The festival was full of color, and one reason was because of the “Crazy Hair” stand. There were girls of all ages running around with bright ribbons tied to their hair and neon pipe cleaners bent into shapes of hearts and butterflies. And behind those girls, were the other girls begging their parents to take them to the stand where everyone was getting their hair styled. Although the sight of a girl with at least 4 colors in her hair may be amusing, the money spent went to a very serious cause. The “Crazy Hair” table was sponsored by The Mountain Maryland Public Charter School. The Mountain Maryland Public Charter School will be opening in September 2011with a total of 110 students, ranging in grades K-4. What makes this school so special is that it is the first charter school in Western Maryland. “We will add a grade every year until we get to the 8th grade,” said board member Yan Bao, who is also a faculty member of FSU. This means that by the school year of 2015-16, The Mountain Maryland Public Charter school will be a full K-8 grade school. MMPCS has received much support from the community including Frostburg State University, the Allegany Arts Council and the Mayor and City Council of Cumberland to name a few. And according to board member Mindy T., “MMPCS needs all the support we can get,” as she explained that charter schools are still public schools. Charter schools are publicly funded, which means they do not charge tuition. “There is a higher standard of learning, however, as opposed to the traditional public school,” said board member Jennifer A. As the first charter school in Western Maryland, MMPCS hopes to set a standard above other schools and hopefully stick around for a while.
Another interesting stand at the festival was “Wilson’s Hand-Made Glass” and the owner and founder, Tom Wilson, explained that it can take up to 14 hours to create the glass sculptures. An interesting piece was the flattened bottles of alcohol, which Tom said were given to him by friends. “I have had a heart and kidney transplant,” he said “so I don’t drink this stuff”. His wife Judy is a photographer, and when asked about a favorite picture she has taken, she pointed to a picture of hundreds of balloons in the sky. As Tom had previously stated, he had a kidney and heart transplant, and that picture was taken at a program sponsored by the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) honoring donors in 2009. “All of these pictures are special,” she noted, “but this one has a more significant meaning to us personally”. Wilson’s Hand-Made Glass has been a part of the festival for three years now, and plans on returning again next year.
What seemed like the children’s “favorite stand” among the others was the Capering Kids 4H Goat Club. There was a petting zoo, milking station, and an arts and crafts station. In the petting zoo, children were allowed to enter the pin with the goats and feed them hay. The milking station was where children two at a time got the chance to milk a goat. And at the arts and crafts station, they were able to color pictures of goats and paint goat figures. There are twenty-seven children in the actual club, and it is the only club in the area dedicated to goats. “Most clubs are livestock, which is a lot more than goats,” said Carol M., who herself owns about forty goats. The club was started in 2004 and they have been to the festival five times. The Capering Kids 4H Club meets once a month at Elliott Memorial in Cumberland, and they attend a variety of events in the area. They sponsor events like fundraisers as well.
There were many more stands and tables at the festival, and dozens of locals came out. Jacob M. comes every year, and stated this year was his favorite so far. The weather was nice, the music had everyone dancing, and it made for a perfect day to attend the Appalachian Festival.
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