By Valerie Flores

Patterson High hosted its 5th annual Community Fair on September 24, 2015, in the cafeteria to welcome new students and old students back for another great school year.

As always, there were so many people, from jobs like State Farm, to after-school programs that we have here at our school, like the J.R.O.T.C program. Several colleges came to visit our school, too. Towson University came to this great event to help students make it to college by providing information about their college, as did B.C.C.C.

Lauren Hepner from Art With a Heart said, “I never had this during my high school years. This is different and cool to bring people together, which is awesome for us because not many schools have any events like this.”

Ms. Mahoney, who has been a teacher for about 16 years, loves the event. She said it’s really nice to be part of the Patterson family because it creates events like these.

Ms. Dagostino also stated that the event is great because it gives her a chance to meet new members of the Patterson family.

Kendric Senior, a freshman this year, said he enjoyed the flamenco dancing (there has been a flamenco dancer at the event every year) and the group of students selling snow balls to support their club.

Michael Candelario, a junior, has been at Patterson since his freshman year. He said the school is diverse (Nepalis and other Asians, Hispanics, Whites, Blacks, Arabs, etc.) and he gets to see these people and meet new students at the event.

The Community Fair has become a cherished annual tradition at Patterson, drawing hundreds of students, parents and community members every year. It has even been copied by other schools in the city. If the success of this year’s fair is any indication, it is safe to assume that this remarkable event is not going away any time soon.