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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Neither fire nor consistently rainy weather could stop the annual Hunnewell Fun Fair. While it was pushed back to May 31 this year, the kids of Wellesley were still able to go on their carnival rides, the rapid slide, participate in the limbo contest, throw at the dunk tank, and most importantly, bring home full-sized cakes.
It seemed like every kid at the fair was carrying around his or her own cake, and when Fun Fair Chair Candace Lee was asked about what event the kids enjoyed the most, her answer was clear.
“Definitely the ’Take-A-Cake’ is the favorite. They love the speed-pitch cage, and the spinning chairs are really fun. But the favorite is definitely ’Take-A-Cake.’”
The cakes were donated from Hunnewell parents, but decorated by the kids. As a result, according to Lee, there were over 300 cakes for organizers to give out - so there were plenty of winners of the musical chairs style game.
The speed pitch game was another fan favorite. Kids would line up and throw a baseball at a tarp, then a radar would determine how fast they could throw. According to the woman running it, the fastest throw of the day was 65 MPH.
If throwing at a tarp wasn’t exciting enough, one could also throw at a dunk tank. Many kids lined up to dunk Devin Ligon, a physical education teacher at the school. Perhaps he taught he kids too well; he was dunked by almost every third student.
Gotham has Batman, Metropolis has Superman, and the Hunnewell Fun Fair had “Captain Hunnewell,” a roving, high-socked superhero dressed like a kid on summer camp spirit day, designed to protect the school grounds. But while Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent will fight to their last breath to protect their secret identities, Captain Hunnewell didn’t need much prodding to give up his. He was Wellesley resident Drew Spangler.
‘Captain Hunnewell’ assures citizens that everything is going great at the Fun Fair. Photos by James Kinneen
Superheroes, little kids with big cakes, and soaking wet gym teachers aside, Candace Lee best summarized the day. “The Hunnewell Fun Fair is a great event that brings the community together,” she said, “not just Hunnewell families, but families from across all the Wellesley schools.”
While Wellesley has a lot of events that bring people together, if you ask the kids of Hunnewell School, it’s pretty clear which one they like the best.
Some might say it even… takes the cake.
