Keeping with tradition, Barstow students, families, and faculty attend Harvest Festival.

Barstow has a multitude of traditions, ranging from Upper School Convocation to Tree Day to Grandparents Day. One of the most popular, though, is Harvest Festival, a three part celebration that draws students, faculty, and parents of all ages.

Originally the Fall Festival, the Harvest Festival is a tradition dating back almost 50 years. Over time, the celebration has evolved. For example, in the 1980s, the festival was similar to a country day fair, as advertised in the 1986 Fall edition of B-line. Then, in the 2000s, the festival was more for younger kids, taking place inside Varsity Gym. A variety of parents and upper school students organized games that the kids would play, collecting tickets which could then be traded for prizes.

Now, Harvest Festival has returned to its country fair roots, including a variety of bouncy houses, rides, dance floors, and food trucks. This year, the festival did not disappoint, especially for Barstow’s younger crowd. Popular games included a bull-riding machine and of course the bouncy house.

Lower schoolers also took to the dance floor for a multitude of competitions, including a highly contested hula-hooping competition to the tune of the Black Eyed Peas’s “Boom Boom Pow”.

The ice cream truck was also popular with guests, enjoying a treat while walking the ground, maybe stopping in the photo booth to take a few quick pictures, before moving on to the next attraction.

Directly after Harvest Festival, the varsity boys soccer team took to the newly renovated lower field to play Northeast KC in one of the most attended games of their season. The student section was bursting with students K-12.

For the high schoolers, the theme for the game was “construction worker,” leading to many dressing in brightly colored neon vests, myriad hard hats, and even a cone or two. Michael Yagan ‘24 stood out with his construction worker themed tie, while Pep Club also provided themed attire and body paint for the crowd.

“The student section was definitely an extra motivator to play hard. The team just built off of the crowd’s energy and enthusiasm, especially as it escalated through the game,” explains right back Pierce Farinelli ‘24.

As for the game, Barstow dominated against NE KC, winning 3 to 1. In the first half, team captain Tyler Mcneive ‘24 scored the first goal off of a free kick. The resulting celebration with Cale Williams ‘26 drew shouts from the crowd; the duo salsa danced before returning to their positions on the field.

Mr. David Muhammad, the Dean of Student Services also made an appearance in the first half of the game, starting a “I believe that we will win” chant to hype up the crowd.

Next, midfielder Daniel John ‘24 scored another goal off of an assist. John currently leads the team in goals, with a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

At half, juniors and seniors rushed from the stands, ready to compete in the Annual Harvest Fest Halftime Frisbee Competition. Organized by Mr. Dan McNickle, the frisbee competition created a sense of healthy competition between the two grades.

From the very beginning, the juniors were slated as the underdogs, outnumbered by almost 10 people at the beginning of the day. Thanks to many last minute sign ups, the juniors made up some ground, but were still heavily outnumbered by the seniors.

Additionally, a large group of senior boys prepped for the frisbee game during school lunch breaks, creating a chasm in terms of skill.

Before Mr. McNickle blew the starting whistle, both teams huddled together, making last minute plans, hyping each other up

Unluckily for the seniors, the juniors dominated as soon as the frisbee was thrown. Standout players included Max Moore, Jackson McNickle, and Joe Whitfill, who continued to connect with the end zone over and over again.

Whether or not the juniors won 4-0 or 3-0 is contested by many (it was definitely 4-0), but the juniors fulfilled their ultimate underdog story, not even allowing the seniors a single point.

In the second half of the game, the student section felt more energized, slowly moving closer to the edge of the field. After NE KC’s fifth yellow card, the students screamed the go-to “you can’t do that” chant, drawing some harsh responses from opposing players on the field.

Lastly, team captain and defender Andrew Lang ‘23 closed out the game with a goal, ending 3-1.

“It was great to see everyone out there supporting their fellow students. It was really awesome to see Barstow win,” says STUCO Vice President Liane Bdair ‘24.

After the win, students charged the field to congratulate the players, before heading to the Harvest Festival Dance held on the patio.

One of the main complaints of many students is the so-called “Barstow attitude” surrounding dances, where often, people do not dance, bring dates, or make a large ordeal out of the events. This is especially prominent for more formal dances like Winter Formal and Homecoming, where students will often only attend for an hour, as dances are not deemed as important or as fun compared to other schools.

For the Harvest Dance, though, the casual atmosphere mixed with the relatively small space meant that students had more fun than they anticipated.

Junior Izzy Parr ‘24 says that, “Because the space was relatively small, everyone felt really close to each other, and it made the whole experience really fun when everyone danced together.”

On the patio, students roasted marshmallows to make smores, drank gallons of Caprisun, and laughed in small groups.

“It was fun to dance and talk to everyone after getting a win in the game,” says midfielder Raj Fanaswala ‘24.

Led by the seniors, the dance floor consisted of multiple mosh pits, a few dance circles, and of course, a crowdsurfing Eli Zeldin ‘25 (which no dance is complete without). Popular songs included the classic “Low” by Flo Rida and T-Pain and “family ties” by Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar.

“Even though I was scared George Colombo was going to drop me, it felt like I was flying,” exclaims Zeldin about his crowd surfing experience.

Overall, Barstow families had fun at Harvest Festival, and are excited for the tradition in coming years. Perfectly summed up by Bdair’s words, “I think that these types of events really bring the student body together and allow us to have good times.”