Cracker Fest to benefit Duette Elementary School set for Saturday
MANATEE -- With the addition of a whip cracking contest and craft vendors, organizers of the fourth annual Cracker Fest are hoping for a good year.
"I'm just going crazy getting ready for Saturday," said Donna King, the principal of Duette Elementary School, the last one-room schoolhouse in the state of Florida.
King will retire at the end of the academic year, in June, and it's more than likely the school will cease to operate as a school next year, although the school district has yet to make a formal decision.
Even so, money raised at the event Saturday will benefit the school for the remainder of the year and help pay off some of the school's debt. In past years, officials have raised about $5,000.
"Each year, we hope it'll be more," King said.
The festival, which celebrates the colonial pioneer settlers of the Sunshine State, grows each year, King said, with word spreading through social
media and word of mouth. More craft vendors have been added this year, and there will be a whip cracking contest for children, with a new whip as the grand prize.
Children will compete and win awards for loudest pop or crack of the whip, best effort and best simultaneous crack of two whips.
"That's really going to be something," she said.
Admission to the event, held on the school grounds at 40755 State Road 62, is free. Food is available for purchase. The fest also features live music, and "everything cracker."
"Cracker is Florida history. The Duette school grounds is true Florida. The school building is Florida history," King said.
The festival starts at 10:30 a.m., and King said they'll stay on the grounds until the music stops and the food runs out.
For more information on the festival, visit www.duettecrackerfest.org.
Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter @MeghinDelaney.
This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 11:09 PM with the headline "Cracker Fest to benefit Duette Elementary School set for Saturday ."