By Sandi Gedeon, Administrative Director
In October 2023, we had our first ever Bing Fall Children’s Fair, moving it from the spring quarter. It was a wonderful welcome event for children and families for our 2023–24 academic year.
Attendees enjoyed activity and craft booths as well as live entertainment, which included a performance by the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra String Quartet, and our very own music specialist, Leslie Hart, with special Bing Nursery School friends, consisting of current and former Bing staff and parents. The incomparable Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band closed the fair and was a huge hit with children and adults alike.
Over 150 parents prepared goods for the bake sale and the food booths. Cupcakes, brownies, and sweets of all kinds were popular, and nobody could pass up the delicious variety of food—from macaroni and cheese to salads to bean and cheese burritos to pizza. Additionally, new contributors joined many businesses that donated previously in providing food and gift cards. Special thanks to: Ana’s Bakery, Asian Box Street Food, Boichik Bagels, Coupa Café, Curry Pizza House, Di Wang & Nene, Douce France, Silvia Fernandez Illescas, Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, HE&C Tea+Pot, Joanie’s Café, Gary Kremen, Lulu’s, Noah’s Bagels, P.F. Chang’s, Peet’s Coffee, Pizza My Heart, Jenny Rahn, Sophie Rahn, Sun of Wolf Palo Alto, Terún Pizzeria Ristorante Bar, True Food Kitchen, and Wildseed.
Children and families enjoyed the ever-popular cake walk, face painting booth, duck pond, fishing hole, scavenger hunt (which involved a search for large dinosaurs and dinosaur bones), water works, and many more activities and booths. It was lovely to see new and continuing children’s faces light up when they entered the grounds and hunted down the “Pocket Person” for tickets and to pick a prize. Fun was had by all.
We would like to thank our event co-chairs, Maureen Fan, Jenny Fandrianto, Miao Li, and Poonam Sidhu for organizing a beautiful fair, as well as the over 150 parent volunteers and the Bing teachers and staff who helped with the activity and food booths. Proceeds from the fair benefit the Bing Nursery School Scholarship Fund.
