Bel Air Cheerleaders Help Cleanup the Bel Air Festival for the Arts

Carmen Davenport

Last weekend, on September 19, 2017, Bel Air held its annual Arts Festival at Shamrock Park as a way to bring the community together.

 At the arts festival, people gather to both observe and possibly buy the fine art on display. In addition to the art, there is a local band performing on stage. It is a free entry and brings the whole community together.

            At the end of the festival, the Bel Air cheer team helps the artists clean up their sections. I think that it is a good thing that one of our school sports teams give back by helping our community in a very positive a helpful way.

            Personally, as a cheerleader last year, helping cleanup was actually hard work, but it felt rewarding helping out others and sometimes getting rewards as well. We usually were able to help clean up 3-5 stands, fold up the tables and take down the artwork, and then we helped take their stuff to their cars. It’s tough but it is also fun getting to bond with your team, as it is kind of like a team building experience.

 “It’s rewarding because you get to meet people from all over Maryland and even other states and sometimes you get gifts for helping,” said 10th grader, Maddie Humes, who was a member of the Bel Air cheer team that helped clean up.

            The artists wake up early to help and it takes time and effort to clean up the stands, so it’s nice to have the cheerleaders there to help them out. Other sports teams have helped as well, such as the cross-country team with cleaning and the wrestling team who work security for the event.

“It felt good to help out the people that live in our community,” says 11th grader Savanah Schriefer, one of the cheerleaders who helped with the cleanup.

            It seems that the cheerleaders like to help others clean up their artwork and supplies, and are very grateful for the gifts they sometimes receive from those who they are helping.

Although the heat is blistering, the supplies are heavy, and the artist’s cars are parked far away, the cheerleaders continue to work hard for their love of helping out their community

In general, the Arts Festival is a good time for everyone to come out, look at art, and socialize with each other and even helping each other out. It’s usually a beautiful summer day and everyone has fun admiring and appreciating other people’s work and joining together as a community.