TURNERS FALLS — To celebrate the past, present and future of Franklin County Technical School, a 50th anniversary celebration will take place at the 82 Industrial Blvd. campus on Saturday, Sept. 19, featuring sports games, food vendors, open shops, outdoor activities and a poster display depicting all 50 classes of graduates.
The vocational school, which opened its doors in September 1976, will host activities from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., both inside and outside the building.
“Our entire school community is excited for it,” said Joe Gamache, Franklin Tech’s dean of students and athletic director who helped organize Saturday’s festivities.
To honor Franklin Tech’s past, there will be a walk down memory lane inside the building. This will entail posters depicting the 50 years of graduating classes, which the students of teacher Marcus McLaurin helped assemble. Those coming in for the open house between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. will be able to see these posters.
Additionally, the Franklin Tech Class of 2007 will have a tent on campus to celebrate its 20th graduation anniversary with a mini class reunion, Gamache added.
As part of celebrating the present, there are a number of activities to highlight what the school offers. The open house will allow guests to explore the school, with some of the vocational shops open for tours.
Across campus, there will be activities for families, including a “gaming trailer” provided by the U.S. Army that features cornhole, inflatable obstacle courses and other games; a fire truck from the Turners Falls Fire Department; face painting; a hay bale scavenger hunt; and a chance for people to meet the animals that students take care of in the Veterinary and Animal Science program.
Numerous sports games will be played throughout the day, giving guests a chance to see some of the 230 student athletes for the fall.
Starting at 10 a.m., the junior varsity volleyball team will play against Ralph C. Mahar Regional School, followed by varsity volleyball, also against Mahar, at 11 a.m. At noon, the varsity field hockey team will compete against Mohawk Trail Regional School, the varsity girls soccer will play against Pioneer Valley Regional School at 1:30 p.m. and the varsity boys soccer team will face Mohawk Trail Regional School at 3:30 p.m. To close out the day, the varsity football team will go up against Frontier Regional School at 7 p.m.
“I know a lot of our kids are excited for it,” Gamache said, “especially the athletes, because they’ll be playing a sport and there’ll be a large group of people on campus while they’re playing.”
In addition to these activities, there will be food vendors, such as the Bernardston BBQ Co., Franklin Tech’s Booster Club Snack Shack, Lelo’s Ice Cream and a stand for fresh-squeezed lemonade. Members of the Pre-Employment Program will be selling kettle corn. For those interested in purchasing school merchandise, the school store will also be open.
Franklin Tech alumni Corey Knapp will perform music from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., followed by a DJ set by Lori Johnson-Davis.
Gamache said there is no admission fee, though food and merchandise vendors will charge for their services. There will be a donation station at the gate of the school to raise money for a new scoreboard for the football/soccer field.
Gamache said members of the Franklin Tech School Committee are expected to be at the school library to share information about the new school building project in advance of the special election scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 6.
“In all, the weather looks pretty good, at least the preliminary forecast, so that’s exciting,” Gamache said about Saturday. “And the hope is that it’ll just be a great experience for everybody, and that the campus will be buzzing a little bit.”
