In October 2010, Central Valley Afterschool Foundation produced not one, not two, but three events in honor of Lights On Afterschool. Our goals were to 1) Increase public awareness about the importance of afterschool programs, 2) Give students the opportunity to step up their skills by competing, exhibiting and performing, and 3) Engage community, business partners, media, families and friends in the festivities.

The Lights On Afterschool Festival 2010 
The Festival was held on October 30 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in downtown Fresno. A standing-room only crowd of about 500 students, families and friends kicked off the morning with the K-8 "Afterschool's Got Talent" show. Everyone appreciated a variety of afterschool exhibits and fun activities outside, while enjoying great food from vendors and sponsors. The afternoon's "ASSETS Best Dance Crew" competition brought in another packed house, complete with cheering school teams and amazing dance routines. From hip hop to Polynesian, and break dance to Folklorico, high school dance teams brought their best game to the stage.

In the end, more than 40 schools from four counties brought over 1,000 people to downtown Fresno to enjoy a festive event. Congratulations to all the performers and winners!   

ASSETS Best Dance Crew Team Winners
Best overall - Sunnyside HS The Movement
Best overall runner up - Mission Oak HS Hip Hawks
Best Originality - Sunnyside HS The Develop Crew
Best Performance (cultural) - Sanger HS the Foi Loles
Best Showmanship (cultural) - Central HS Danzantes del Tlaloc
Best Performance (hip hop) - Sanger HS BBoying Crew
Best Showmanship (hip hop) - Orosi HS EDC

The Canstruction Competition and Exhibit
CVAF brought a new event into the mix this year called the Canstruction Competition and Exhibit. We joined forces with American Institute of Architects San Joaquin, Community Food Bank, Central California Builders Exchange and River Park Shopping Center to bring the national competition to the Central Valley.

Seven student teams and four adult teams competed in their respective categories by building 10'x10' sculptures out of canned food. An average of 2100 cans a sculpture to be exact! This presented an outstanding STEM learning opportunity for students as each team was mentored by an architect, engineer or building professional through the design-build process.

Canstruction delighted 100 students, 11 design-build mentors, 800 exhibit visitors, 50 sponsors, and 30 volunteers. The event drew significant attentioon from local television stations and newspapers--and contributed 25,327 pounds of food to fight hunger in the Central Valley. For more information, log on to canstructionsjv.org.

"Building Youth, Building Community" STEM Luncheon for Business & Community Leaders
Our Lights On Afterschool season kicked off with a luncheon bringing together 150 business leaders, educators, community leaders, and community-based organizations to generate interest in bringing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum to rural and regional afterschool programs.
Special guest Dr. Rabi Mehta from NASA Ames Research Center brought out the inner scientist in all of us, while ABC 30 news anchor Liz Harrison served as guest emcee. Chief Jerry Dyer was presented with the 2010 Central Valley Afterschool Leadership Award and the Canstruction adult team awards were presented to the winners.