After snow, ice and rain, the kids’ holiday party must go on

Lynnzey Grendahl, 6, finds her perfect stuffed animal Thursday during the 10th-annual Holiday Festival at Sarah J. Anderson Elementary School in Hazel Dell. The event was postponed because of last month’s snow and ice. (ZACHARY KAUFMAN/The Columbian)

The first time volunteers threw a big holiday party for kids in Hazel Dell — 10 years ago — they were ready for 35 children and had to turn some away.

“We ran out of everything,” said Bud Van Cleve, president of the Northeast Hazel Dell Neighborhood Association. “We ran out of food, ran out of gifts — and they were still coming.”

That hasn’t happened since, thanks to a host of generous sponsors, but this time Mother Nature threw the volunteers a curve ball laced with snow and ice on Dec. 18.

So they rescheduled.

And Thursday night at Sarah J. Anderson Elementary School, about 70 volunteers were ready for more than 500 laughing, noisy, rambunctious kids, and their parents, who stood in a long line to get into the gym.

Matthew Atkinson, 13, and his sister Ann Elise, 11, were lined up outside the school wearing their red East West Martial Arts uniforms.

“We’re going to it (later) and we don’t have time to switch,” Matthew said.

They were there with their father, David, and little brother, Jonathan, 8, who said he goes to Sarah J. Anderson and is in Ms. Geloff’s class, Room 103, as a matter of fact.

“It’s awesome,” Jonathan said. “Because there’s going to be trees, presents and treats.”

And indeed, once children were given raffle tickets for new bikes and entered the gym, there was a fabulous holiday festival inside, one to remember.

About a dozen beautiful new bikes — Mongooses, Rampages and smaller ones with pretty tassels — stood gleaming in a row behind yellow tape, waiting for the raffle.

Behind them were tables piled high with stuffed animals of every sort, with children moving down the line and choosing teddy bears, Raggedy Anns and others.

“I don’t want one, you can take two,” a boy said to a younger boy.

It was elbow to elbow, with children and parents holding on to wrapped gifts that also were provided, including footballs, Monopoly sets and more. There were about 1,000 gifts, organizers said.

“It’s good, said Daniel Campbell, 11, who showed off his battery-powered Stunt Vehicle. “All the toys, all the kids and the fun.”

Volunteers, many from other neighborhood associations and groups including Village Idiots of Vancouver, were staffing craft tables. Children decorated frosted cookies with colored sprinkles, got their faces painted and glued pipe cleaners shaped like reindeer antlers onto candy canes.

Meanwhile, Ronald McDonald had smaller children burning off excess energy in a semicircle, hopping and spinning and laughing as he went through his Big Red Shoe Revue.

“Say ‘hi’ to your neighbor and give a smile,” he said. “Now turn and wave the other way.”

Asking if anyone played the trumpet, he called a little girl named Sam up front and gave her a duck call to blow into, then ducked to the floor when she managed some squawks.

When it was time for the raffle, a woman took the stage and announced the numbers in English and Spanish.

A tiny girl and her mother claimed one with training wheels, which the girl immediately tried pedaling. But not before Fire District 6 staffers fitted her with new helmet.

Since their experience 10 years ago, the annual event has a motto, “We will never turn a kid away,” Van Cleve said.

Children and families from anywhere were welcome.

The donors who make that a reality include Hewlett-Packard, McDonald’s, Burgerville, Kohls Department Store, Waste Connections, Hazel Dell-Salmon Creek Business Association, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Winco, Safeway and Frito-Lay.

“If we had to pay for everything, it would be about $48,000,” Van Cleve said.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.