Assignment, Photography

Encore High School Holiday Festival 2016

Ms.Eleanor Bunker is silhouetted against the stained glass window of the Unitarian Church during Holiday Festival for Encore High school
Ms.Eleanor Bunker is silhouetted against the stained glass window of the Unitarian Church during Holiday Festival for Encore High school

Excitement was in the air by the time I arrived around 7:30 am last Saturday.

Dance students waiting outside the Riverside Municipal Auditorium pose for me.
Dance students waiting outside the Riverside Municipal Auditorium pose for me.

The Life Arts building, the Riverside Municipal Auditorium and the Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside was already teeming with  staffers clad in purple t-shirts from Encore High School.

Guitars await their owners inside the Life Arts building before audiences arrive
Guitars await their owners inside the Life Arts building before audiences arrive

Indoors in the basement of the Life Arts building, Pam Zabala made pictures of the art work hanging on the hallway before the crowds arrive while one floor above, students laid out guitars on chairs in their performance venue.

Faculty members Vasil Chekardzhikov and Tasha Tait performed for the audience.
Faculty members Vasil Chekardzhikov and Tasha Tait performed for the audience.
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One building to the north in the Riverside Municipal Auditorium, dance teacher Tasha Tait took a selfie with her students before their performances helping to calm them.

Across the street  in the Unitarian Church voice teacher Eleanor Bunker with her infectious laugh warmed up her Madrigal singers with her keyboard.

Food trucks, game booths and other fun activities were already buzzing with activity as staff checked in to start their 8-hour shifts.

Gerald Shaw leading the Conga line
Gerald Shaw leading the Conga line

Later in the day a very sporting Assistant Dean of Students Gerald Shaw led attendees in a conga line when Pirate Radio DJs played Gloria Estefan’s”Conga”

This was my first year photographing Encore High School’s Holiday Festival in downtown Riverside.

The crowds and students from the Hesperia campus had not arrived and my shift wouldn’t start for at least 3 more hours but already I could feel the infectious enthusiastic energy, the laughter and warmth amongst the setup crew.

It was going to be a long day but it was going to be a lot of fun.Hopefully my pictures show it.

See for yourself by clicking on the thumbnail above.

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