BATH — A local elementary school gears up for its annual Fall Festival to bring students and their families out for fun and fundraising.

Bath Elementary School will host the annual Fall Festival on Thursday, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sponsored by the school’s Parent Teacher Organization, the festival will feature a variety of activities, games and even a costume contest, said Jane Rouse, president of the PTO. Hot dogs and hamburgers will also be available for purchase, provided by the Country Kitchen of Bath, Rouse said.

“I have a lot of people that help me put it together,” Rouse said. “The Country Kitchen in Bath provides the food. They do a very good job of providing them at cost so we can make a little money on them.”

The event is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the organization, with the money raised in the past going toward the purchase of printers for the school, funding field trips and supplying classrooms with much needed materials, Rouse said.

Bath Elementary Principal Pam Hodges said the money has been invaluable when purchasing additional supplies and funding extra activities not paid for with budgeted funds.

“It’s definitely the PTO’s biggest fundraiser each year for our school,” Hodges said. “It helps to cover the cost of field trips, and the teachers have opportunities to make some classroom requests for things that may go a little above and beyond than what we are able to pay for. They’re just very generous about letting us come to them with a wish list and we try to look and see what will benefit all students. Individual teachers can make requests and PTO officers consider the requests. In the past, also, they’ve used some funds to bring different assemblies and special presentations for different grade levels.”

Rouse said the festival will feature booths set up for games and activities, including a book sale; a fish pond where students can go fishing and win prizes; a game that involves throwing a Frisbee into slots and win prizes; a football throw; a putting game; a soccer kick; and many others. Each booth will require a ticket, costing 25 cents. There will also be a cakewalk inside and a cookie walk outside, as well as a silent auction. The items used for the auction include themed baskets made by different classrooms and grades throughout the school, Rouse said. Among the themes used in previous years include a Duck Dynasty basket, a chocolate lovers basket, a gift card basket and a movie night basket.

The event will also feature bingo games running continuously throughout the festival, an inflatable slide outside, and a fire safety house, which will teach students about how to best react in the event of a fire. There will also be a costume contest for the students, Rouse said. Each age group will have a winner: ages 0 to 3; ages 4 to 6; ages 7 to 9; ages 10 to 12; and ages 13 and older. The winners will receive tickets to be used during the festival, Rouse said.

Rouse said the event has raised $10,000 so far, just from the sale of raffle tickets. Items for the raffle are donated to the PTO and the school. Each homeroom in grades Kindergarten through fourth and each grade in fifth through eighth names a prince and princess for the male and female students who sell the most raffle tickets. Then, a king and queen is named for the male and female students in the school who sell the most tickets overall, Rouse said.

Area businesses can sponsor the festival and the PTO provides signs based on how much each business gives for sponsorship, Rouse said.

For more information or to sponsor the festival, contact Jane Rouse at 252-944-5284.