The annual Farmdale Festival and Silent Auction will be held Friday, May 2.

The festival will run from 4:30 to 8 p.m. outside in front of the school, which is located at 695 Prospect Road, Mount Joy. The auction will be held from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the gym/cafeteria.

If it rains, the festival will be moved to the gym/cafeteria, and the auction will be held in the LGI room on the second floor.

The events, which are both open to the public, are sponsored by the Farmdale Faculty Parent Association (FPA), and all the proceeds are used for class field trips, classroom supplies, special assemblies, library materials, and other educational programs and needs for kindergarten through sixth-grade students.

"I think (the FPA is) really important because it allows us to support our teachers and our families," auction co-chair Jess Brandt said. "The FPA is kind of like a bridge between the families of Farmdale and the teachers."

The festival will feature food vendors, face painting, inflatables, a euro bungee (large trampoline), and a 20-foot rock wall. Tickets will be available at the event and also may be purchased in advance. Email festival chairperson Jamie Kopp at Farmdale.fpa.festival@gmail.com for more information.

There is expected to be between 130 and 140 items up for bid at the silent auction, including a Blackstone bundle, jewelry, gift certificates to local restaurants, and tickets to various local museums.

The highest bidders will win trips to Knoebels Amusement Resort, Dutch Wonderland, the Pittsburgh Zoo, and a dolphin-watching cruise in Atlantic City. A season sign-up for local rec sports teams will be up for bid as well as passes to the Mountville Pool.

"There are a lot of really awesome items," auction co-chair Pam Swan said. "We will have something for everybody. The biggest thing is everything we make from the auction goes back into the school, back to the kids."

Email ffpasilentauction@gmail.com for more information about the auction.

The FPA also sponsors a family movie night, Trunk or Treat, holiday craft night, two book fairs, and a family bingo night. "Most of the FPA-sponsored events are free for Farmdale families, based on money raised from our festival and our auction," said Swan. "We want to be able to provide those free events for our families."

The FPA meets at the school on the second Thursday of every month, and those meetings are open to any Farmdale parent who is interested to learn what's happening within the school, Swan said.