FFA paints for love and money

The Wasco High School FFA Booster Club held a whimsical fundraiser where adults could paint to their hearts’ content.

The fundraiser, “For the Love of AG,” raised money for FFA student scholarships. Cost for participating in the event was $25 per person, which included a blank easel, as much paint as needed and snacks.

The paint night was held Feb. 1 at the VFW Hall.

Booster Club members began arriving started with an artist-in-training session, painting a Valentine’s Day image with red and white and a bit of black.

The background was red beginning at the top of the easel to an ombre that shaded to a medium pink at the bottom.

The painting was a whimsical feathery flower with blossoms floating off into the air. Each artist learned how to create the correct brush strokes with directions from instructors Maria Salas and

Booster President Jocelyn Juarez doesn’t even have a child at WHS this year, yet she took on the task of giving back to FFA by serving as its 2019-2020 president. “My daughter was passionate about FFA last year,” she said. “She is in college and raised a pig for the fair this year. She is an ambassador for FFA at Fresno State.”

Paint N Wonder owner and teacher Maria Salas is a WHS graduate and a fourth-grade GATE teacher in Bakersfield. She started her paint company when her passion got the better of her. “I could paint all day,” Salas said.

In addition to the snacks in the kitchen, a table was set up with some raffle items that could be won. The prize everyone wanted was an iron horseshoe wall hanging.

WHS ag teacher Denise Morales was one of the painters, as was her younger sister, Krista Colunga, and older sister, Tracy Steward – as well as Kasey Foreshee, who Morales described as their “sister from another mom and mister.”’

“I’m so glad we could all meet for this activity,” Morales said. “We don’t get to do things together that often.”