Round and round the carnival lights go

Gabby Sanchez, Co-Editor-In-Chief

May 17, 2013

From May 10-12, Downey High hosts a carnival in the south parking lot to fundraise for band, football, and baseball. The carnival was open to the public and admission was free.

Downey High School hosted a carnival in the south parking lot from Friday, May 10 to Sunday May 12 where the attractions ranged from amusing rides, entertaining game booths, and tasty carnival food. The funds raised through the social event were meant to boost income for the baseball and football teams, and band.

All three nights were filled with students roaming the lot that was packed with eye-grabbing rides ranging from kiddy-like carousels to more extreme rides such as Pharaoh’s Fury, Zero Gravity, and the highly acclaimed Zipper. The night saw carnival attendees use the event as a place where a group of friends could join together, share a couple of laughs, and face their fears of heights and stomach turning coasters.

Sophomore Kristi Alcaron attended the carnival on Friday night to support her school’s sports team as well as enjoy the company of her friends and the carnival’s main attractions.

“I went to the carnival to support the guy’s baseball team,” Alcaron said. “The best part was riding on the rides, hanging out with my friends, and eating lots of food.”

The amusement type rides weren’t the only thing that appealed to the carnival goers. Booths were stationed in various spots around the lot and provided the people with both savory and sweet treats. Cravings were satisfied by stands selling popcorn, corn dogs, cotton candy, shaved ice, and other quick foods.

Senior Yesenia Medina, although mainly attending the carnival to explore the rides and game booths with friends, was also looking forward to the treats the special event provided.

“I came to the carnival because I wanted to see my friends, walk around, and eat some cotton candy,” Medina said.

With a lot full of students from different high schools and middle schools, parents and their young children were also mixed in the group of supporters, enjoying the ambiance of the fun inducing occasion.

Emmanuel Pena, a resident of the city of Pico Rivera, travelled with his wife and children to Downey to support the cause and was content with the outcome of the carnival.

“We came to support the city,” Pena said. “The best part is probably the environment; it’s very friendly and we also came to support our daughter’s school.”

Stomach turning rides and sticky treats appealed to the students and allowed them to experience an enjoyable night at a school event. Not only was the fun filled environment able to give the students a memorable day, it also gave the pupils an opportunity to contribute to the sports and music program, raising money for good causes.

About the Contributors

Gabby Sanchez, Co-Editor-In-Chief

As her time at Downey High School reaches a conclusion, senior Gabby Sanchez is thrilled to be on The Downey Legend as Co-Editor-In-Chief for the 2013-2014 school year. She originally joined the school newspaper the previous year at the suggestion of her Honors English 10 teacher, Ms. Kasner. Kasner saw Sanchez’s writing potential and was glad she applied. Once Sanchez was accepted, she noticed how being part of a school newspaper only improved her writing. “Its definitely given me the opportunity to constantly practice and better my writing,” Sanchez said. “but mostly it's given me an idea of how a journalist would write as opposed to how I would write an essay for an English class.” Eventually, her passion for journalism, and writing in general, started to grow. She became more and more dedicated to the craft of providing newsworthy stories for the student body to enjoy. Now as she juggles AP courses and a leadership position on the newspaper staff, Sanchez wants to make sure that the hidden stories on campus are published, but that also, all staff members respect each other so that being newspaper is more thrilling than dreadful.

Although Sanchez is a senior and college is on the horizon, she is still not sure exactly what university she wants to attend; however, she does have a general view of what she wants her college life to be life. “I want to go to a college that will fulfill my needs, expand my horizons, and expose me to wonderful, weird, and mind boggling things,” Sanchez said. “Honestly, I just want to be somewhere I wouldn’t mind spending another four years.” Although she isn’t particularly sure what she wants to do after college, Sanchez wants to make sure that she lives on the East Coast, doing something she is extremely passionate about. On her days when she isn’t pondering life and her future, Sanchez enjoys gluing her eyes to her iPad screen, watching Netflix movies (her taste in movies is eclectic, ranging from the deeply emotional foreign films, to the goofy comedies featuring Seth Rogen, Will Ferrell, and James Franco). Aside from spending time viewing films, Sanchez also enjoys the company of her dog, Mia, whom she absolutely adores with her whole heart. At the end of the day, Sanchez is confident that whichever path she takes will be because her passions will lead her to the happiness she so craves in life.

Celeste Lira, Photo Editor

Senior Celeste Lira is this year’s 2012-2013 Photo Editor for The Downey Legend. In hopes of becoming a better photographer, Lira landed a position on staff to allow her to get more experience in becoming a professional photographer. “It sounded fun and it would be a good experience being part of this school since I just moved to this school sophomore year and not living in Downey and all,” Lira said. Taking Photo 1 last year, Lira took an interest in photography, but she didn’t know she was going to like it as much as she does now. She continued to pursue her new interest and is also currently in Advanced Photo. This year will be her first and last with The Downey Legend, so she hopes to make the most of it. Her goals for this year are to get more students excited about the online newspaper, thus gaining popularity for the site. Aside from photography, Lira plays guitar and plans to one day travel the world.