Merrimack Valley and Penacook High School graduates of all ages will gather Saturday on the high school’s athletic fields to celebrate the Valley community.
The second annual festival will feature food trucks, live music and raffles. It runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Members of the public are also invited.
The festival is the brainchild of the Merrimack Valley Alumni Association, which was established in 2022. Part community celebration and part fundraiser, the event was conceived as a way to bring residents from across the school district’s five towns and villages together and raise money for student scholarships.
“It’s all about community and working together as a community,” said lead organizer Lynn Colby of Boscawen.
The association has raised almost $100,000 for scholarships and awarded $16,000 so far, according to Colby. It hopes to ultimately build an endowment of $150,000.
This year, the organization awarded scholarships to graduating seniors Kelly Bentley, Christian Danforth, Nicholas Gelinas and Holden Turner.
Admission to the festival is $20, except for those who graduated from Penacook High School, retired faculty and staff, children and members of the most recent graduating class, who can all attend for free.
It will feature musical performances from Taylor Hughes, Stray Dog, Ashley Bathgate, Gary Green and Scott Kirby.
Fred Reagan, the retiring director of facilities for the school district and a 1979 Merrimack Valley graduate, serves on the board of the alumni association. As a Merrimack Valley lifer, Reagan said he is looking forward to the camaraderie the event brings out.
“Everyone just gets together and sees friends from 20, 30, 40 years ago,” he said. “That’s the cool part.”
