Student Spring Festival to rock out on March 28

After a complicated process and an enormous amount of planning, “Student Spring Festival” is coming to life.

Sponsored by the Mariposa Yosemite Rotary Club, the Student Spring Festival is a free student-led music festival which will take place on March 28 at the Mariposa Arts Park from 5-9 p.m.

Students from the Rotary Interact Club at Mariposa Count High School are the masterminds behind the event.

“Beat Harvest shows with Ava Burns used to be a big thing that showed off student talent,” said Xavier Dacanay.

“Those student shows kind of stopped and there hasn’t really been anything. We want to change that.”

The performing bands will include JNX, The Remedies, the MCHS Jazz Band, Rosie Neogy, Clementine DiMorente and Bret Brown among other student performers.

“A lot of my friends have musical talent,” Dacanay explained.

“They don’t have a lot of places to show their talent so I wanted to put together this event.”

The Lemon Drop food truck will be catering throughout the evening as the event is also a fundraiser for future projects of Rotary Interact Club.

One of those projects is putting air purifiers in the locker rooms at MCHS.

“I had the idea to put air purifiers in the locker rooms,” said Spirit Dewitt.

“It came about because I take weightlifting and after everyone is done with their workout and getting dressed it can smell pretty gnarly.”

The process of getting this event together has been complicated, but a positive learning experience.

“Putting an event like this together has been challenging.” Dewitt said.

“From coordinating with Parks and Rec, Mariposa Rotary and MCHS, we have been juggling the different requirements of actually putting on the event. It’s been a really good learning experience though and we’re finally finding our way through it.”

The Rotary Interact Club at MCHS is a service-oriented youth organization for students sponsored by the Mariposa Yosemite Rotary Club.

The club focuses on leadership development, community service and international understanding by organizing projects that benefit the local area and the world.

“We are currently working on a lithium battery collection project in collaboration with Mariposa Rotary,” Dewitt said.

“We are hoping to collect batteries that would otherwise be disposed of improperly and also raise awareness for the importance of doing so.”

Student Spring Festival is a free event for the whole family.

“Come on down and enjoy a night of music while supporting local students,” Dewitt said.

There will be various ways to donate to the Rotary Interact Club during the event and any amount donated is appreciated.

Checks should be made out to Mariposa Yosemite Rotary Club, with “Interact” written in the memo.

For more information about Student Spring Festival or Rotary Interact Club, contact Dewitt at spirit.dewitt@student. mcusd.org or Henry Lower at henry.lower@ student.mcusd.org