‘Parade of Schools’ and ‘Zoo-to-Boo’ to finish Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week is set to finish this weekend with a “Parade of Schools” and “Zoo-to-Boo Family Fun Day” Saturday.
The “Parade of Schools” will go from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday starting from Tampico’s parking lot down Victor II Boulevard to the Morgan City Barnyard Zoo on Myrtle Street. Prizes awarded for best school drug-free cheer and best school drug-free banner, according to a news release.
The “Zoo-To-Boo Family Fun Day” will follow the parade and cheer contest from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Morgan City Barnyard Zoo. A $1 donation is requested at the gate entrance, the release stated.
The fun day will feature games and activity booths sponsored by parish 4-H clubs with each game costing about 25 cents, the release said. Kids will receive a Halloween bag filled with McDonald’s cookies, Burger King crowns and a Halloween favor.
Concessions, including hamburgers, hotdogs and drinks, will be available. Proceeds from concessions benefit St. Mary Outreach. Cake will be provided compliments of Cannata’s Family Market.
A Halloween Costume Contest begins at noon, sponsored by the Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha sororities. Prizes will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners in each of the four categories, birth to age 3, pre-K 4 to kindergarten, first grade to third grade, and fourth grade to fifth grade.
No drugs, no alcohol and no tobacco are allowed during the event.
Today is tobacco-free day, which is being promoted throughout the parish, St. Mary Parish Schools At-Risk Interventionist Gidget Everitt said. Sunday will be a day of prayer for area churches.
The week has already featured lots of anti-drug and anti-bullying events.
On Oct. 17, schools got ready for Red Ribbon Week and decorated. On Saturday, the “Operation Red Light” motorcade, which consisted of a convoy of emergency vehicles, started in Charenton and ended in Amelia, Everitt said.
On Sunday, churches in the area held a day of prayer, Everitt said. On Monday, schools participated in an “Orange Campaign” to raise awareness for anti-bullying, she said. Students signed pledges that they would report bullying if they saw it, she said. Students wore orange shirts that day.
Tuesday was “Character Counts Day” where students discussed character and the importance of making good decisions, Everitt said.
Wednesday was “Wear Red Day,” during which students wore red shirts. “Some of them added things to it like ‘Sock It to Drugs,’ and they had a silly sock day,” Everitt said. “Some schools did ‘Inside Out Day,’ and their theme was don’t let drugs turn you inside out or turn your life inside out.”
On Thursday, students participated in “DARE Day.” The students got to see drug dog demonstrations by US K-9, the company the school system contracted.”
We spend 15, 20 minutes at each school, and the dog demonstrates how it finds drugs,” Everitt said. “We also demonstrate a dog bite,” Everitt said. The students got to see what it looks like when a dog is chasing a criminal, she said.