The Elfin Reader - Pasadena Waldorf School

The Elfin Reader
Elves’ Faire 2014
Elves’ Faire Chair
Heidi Rose Robbins
Dear PWS friends and family,
“I thank you God for most this amazing
day; for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes...”
- e.e. cummings
It was a most amazing day! We created a beautiful, ease filled, profitable day
bursting with creativity and community. Thank you so much for all you did to
make the day a joyous one.
One of my favorite things about Chairing the Elves’ Faire was the opportunity
to meet so many members of our community. We have an amazing group of
parents, faculty and staff! What a joy to all work together - trusting, inspiring
and uplifting one another.
I want to particularly thank two parents who made my job infinitely easier.
Steve Crays handled all the behind the scenes rentals and was meticulous
and thorough in a way that helped the Faire unfold gracefully. He worked many
hours overseeing the Big Picture. Joanna Simpson organized every last one of
us in our volunteer shifts and spent hours doing so. I don’t know how she does
it but I’m certainly glad she does. Thank you Steve and Joanna.
Again, thank you ALL. I am beyond grateful for this community and for the spirit
and kindness that imbue it.
Big love,
Elves’ Faire Committee
We would like to thank all of the Elves’ Faire Chairs who led their respective
areas with such equanimity and grace, and put in so many hours and days of work.
Faire Chair
Ad Sales & Sponsorship
Alumni Café
Angel Room
8th Grade Bazaar
Cotton Candy/Popcorn
Angel Room Items
Arts & Crafts
Ticket Sales
Characters
Coffee Cart
Decorations
Doll Room
Electrical & Lighting
Enrollment / Waldorf Room
Entertainment
Face Painting
Faeries’ Feast
Finance & Budgets
Games
Games Prizes
Elves’ Faire Raising
Graphics and Painting
Heidi Rose Robbins
Bill Bain
Melissa Puls
Roxanne Spear
Betty Guzman
Susan Madruga
Johanna Metzger
Rene Chiara
Katrina Burchfield
Tim Fitzpatrick
Veronique Hunziker-Tschopp
Raquel Huggins
Kirstin Davis
Laurie Fitzpatrick
Lilia Lopez
Liz Bass-Gillespie
Jeff Poehlmann
Ivy Reynolds
Monica De Francisco
Dwight Campbell
Robert Guzman
Diane LaSalle
Natalie Mendoza
Cristina Havel
Ivy Reynolds
Murry Hammond
Jennifer Pitt
Michelle Mondia
Cherry Lee
Thomas Havel
Trish Martin
Michael Martin
Heidi Rose Robbins
Chris Ghantous
High School Activities
Jack Frost Bake Shoppe
King Arthur’s Market
Photo Booth
Pixie Party
Pocket Coordinators
Prize Drawing
Program Design
Publicity & Communications
Puppet Shows
Rentals
Security
Silent Auction
Signage: Chalkboards
Signage: Banners
Table Decorations
Tea Garden
Volunteer Coordination
Wishing Well
Zero Waste Team
Development Officer
Director of Development
Cynthia Martinez
Julia Echevarria
Chris Barkoff
Lois Williamson
Anna Zamarripa
Jesse Zamarripa
DeAnne Todd
Bryan Poon
Nicole Schiller
Bradley Thordarson
Peter Wintersteller
Lucas Janin
Cassiel Hamilton
Denise Shukha
Maura Dinan
Kristie Bell
Heidi Rose Robbins
Audra Donahue
Jon Brody
Kathy Rinden
Rosa Balderrama
Dodie Hamilton
Adrienne Wilde
Steve Crays
Mike Puls
Melanie Burgess
Tamlyn Wright
Shelly Wilner
Jeff Phillips
Rebecca Gendry
Alex Wintersteller
Michelle Goode
Jill Jasen Ross
Bonnie Gavel
Joanna Simpson
Ginger Gelber
Kaki Wall
Nami Olgin
Jon Brody
Melissa Puls
Fantastic Results!
Elves’ Faire - By the Numbers
4,300+
Attendees
$72,000+
Raised for PWS
(and still counting - numbers still coming in)
plus $23,000+
Wishing Well Income
939
Shifts served by
PWS Volunteers
(setup, cleanup and day of Faire shifts)
1
Magical
Day
Our school will use these funds for campus improvements and many
other wonderful things. Look for updates soon to come.
Fantastic Faire!
Jon Brody
Dear PWS Community,
To say it is a joy to play a part in producing the Elves’ Faire is a
great understatement. It took the shared vision of the nearly 70
parents who together formed this year’s Elves’ Faire Committee to
dream up a magical day. The results are still coming in, but by the
looks of things we exceeded our fundraising goals and, perhaps
more importantly, went beyond our expectations in surpassing our
“friendraiser” goals. Throughout the day I witnessed smiling faces
on our children, our parents, our grandparents, and the thousands
of people who chose to come to the Elves’ Faire because of the
vision you created.
We stayed up late, sacrificed precious family time, learned a lot
about each other, and had a lot of fun - together working hard
to realize our dream of creating this gift for our children and our
guests.
“Not much happens without a dream. And for something great
to happen, there must be a great dream. Behind every great
achievement is a dreamer of great dreams. Much more than a
dreamer is required to bring it to reality; but the dream must be
there first.”
― - Robert K. Greenleaf
I thank every one of you who had a hand in the Elves’ Faire,
however great or small, for dreaming great dreams.
Miraculous, Magical Elves’ Faire 2014!
Melissa Puls
Each November, Pasadena Waldorf School creates a miracle by making the impossible
possible. This miracle is born of the imagination, ingenuity, courage, creativity, passion,
professionalism, and dedication of you all -- with a dose of magical optimism thrown in!
Every year, we generate vital funding for our school, we create community, we grow leaders, we beautifully represent our school to the greater community, and we imagine into
existence a Faire that will live in the hearts of memory of children forever.
Thank you Faire Chair Heidi Rose Robbins! You brought love, beautiful intentions, ease
and simplicity into the consciousness of our work together. You are simply a delight
to work with. Your leadership allowed us to create magical moments with confidence.
Working together, we were most certainly greater than the sum of our parts thanks in no
small part to your work with us.
To the entire Elves’ Faire Committee (all Area Chairs): wow, wow, wow. It is absolutely
humbling and inspiring to witness the work that you do, the interactions with one another, the vision that each of you brings, the leadership skills and the creative will force that
brings each area of the Faire to life. You put in countless hours and we hope you know
how deeply appreciated you are. Each of you is part of the miracle, the magic, and the
creation of this rare, strong sense of community.
Thank you to every PWS parent from Parent-Child through High School, for making
the Elves’ Faire successful. The way each of you participates is tangible evidence of a
powerful community. As co-creators of the life and spirit of this community, together we
continue to shape our school with lasting impact. What a fantastic example you are setting
for our children.
Thank you to all PWS Faculty for your support of this event, for opening up your rooms to
the Faire, for working at the Faire, greeting prospective families and alumni families, creating puppet shows, rehearsing choral performances, taking on the role of the various Faire
Characters, coordinating your students and much more. Your efforts and contributions are
invaluable!
Thank you each and every PWS Staff Member! You helped along the way with everything
from front-office support, to making the school beautiful, handling the money, storing donations, getting the many Elves’ Faire missives to everyone, and childcare. We would not have
a successful event without you!
Thank you 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th Graders for working at the Faire with good cheer
and great enthusiasm. Everything you did helped bring the Faire to life. You are all beautiful
ambassadors for our school and we are proud of you!
Thank you Jon Brody! Your passion is contagious, and we are so much better for the hours
that you put in, the way you cheer us on, and the way you engage the entire parent body
around this event. Great work, Jon.
Thank you Alumni and Alumni Parents for working the Faire and coming to the Homecoming Alumni Café! You are each an important part of our community and we are blessed by
your presence. Seeing you in the Alumni Café, hearing what this education meant to you,
and witnessing your joy and never-ending support for PWS brings tears to our eyes and
warmth to our hearts.
Elves’ Faire Prize Drawing
Congratulations to our winners!
1st Prize – 4 Days in Cabo with Airfare for 2
Phyllis Klein
(friend of the Gould family)
2nd Prize – Romantic Weekend for 2 in Ojai
Karen Chu
(friend of the Chu-Robin family)
3rd Prize – Dinner and a Show at the Pantages
Darren Goldberg
(friend of the Maran / Alborzi family)
The prize drawing raised over $17,000 for PWS!
Thank you to everyone who sold tickets,
especially the Chu-Robin and Gould families
who sold a combined 700+ tickets!
Extra special thanks to PWS friend
Angelique Encarnacion for her generous
donation of the villa in Cabo!
Chalkboard Signs
Shelly Wilner
When I received a big wave of requests for chalkboard signs
two weeks before the Elves’ Faire, I knew I’d need a team of
artists to help me complete them.
Huge thanks to John Herndon,
Mari Glaze, Andrew Heffernan
and Soyun Ahn for their beautiful
artwork (and Tim Fitzpatrick for
his musical entertainment) on that
sunny, breezy morning we all met at
the Wishing Well to draw.
Thanks also to volunteer
coordinator, Joanna Simpson,
for sending THE perfect
team of easel assemblers the
afternoon before the Faire:
Melissa Townley, Kathryn
Frazier and Steve Williams.
This dream team assembled
over 30 easels in a matter of
hours with lightheartedness and laughter! In working together
with everyone who helped make chalkboards and easels
materialize this year, I experienced all the “work” we do for the
Elves’ Faire as nothing but love in action.
Thank you one and all!
Volunteers
Joanna Simpson
I would like to thank Vivi Montgomery and Marybeth Short for
tirelessly making volunteer badges and stringing all those little
bells as well as working on Faire Day. Thank you Mark Dinan (aka
Gnomie) for making the text database to send everyone reminders
and fielding the many funny responses plus printing the scan
codes. Lastly thank you Sherrie Brooks for working all three shifts
and recruiting her lovely daughter Elliott as a volunteer. You are
truly an amazing team! xoxoxox
Security
Mike Puls, Head Security Elf
A tremendous Elves’ Faire thank you to the crack Security Team
volunteers: Rollin Herron, Wolfgang Kring, Paul Arenas, Eric
Potter, Kim Ha, Bo Madruga, Kurt Brabbee, Carlos Mollura, Josh
Ivy and Niev Kleinbort.
You all did a great job keeping the Faire fun and safe.
Ad Sales
Jon Brody
Bless you Bill Bain! With only a few weeks to go before the publication
of the Elves’ Faire program, Bill singlehandedly took on the daunting
task of filling some very big shoes in soliciting ads for the program. Your
work behind the scenes was tremendous, and we are inspired by your
enthusiasm to do it again next year.
Special thanks to Nicole Schiller for building our sponsorship program
from scratch over the past several years, and to Audra Donahue for
once again producing a beautiful Elves’ Faire program and making all our
sponsors happy.
Photo Studio
Peter Wintersteller
I would like to say a big thank you to all of the members of the
2014 Photo Studio team.
As always, Bradley Thordarson created a unique experience
that was both fun and yielded beautiful images! He also styled
every single session, there were over 80!
Big thanks to Lucas Janin for creating the appointment and
record keeping system and uploading the whole shoot to
SmugMug! The system worked great and really enhanced
everyone’s experience at the studio this year! I also want to say
thanks for helping me with setup and tear-down.
Ali Alborzi helped all day and also brought in the donation
from MILK Studios of the digital tech and printer! That’s huge!
David Hendrie, thank you for working a double shift! It’s always
nice to have an experienced person coming back, year after
year that you know you can count on!
Thank you, also to Dina Amado and Meeta Goel! The photo
studio requires a lot of hands and heads to pull off. I think we
get better at it every year and this was the most successful year
that we’ve ever had. That couldn’t have happened without this
super dedicated team!
Pixie Party
Cassiel Hamilton
This year’s Pixie Party was a true pleasure to co-chair. Not only
do I get the enjoyment of chairing with my dear friend Denise
Shukha (who has the patience and calmness of the Dalai Lama),
but the overall tone of the Faire was amazing, and all of the
volunteers were an absolute joy to work with. Many thanks to
Heidi for setting that graceful, stress-free tone.
Yes, the tulle made its appearance, but
it also seemed less stressed out this
year... not so much an explosion attitude,
but tulle that had been meditating, and
thoughtfully placed.
We had only 3
crafts this year,
and I think it was
much more enjoyed, and really led to
the old saying “less is more.”
A huge thanks to all of the volunteers,
pirates, fishermen, and gnome hat
helpers!!! It was definitely an enjoyable
experience this year, and I think that
was felt by all!
Love, tulle, and pixie dust.
Angel Room Items
Katrina Burchfield & Timothy Fitzpatrick
As co-coordinators for the Angel Room weekly workshops
we would like to thank the following people for sharing their
incredible crafting talent to help our workshops shine:
Tina Bolle-Kim
Kellie Johnson
Julia Bantner
Ivy Reynolds
Christine Haslett
Pilar Goeders
Karine Dermenjyan
...and of course Kaki Wall and Ginger Gelber!
Thank you to everyone who attended our workshops. There is
nothing quite like crafting in community.
King Arthur’s Market
DeAnne Todd, Nicole Schiller
As new co-chairs to the King
Arthur’s Market, we each brought
to the table a unique gift! Our
combined wood shop skills, sewing
skills and curating skills came
together to create something that
we were truly proud of!
Thank you to the entire PWS
community for making King
Arthur’s Market a great success!
We could not have created this
magical market without so many
helping hands. It was beautiful to
watch the children walk through
the market with sparkling eyes as
they became outfitted in one-ofa-kind capes, crowns, swords and
wands!
We want to start by giving a special thanks to our co-chair Bryan Poon
for many weeks of hard work in his wood shop bringing hand-cut, painted
and decorated shields and swords to life. We also want to thank you for
the beautiful wood garment racks that can be used year after year. Your
work was incredible! Another special thanks is due to Terri Reyes, our
seamstress extraordinaire, who created so many beautiful capes and
crowns. We could not have pulled this off without your commitment
and creativity! Thank you to the sewing hands of Jill Parker-Jones who
created the lovely scabbards for the swords and daggers. Thank you to
Tammy Kennedy for your beautiful sewing contributions. Thank you to
all the shield and sword painters who are too many to name, you can rest
assured that you made the day of over 150 kids! Every single shield and
sword was sold! Thank you to Ivy Reynolds for painting 8 shields the night
before the Faire when you heard that we were running short! A huge
thank you to each member of the PWS community who put their heart
into creating something beautiful for this market and to all those who
supported the market by buying something that was lovingly handmade!
A huge THANK YOU to our last-minute hair braiders Laura Cabral and
Bobbie Gonzales who stood on their feet for hours!
Lastly, thank you to Heidi Rose Robbins, Melissa Puls, and Jon Brody for
your calm direction and support!
Arts & Crafts
Veronique Hunziker-Tschopp and Raquel Huggins
The Arts & Crafts in a few numbers: 50 lbs of beeswax for candle dipping,
300 sheets of beeswax for candle rolling, 250 leather items for stamping, 400
sheets of watercolor paper for painting, 900 felt leaves and 45,000 beads for
garland making. This was a big year! And we could not have made it without
the help of innumerable elves working with us to make it happen.
Thank you so much to the many volunteers who helped us trace and cut
those 900 felt leaves, including Jill Parker-Jones, Steven Crays, Maud
Winchester, Johanna Metzger, Nancy Herron, Holly Brody, Nami Olgin, Liz
Bass, Georgina Huljich, Raquel Huggins and Gillian Gamboa. We honestly
did not realize it would be such a gargantuan task when we decided to have
the garlands as a craft and we greatly appreciated the care and time you took
to help us get those beautiful fall leaves ready. That was no small feat.
Daniel and Shannon Brousseau agreed to lend us their candle dipping
equipment again this year which allowed us to improve the flow of people and
thus reduce the wait time for candle dipping. Thank you very much for your
support as we are still testing and optimizing that new area.
A big thank you to Rosa Balderrama, who lent us the Lily kindergarten
painting boards for the watercolor craft which saved us not only time and
money but also a few late nights sawing and sanding wood boards.
Thank you to Lisa Kavanaugh who is always a valuable resource and shares
her long experience in the A&C with the new crew.
We missed Robert Guzman’s presence this year but deeply appreciated
his continued support and the rolls of background paper he provided for
decoration.
Dwight Campbell stepped in to help with electricity needs and brought
power to the candle dipping area which was critical; thank you.
Steven Crays truly has magical powers; beyond handling rentals for the Faire
he always popped up around campus when and where he was needed, ready
to help with anything and everything and with an ever present smile on his
face to boot. He understood our practical as well as aesthetic concerns (which
to a designer is vital ) and worked his magic to help us make the cohesive
appearance of the A&C area a reality. You are our hero.
Joanna Simpson was relentless in ensuring volunteer needs were covered.
Your efficiency and reliability are priceless and you are at the heart of what
makes that huge EF wheel turn. Thank you for your dedication.
Of course all those preparations would have been worthless without the
tireless contributions of all the volunteers who worked so hard during their
shifts, starting with our set up crew, in particular Guido Hunziker, Mark
Dinan and Youssif Kamal who hauled all our tables and gave the staple
guns a workout, and Maria McKenney and Julia Bantner who decorated our
area and imparted it with grace and beauty (we realize this description falls
strikingly along traditional gender lines and do not mean to imply anything
statistically significant from this very small sample; we appreciate everyone’s
contributions).
The Elves’ Faire volunteers brought the A&C area to life and jumped right
into the various crafts with impressive dedication. Thank you to all the
parents who worked with us, the 6th and 7th graders, high schoolers and
alumni who contributed their crafting skills and helped ensure our visitors
of all ages had a great experience. Deep gratitude in particular to those who
worked multiple shifts, including Kurt Brabbee in leather stamping, Maggie
Mahboubian, Steven Weber, Gayle Pillsbury, Joanna Holbek-Mathews and
Teresita Gomez who poured their hearts into candle dipping; you are our
beeswax wizards and we hope to see you again next year. Also thank you to
the mystery PWS dad who worked two shifts in watercolor. We couldn’t find
your name but very much appreciated your helpful presence.
A special nod to Guido Hunziker who once again shared his passion and
craftsman skills and led the leather stamping area to success with a loud bang
or two. Jon, be warned, Guido is talking about bringing blacksmithing to the
Faire next year…
And finally a huge thank you to Heidi Rose Robbins, Jon Brody and Melissa
Puls; you are the driving force behind the EF and it was a true pleasure to
work with you. You created an atmosphere of warmth, provided support and
were always available and open to new possibilities. You are a dream team
and a big part of why we look forward to the next EF!
Wait a minute, did we just say that?!?
The Acorn Man
The Elves’ Faire has come and gone,
But its magic lives on and on.
The Acorn Man brought such cheer,
To young and old who ventured near.
Everyone brought a smile to his face,
as he was kept hopping at such a fast pace.
Necklaces and pins he did sell,
and lasting joy to every heart as well.
He wants to thank you one and all,
and bids you farewell until next fall.
The Acorn Man would like to thank his bowmakers: Mrs. Hamilton, Ms. Cabral and Ms.
Bernal. The Acorn Man sold $1,254 of acorn
necklaces and pins. This is pure profit for the
school because of the work of my helpers. It is
truly a gift to bring such joy to so many hearts.
With Gratitude and Many Thanks,
The Acorn Man
Entertainment
Ivy Reynolds & Murry Hammond
The entertainment chairs wish to extend a heartfelt thanks to
our wonderful music crew volunteers. This was the first year
that Markus Duran captained our main music stage. This was
a big job that began months ago when Markus took on the task
of reassembling and adding to our school’s sound system, after
we lost so much of it in the big fire. A special thanks to you,
Markus! And this year we asked more than ever from our sound
crew volunteers, and they went above and beyond. John, Tim,
Sacha, Kim, Annie, Jared, Sean, Dicky, Anthony, Tony and
Corby - THANK YOU for all your energy, cooperative spirit, and
determination that made our stages the successes that they were.
The feedback has been glowing, and we have all of you to thank
for it.
A very special thanks goes to Westside Waldorf alum Livia Reiner
(older sister of Rose from PWS Grade 8) who was everywhere
playing her heavenly harp. We were blessed by our parents
and students that thrilled us with their musical talents. On the
upper stage, Anne Crawford’s atmospheric and minimalist piano
perfectly set the mood for what would be a wonderful afternoon
of music under the trees. James Hood returned this year and
kept everyone rapt with the deeper ambient side of his wonderful
hang drum sounds. Next was Yuval Ron and wife Carolyne, who
gave us the beautiful sounds of Middle Eastern spiritual music on
Yuval and Carolyne’s perfect harmonium accompaniment. Down
the hill on the lower stage, Shelly Wilner and her duet partner
Melissa Hockenberger set the tone with their close harmony
roots duo, then teamed up with Tim Fitzpatrick and his old-time
fiddle. Tim was also our “wandering Cajun fiddler” at the Faire,
a job we sincerely hope he’ll repeat as long as he feels the itch
to fiddle. The PWS High School Music Ensemble delighted
audiences of all ages with a stellar performance gracefully led by
PWS High School Music teachers Ted Masur, Gillian Gamboa and
Andrew Tholl. Shelly Wilner returned in the afternoon with her
award-winning barber shop quartet Sirens, who, thanks to Shelly,
returned from an extended hiatus just for our Elves’ Faire. Closing
out the day, and in what has become a great Faire tradition, John
C. Reilly brought his musical salute to the best of classic country
and old-time music, in all its close-harmony glory. John, you are a
musical treasure.
Thank you, all of you, for so generously sharing your talents year
after year.
Woodland Tea Garden
Jill Jasen-Ross, Bonnie Gavel, Michelle Goode
The WTG3 would like to thank everyone who came over to
enjoy a cup of tea in our new woodland home.
Great thanks to all of our volunteers who came out ready
to work hard. Our three beautiful queens, Birla Hood, Grey
DeLisle & Theresa Langer warmly welcomed each visitor,
thank you ladies for dressing up and gracing our garden with
your ethereal charm and beauty.
We would like to give a big shout out to Suzy Colleen and
Elements Natural Foods for donating all the baking and tea
making materials. We still haven’t met in person but we will find
you and thank you when we do.
Thank you to our amazing 6th & 7th grade volunteers! You
were each fantastic, wonderful helpers. We were greatly
impressed with your positive attitudes and willingness to work
really hard when we got busy.
Thank you to Heidi for believing that we really could pull it
together despite sporadic attendance at many meetings. Your
appearance of a relaxed attitude was very reassuring to us all.
You reminded us all that this amazing fete is a human endeavor
pushing for ease over excess.
Jon Brody, thank you for helping to unload tree stumps at a
moment’s notice and go straight back to your meeting smeared
with dirt and sap all over your clothes.
Jenny Hertz-Newman, you came early for set up, you stayed
for first shift, you brought us all lunch, and you kept showing up
every time we got busy! Next year you’re in charge! Thank you
for seeing us through!
Joanna Simpson, you are amazing, such grace under fire, thank
you for helping us staff the Woodland Tea Garden and for
helping us navigate our evolving Woodland Stage…
Nettie Neville - what is an Elves’ Faire without you filling our
area with sweet tunes, delighting your audience perched on
mushroom stools with your ukulele and song!
Also on the “Woodland Stage” this year was Yuval Ron and his
lute - thank you Yuval treating us all with your music.
Finally, a special thank you to Shelly Wilner and her team for
creating such beautiful signs, without which our guests just
wouldn’t know where to go or what to do for how many tickets!
We are humbled and grateful and wonder what Elves’ Faire
2015 will hold for us all…
Thanks to the entire PWS community for creating an amazing
Faire!
Jack Frost Bake Shoppe
Chris Barkoff, Lois Williamson, Anna & Jesse Zamarripa
The Jack Frost Bake Shoppe was better than ever this
year, filled with amazing scrumptious delicacies for all to
enjoy… and they did! We sold out again and we would
like to send our heartfelt thanks to the entire Pasadena
Waldorf community for all of the generous donations that
make the Bake Shoppe possible! We would also like to
thank the Squirrel’s Nest Coffee Trailer for the combined
effort to keep the coffee flowing! And, to Whole Foods
Market Arroyo Parkway for their generous donations that
made it possible for us to up our hot chocolate game with
a delicious non-dairy version which was very well received.
Additionally, a huge “Thank You!” to our many parent
volunteers who came together on Friday to make the Bake
Shoppe more beautiful than ever… and helped us return it
back to normal! And, many, many thanks to the numerous
parent and high school volunteers who kept the lines steady
and the fairgoers bellies full – we literally couldn’t do it
without you! Your welcoming smiles and gracious demeanor
really emphasized that special Waldorf feeling!!!
8th Grade Bazaar
Susan Madruga and Johanna Metzger
This year’s 8th Grade Bazaar was alive with many fun and
beautiful items that were crafted by the eighth graders and
their families: vibrant hand-dyed silks, origami lights, intricate
paper stars, felted animals, hand-made jump ropes, knitted
gnome caps, crystal ornaments, and lavender bath salts
were among the many items displayed.
We’d like to thank all the kids and parents who worked so
diligently to come up with these incredible gems, especially
our wonderful teacher, Aleide Murray, our new mom Maud
Winchester for keeping us crafting, and our veteran mom
René Chiara for keeping us going through it all. Special
gratitude also goes out to Ruby Moore for the hanging
crystals, and grandmother Mary Madruga for the knitted
gnome caps.
Many thanks also to our wonderful t-shirt and hoodie team
Jennifer Pitt and Andy Mueller for giving their time and
support so generously with their printing expertise and
contacts. And finally, to the amazing artists who donated
their talents to this year’s Waldorf t-shirts and hoodies: the
incredible Joe Murray for his delightful illustrations for the
younger kids, and International artist Suitman (aka Young
Kim) for his hip rendition of our Waldorf banner.
Doll Room
Monica De Francisco
A heartfelt thank you to all the friends of the Doll Room! A
variety of more than 90 dolls, bountiful knitted and crocheted
items, extraordinary doll costumes, and simple but amazing
handmade décor…what a blessing! Preparing for the Elves’ Faire
is a year-long commitment for this group of steadfast volunteers.
Doll makers, knitters, crocheters, seamstresses, decorators,
visionaries and passionate helpers…you have each brought joy
(and dolls) to many lucky children. Whether you made one stitch
or a thousand, all of your hard work is appreciated!
An extra special thanks to Tania Prosser of Fairy Shadow and
Christine Schreier of Puppenstube for allowing us to showcase
their handmade goods in the Doll Room.
Thank you Friends of the Doll Room!
Julia Bantner
Viviene Benjamin
Holly Brody
Shannon Brousseau
Wendy Campbell
Amy Chu
Jodi Delaney
Karine Dermenjyan
Monica De Francisco
Anthony Dimino
Kathleen Dimino
Audra Donahue
Markus Duran
Caro Foellmer
Stephanie Wing Garcia
Mari Glaze
Pilar and John Goeders (and
Oliver too!)
Teresita Gomez
Cristina Havel
Orlee Hirsch
Maryem Irias
Kellie Johnson and Bryan Poon
Tammy Kennedy
Diana Koenigsberg
Theresa Langer
Mu Larsen
Lilia Lopez
Sacha Malin
Maria McKenney
Tanya Mink
Michelle Mondia
Jill Parker-Jones
Jennifer Pitt
Cynthia Reis
Nicole Schiller Petrunia
Irmagard Tomlinson
Carolyn Wright
Debra Yeager
Squirrel’s Nest Coffee Trailer
Jeffrey Poehlmann
This year’s Elves’ Faire was a milestone for the Squirrel’s Nest and all the love
that has been brought to the vision of our coffee cart by the parent body over
the past few years. What started as a labor of love (and not just for a good
espresso) not only reached, but surpassed our initial vision in so many ways
when the beautiful trailer was rolled onto campus in time for the Elves’ Faire.
We have been nurturing this project a long time, through thick and thin, rain
and shine, even through last year’s equipment meltdown in the middle of the
Faire, to come through in 2014 with a record breaking success.
While we had some necessary last-minute shift changes, thanks are still due
to last-year’s volunteers because they gave us a lot to build upon. But in no
way could we have reached the level of success, nor could we have made the
positive outward impression to the many Faire visitors, without the tireless
work of Jason and Cassiel Hamilton and the parent volunteers who assisted
with all the hard labor of tearing down and rebuilding our classic trailer.
Helping Jason with the construction and finishing of the brand spanking new
Squirrel’s Nest were Jon Brody, Tim Fitzpatrick, Peter Listro, Matt Benjamin,
Del Bigtree, Kim Ha, Markus Duran, Highland Hall Waldorf Alum Jake
Hooper, and Rick Fuentes. These skilled craftspeople have left their mark
upon the Nest and STILL it remains free of any leaks.
The next level of thanks goes to our new coffee supplier, La Colombe, which
not only ensured that we were going to be serving some of the highest quality
coffee available, but that our machines and our baristas would be equally
tuned to the highest expectations. With a personal training session from the
company founder, we were prepared to step up our game to match the newly
customized trailer.
Of course, the Faire could not have been a success without the help of our
able volunteers. In the morning, Cassiel Hamilton and Indra Dunis added
their loving touch to the setup crew, serving coffee along with our professional
barista, Deana from Stumptown, even before the first shift arrived. And when
our barista had to leave, Paul Petrunia was able to take over and served well
past the end of his shift and into the evening. Also staying past their shift times
were Peter Listro and PWS alum Hannah Cardenas. The morning after the
Faire, Belinda Tung took it upon herself to cheerfully clean the well-worn
‘Nest from top to bottom!
Special thanks to Lisa Harris, Imaad Wassif, Ioakim Boutakidis, and
Melinda Stahl for their help and service and, perhaps more than anything,
their patience with me as we adjusted to the space and my rather hasty
organization.
The crew really shined this year and the Squirrel’s Nest could not have had
its level of success without them. I’m hoping to have everyone return to their
posts next year (and maybe get a few of last year’s crew back in the game as
well), because they really came off as a well-oiled machine without a lot of
time to prep.
8th Grade Angel Room
Roxanne Spear and Betty Guzman
Thanks to all our families and students in the 8th grade who came
out to support the Angel Room, from start to finish. It was a joy to
work with you and watch your creativity take flight!
The angel crew on the day was so gentle with the young kids.
Thanks for all that special tending, making the Angel Room a
special place for our young visitors to the Faire. Thank you to
Maud Winchester, who inspired the true sense of teamwork.
Special thanks to René Chiara who not only donated some
wonderful decorations for our magical Angel Room, but she also
masterminded the purchase of the new angel costumes that future
8th grades will enjoy for years to come. Thank you also to veteran
angel, Sue Shakespeare, who has been guiding the 8th grade since
last spring in all-things angel.
Our high school students assisted us this year in the angel room,
restocking tables and guiding young visitors through as they chose
special gifts, which really helped to make those Angel Room wait
times short this year. You made a big difference. Thank you PWS
High School students.
And thank you for the Pasadena Waldorf families who supported
the 8th grade with your beautiful hand-made crafts. It was a joy to
receive your gifts and they looked wonderful on display.
Silent Auction
Melanie Burgess
Big huge gratitude to:
All the PWS parents - who donated, helped get donations and
shopped the Silent Auction! We broke sales records again this
year, which would not be possible without the parents who came
to us with great donations!
Alison Dickey, Melora Hardin and Birla Hood - without you three
jumping in the week before the Faire and completely handling
all the Chic Boutique donations there would have been no Chic
Boutique! You really worked your tails off and saved the day.
Mariana Stern - for curating a beautiful Jewelry Box again this
year!
Sarah Fleming, Diana Koenigsberg, René Chiara and Ramsey
Naito - for seeking out great donations.
Jennifer Willhite - for running all over town for me!
Tamlyn Wright - for designing and physically setting up the Silent
Auction tent while juggling multiple jobs!
The PWS Parents (and Grandparents!) - who helped set-up,
decorate and tear down.
Roxanne Spear - thank you for offering and making my Jack Frost
baked good late thursday night!
Heidi Rose Robbins, Jon Brody and Melissa Puls - for all the
support and time you spent (especially Jon! Around the clock!)
assisting me when I was swamped!
Pockets Items
Maura Dinan and Kristie Bell
Dear PWS Community,
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the
families who contributed such beautiful Pockets items
for the Elves’ Faire. It was a joy for us to receive all the
wonderful little treasures and to witness the creativity, love
and effort put into each and every gift. We received little
wooden peg people, felted ornaments and jewelry, painted
stones, birch necklaces, hand painted books and cards,
walnut treasure boxes, magnets - too many to list them all.
No doubt the pocket items brought magic and joy to the
little hearts and hands that received them.
We would like to extend special thanks to Cristina and Tom
Havel, Collin Davis, Wiloe Poehlmann, Karine Dermenjyan,
Ginger Gelber and Kaki Wall for their thoughtful guidance,
ideas, supplies, and assistance in making pockets successful.
Wiloe’s peg people workshops were invaluable, and Cristina
and Tom’s assistance with wrapping saved us. We are still
in the process of trying to reach out and thank each family
individually. If we miss anyone, please know that we are
deeply grateful for your contribution and we thank you so
much for taking time out of your busy schedules to help
make the Elves’ Faire so magical.
Games
Thomas Havel
This year the Games Area was again a big highlight for not only the visitors
attending the Faire, but the families and staff of Pasadena Waldorf! The
feeling in the games was a direct reflection of the shared vision of this
years Elves’ Faire as a whole. Essentially adopting the set-up, execution
and break down as refined by Jesse Zamarripa over the last few previous
Faires, minor tweaks were made which continued to engage the crowds,
while adopting the energy and excitement envisioned by the Elves’ Faire
Committee this year. As always our volunteers and contributers this year
went above and beyond their Elf duties. Particularly the group of parents
who remained for several hours immediately after the Faire to essentially
hustle all the Christmas trees and hay bales throughout the campus back
to their pick-up location in the upper yard. With their efforts, versatility and
positive attitude, the Games area had the same excitement as in previous
years!
Games area sends special thanks to John C. Reilly for his expertise and
creativity in the raising of the two Flying Joust games, the thematic, energetic
and financial backbone of the Games Area. It is hard to imagine the Games
area and the Elves’ Faire without the Flying Joust and it seemed that this
year they were rigged just a bit higher to add to the excitement thanks to Nic
Larsen and his dad Mark Larsen, and Andrew Chong who worked tirelessly
with John to ensure the jousting was safe and fun for its riders. The Knights
Crusade Obstacle Course, a newcomer to the Games area last year was
again a huge success. Finally the Games area again thanks Joe Stanek for the
conception, of the Rope Labyrinth. Joe decided to pass the torch of installing
and implementing the Labyrinth on. His clear notes and diagrams allowed for
a successful set up and use. The children will be able to look for it at future
Elves’ Faires and always thoroughly enjoy playing the game.
A big thank you to Prizes Co-Chairs Trish and Michael Martin for planning,
organizing, setting up and working the Prize Booth. The Prize Booth truly
required a long term visioning process that took a tremendous amount
of work and their success was clear the day of the Faire. The display and
distribution of the prizes was great and happened flawlessly.
Finally, thanks to the parents who set up and broke down the games. A
special thanks to the two dads who loaned the use of their trucks to
make very heavy work that much lighter. The Games area would not have
happened without you.
A big thank you to all the PWS Student Volunteers! Most of you went
above and beyond and worked more than your shift required and many
worked double shifts!
All and all this year was a huge success and it was because of the
volunteers and contributors who made it so. Thank you.
Wishing Well
Ginger Gelber and Kaki Wall
The Wishing Well enjoyed a splendid Elves’ Faire day, our most successful
yet! We are especially grateful to the Angels who enable us to accomplish
the formidable work that we undertake to make this day shine. The Wishing
Well’s earthly Angels deserve praise for all their help with the innumerable
preparations, from the mundane to the heroic. Their hard work, dedication and
good cheer sustained us throughout.
Many thanks to: Eric Adkins, Kelly Conder, Maggie Mahboubian, Deedee
Weinstien, Rebecca Sofio, Suzette Ungard, Susan Birney, Kelly Salloum,
Richard Lundquist, Shannon Brousseau, Andrea Staff, Mu Larsen, Cynthia
and Dominick Reis, Katrina Burchfield, Jillian O’ Connor, Sue Shakespeare,
Cherry Lee, Wendy and Dwight Campbell, Indra Dunis, Delia Camp, Lana
Hearst, Andrea Phillips, Sid Phillips, Lorraine Vontista, Belinda Tung, Tammy
Kennedy, Cathleen Cox, Kristin Leachman, Tina Marrie and Jill Parker-Jones.
Special thanks to: alumni parents Ruth Falcon and Allison Keeney.
Unsung Heroes
For many of our volunteers, their Elves’ Faire work sometimes goes largely
unseen, while other valuable contributions fall outside the normal scope
of Elves’ Faire shifts. We deeply appreciate all of your efforts. You moved
mountains behind the scenes and our community thanks you!
Hiromi Koyanagi, your Japanese rice balls and miso soup are not only
delicious, they always sell out and your generous support for the school
does not go unnoticed. Peggy Reilly, Aleide Murray, Cesar Cázares, Corby
Gallegos, and Cynthia Martinez all sat down with us and worked thoughtfully
on scheduling the nearly 100 middle and high school student volunteers
throughout the Faire. Ted Masur, Gillian Gamboa, and Andrew Tholl had the
high school music ensemble in perfect pitch and presented a beautiful and
authentic representation of our school to the community. PWS High School
was more involved than ever in the Elves’ Faire, and there cannot be enough
praise for Cythina Martinez, Julia Echevarria, the High School Student
Council, and Arthur Pittis for their time, talents and efforts given in so many
ways. Adrienne Wilde, Dodie Hamilton, Rosa Balderrama and Kathy Rinden
produced not one, not two, but three sold-out puppet shows. Aleide Murray
was working the Faire with the vigor of a 1st grade parent, double and triple
shifting to ensure the 8th Grade areas were at full throttle. Blair Manzke,
Wendy Campbell, Dodie Hamilton, Carrie Ashby, Peggy Reilly, and Cesar
Cázares all gave their rooms to the Doll Room, Characters Dressing Room,
Jack Frost Bake Shoppe, Waldorf Room, Alumni Room, and Ticket Counting.
Thank you the PWS Administrative Staff! Michelle Foxx and the PWS
Aftercare team provided childcare on set up day and the day of Faire for
volunteers. She makes it seem effortless although it is an extremely difficult
job. The Aftercare team is always flexible despite many unknown factors. We
know she does TONS of helpful stuff behind the scenes quietly and without
fanfare that we never even know about... just doing a great job always with
patience and heart. Jessica Bolstad tirelessly supported the reimbursements
and is patiently wading through cash, checks and expense reports that
number in the hundreds; all done with an infectious, positive attitude. Major
extra credit: she and her husband David Bolstad donated 1,000 oranges to
the Faire for the Orange Peppermint craft! Dennis Baier and Becky Gafvert
are true unsung heroes of the Faire. They were there as long as anybody, but
nobody ever sees them as they count, double check, categorize, and organize
all cash and income. Frances Mencia, as the Neighborhood Outreach Guru,
sent the neighbor mailing out with a great response… 42 letters turned in for
complimentary tickets!
Manuel Roman is always quietly behind the scenes, moving, hauling, recycling
and doing general beautification efforts. Early Monday morning, he works
on the trash and any final moving of picnic tables, etc. He is always there
for us when we need him. Tireless, cheerful… the strongest man on earth!
Ariadna Armenta patiently received many inquiries about the Faire, managed
prize drawing ticket income, received and continues to distribute silent
auction items, coordinated hay bales, port-a-potties, and directed our parent
volunteers with their many questions to the proper person. She packs up her
office each year in seconds flat (seemingly) and re-creates it Monday morning
as if the Jack Frost Bake Shoppe was never there. Thank you to Diane
LaSalle, Natalie Mendoza, and Cristina Havel for integrating our teachers
into the Faire like never before on top of producing the Waldorf Room and
talking about Waldorf Education and our school with our visitors. Michaela
Keating orchestrates a myriad of tasks necessary on Faire infrastructure,
from fire-related electrical replacement, fire permit, new fencing around 1st
and 2nd, widening the gate on the court, hiring the cleaners, coordinating
the pods for us, moving the front office, and preparing our campus to
welcome our visitors. Ginger Gelber and Kaki Wall always give the highest
level of support, providing lots of wisdom, and volunteer-relation work and
relationship building. Their “pop-out” expanded Elves’ Faire Wishing Well is
a massive endeavor, and we aren’t quite sure how they pull it off each year.
Alicia Ramirez, we thank you in advance as your work with the Elves’ Faire
has just begun as you work with the Development Office to reconcile all those
numbers into tidy rows and boxes like only you can do. Douglas Garrett
offered fantastic leadership and support, wore several hats throughout the
day (including Father Winter). What a great presence he is for our school.
Karen Crays and Rollin Herron provided first aid and patched up several
wounded knights. Alumni parent Chris Ghantous produces the beautiful
Elves’ Faire artwork each year. Audra Donahue put in several all-nighters to
design this year’s eye-popping program. Lucas Janin and Ivy Reynolds, thank
you for beautifully capturing the spirit of the Faire in the photographs you
see throughout the Elfin Reader. Rebecca Gendry and Alex Wintersteller
made the stunning table decorations. Nic Larsen and his dad Mark Larsen,
you helped so many areas realize their vision with your thoughtfulness, careful
planning, resources, jaw dropping tool collections, muscle, and talents. Dwight
Campbell with support from Robert Guzman’s Concept Lighting provided
power and a gorgeous lighting design. We would not have had power to the
lower part of campus if super-electrician Brian Maguire hadn’t saved the day
hours before the Faire by restoring an electrical outlet lost in the fire. Michelle
Mondia and Jennifer Shepard tantalized our taste buds with the eclectic food
offerings (and faster lines!) this year. Fred Eric, thank you for wearing your
chef’s hat all day and helping raise money for our school! Walker Rollins was
literally buzzing with her bees and honey on the lawn. Arjuna Soriano and
Mark Dinan spent many hours developing our event website and online Prize
Drawing sales.
Thank you Tim Fitzpatrick, Katrina Burchfield, Kristie Bell, and Maura Dinan
for presenting so many workshops and engaging parents in a fun way with
your Angel Room and Pockets items. Nami Olgin was everywhere, from setup
through cleanup ensuring our waste was sorted. Thanks to Nami and Waste
Less Living, we successfully re-routed 92% of all waste generated during the
Elves’ Faire, diverting 1,884 pounds of material from the landfill. Ivy Reynolds
took on the task of leading Decorations, and, with the mentoring from our
extended family member Din Morris, presented our campus beautifully
to our guests. Thank you to Jennifer Pitt who led the ever-popular Face
Painting with a top-notch team of artistic parents, students and PWS teachers.
Jeff Poehlmann, thank you for tirelessly working to provide mobile credit
card solutions for the Faire and giving great training to the Squirrel’s Nest
volunteers. Not many people saw Lilia Lopez and Liz Bass-Galespie at the
Faire, that’s because they worked tirelessly behind the scenes throughout
the day preparing the wardrobes for the Greeters, Town Crier, Father Winter,
Pockets the Elf (x2), Acorn Man, and the Fortune Fairy. Chad Bantner
and Matthew Labyorteaux, you were literally our Knights in shining armor,
delighting children and posing for hundreds of photos, looking graceful in
the heaviest costume we could dream up. Jeff Phillips risked life and limb
to hang the signs and banners. Andrew Heffernan had his fingerprints all
over the Faire, doing everything from cutting set walls to making signs to
supporting Heidi Rose Robbins in her role as Elves’ Faire Chair. Being the
husband of the Elves’ Faire Chair is a job unto itself and we thank you. Kirstin
Davis and Laurie Fitzpatrick and their volunteer ticket team rocked Ticket
Sales this year - over 75,000 sold! Their job requires constant movement and
coordination with all the ticket booths and Business Office without a break
in the action. Anna and Jesse Zamarripa not only co-chaired the Jack Frost
beverages this year, they were also involved in so many more ways behind the
scenes. Thank you, we cannot thank you enough for all your leadership and
advice.
Michelle Goode and Bradley Thordarson designed, and Jennifer Pitt and
Andy Mueller printed, those beautiful yellow shirts our students wore that
made them great ambassadors to our guests. Joanna Simpson and Steve
Crays should have permanent offices at PWS after their contributions to the
volunteer and rental coordination. Cherry Lee provided strategic financial
advice that helped us reduce our overall Faire budget considerably. We were
also in awe of her Excel skills. Nicole Schiller, DeAnne Todd and Bryan Poon
took on the enormous task of chairing King Arthur’s Market a week before
the Elves’ Faire Raising and their hard work paid off - their market shattered
previous records for King Arthur! Caro Foellmer had to miss the Faire but her
contributions were felt in both the Doll Room and Pixie Party.
Lastly, a special thanks to the PWS Sweet Pea Parent-Child parents and
Grandparents! You showed your support like never before and we are so
grateful for donating your time and talents!
Do you know an Unsung Hero that we left out? Please email us so we can
sing their praises.
See you next year at the
Elves’ Faire!