entrepreneur from the Landisville area.

"Our main focus is for kids and their families to have some fun," said Michelle Brenneman of the East Petersburg Elementary PTO. "We want to offer some things that are free, but we also might raise some money for the school."

The festival has been a tradition at East Petersburg Elementary School for decades; many of the parents in the PTO attended the event when they were children. The PTO utilizes the funds raised by the festival in a variety of ways, such as paying for school field trips, assemblies, classroom supplies and school staff appreciation. The festival also serves as a fun way for students to start to conclude the academic year and usher in their summer vacations.

The festival is operated by members of the PTO as well as many volunteers from the community, including high school and middle school students. Students from high school service clubs are able to volunteer for the event to acquire service hours.

For more information, search for "East Petersburg Elementary PTO" on Facebook.