Written by Trip Peterson and Ethan Cottrill
The Harvest Gathering is a yearly, community-building event to bring together the students and families across all four divisions in a casual and friendly atmosphere. This year, the event had a focus on community and family. This event is a time-honored tradition at MVS, starting as an event for patrons, where meals made from the vegetables grown in the Z-lab were served, titled the “Harvest Festival,” As the years have gone by, the Harvest Gathering has grown from a small event to what it is now, providing the ability for everyone to come and enjoy, showcasing how it has become more of a gathering of families and friends. In The Head of School, David Long’s words, “This event is who we are. Celebration is one of our core values. [We are] creating memories to be together and build community. The faculty and teachers coming together to make this possible were amazing.” The Head of Middle School, Mike Boyer, agreed, and expressed how it’s a “great event to build community.”
This year, there was a new addition of the kid’s crafts area, allowing younger students to participate in activities such as rainbow scratch paper, paper stained glass, mask coloring, and the very popular pumpkin painting.
Multiple food trucks were at this event, including a long-term partner of MVS, El Meson, Cupzilla, providing Korean BBQ, Billie Gold bubble tea, and Sweet P’s ice pops. Rich Taste Catering, which helps MVS with many events, was another option, offering more dinner-style options. Beer and wine were provided by a local distributor and were available per glass in exchange for a $2 ticket. On the topic of drinks, a raffle was held for people ages 21+ containing prizes of wine and other assortments of beer.
One major performance this year was “Peace Like a River,” performed by lower schoolers, accompanied by sign language. Another notable performance was Rylee Boyer’s amazing singing. Both of these songs drew the attention of the families gathered.
The weekend also included Homecoming, which you can read about here. Between the Harvest Festival and Homecoming, MVS has been a busy place this weekend.
