Annual Back 2 School Festival Serves over 1,900 students

[Boone, NC] – The 2024 Back 2 School Festival was held this past weekend on Saturday, August 10 at Watauga High School, and served 1,964 Watauga County Students.

“This is our biggest turnout yet” said the festival’s coordinator, Kendra Sink. “We are so grateful to this community for making this event possible year after year.”

Festival attendees were given free school supplies, including backpacks and shoes, and 120 students even received fresh haircuts courtesy of volunteer stylists from the area. Local businesses and organizations were also on hand with games, activities, and free prizes for children and their families to enjoy during the event.

Publicity Coordinator Mattie Lucas remarked “We grow by about 100 students or so each year. It’s really a testament not only to the need that’s out there in our community, but to the willingness of the people in this community to come together to address it. This is such a weight off the shoulders for so many families.”

The festival also maintains a supply closet year round that can be accessed year-round by school social workers in case students need additional supplies during the school year.

This year’s Back 2 School Festival was sponsored in part by Mast General Store, Americans Helping Americans, Boone Sunrise Rotary, Alliance Bible Fellowship, Purple Crow, and Mount Vernon Baptist Church. The festival began as a collaboration between local non-profits to address the need for assistance with school supplies in our area. It has since grown into its own 501(c )3 non-profit organization, and has outfitted thousands of Watauga County children whose families are struggling to afford school supplies get the tools they need to start the school year confident and prepared. To learn more about the Back 2 School Festival, visit their website at www.back2schoolfest.org.