Fireweed Academy will host a community celebration on Saturday, May 6 from 1-4 p.m. in the yard at Little Fireweed. It’s a day of crafts, fun, entertainment, music and dancing.

The event is a Fireweed tradition and festival of spring and celebration of seasonal cycles. Booths will include face-painting, flower crowns, a cake-walk booth, a rainbow runner booth and a May Pole. There will be stilt walkers there and the students will play their violins. It will provide a space for families to visit and kids to play in the yard. The Spit City Slickers and the Homer Ukelele group will also be playing music at the event.

“It’s an event to introduce the community and have a good time. Perspective families are strongly encouraged to come,” Anna Raupp, member of Fireweed’s Academic Policy Committee, said. Raupp said info on the event was sent to younger schools, Girasol, Tiny Trees and Jeanne’s Learning yurt.

The school wants to provide an opportunity to introduce local families with preschool-aged children to the school. There will be a booth with members serving on the APC and in the school’s new Parent Teacher Organization. The PTO is responsible for some of Fireweed’s social culture and is just getting started at the closing of this school year.

“We’re hoping to drum up some parent involvement for next year, how they can get engaged in those parts of the school,” Raupp said.

On Tuesday, Kim Fine sits with two students from Big Fireweed preparing tissue paper that visitors can use to make bouquets, garlands or crowns at Saturday’s event and explains a little more about how the event was started at Fireweed.

“The tradition started with the Raspberry Lane Waldorf inspired kindergarten that was alive and well in Homer for a long time. Every spring we put up a May Pole and do a May Pole dance so on Saturday I’ll be teaching the kids how to do some of those songs and dances,” Fine said. Fine taught at Raspberry Lane for four years before she started teaching at Fireweed Academy.

“The May Day celebration is really just an offering from Fireweed to the community to have fun,” she said.