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LaFAYETTE — The 29th annual LaFayette Day for Valley Haven School will be taking place from 9 a.m. till 3 p.m. CDT (10 to 4 Eastern), next Saturday, April 12th in downtown LaFayette. More than 30 arts and crafts and food vendors will be there. There will also be live entertainment, a kids’ zone with inflatables and a car show.

“Everything is looking good right now,” Valley Haven Executive Director Craig Brown told The Valley Times-News. “The long-range weather forecast is looking good right now, and we are still taking entries. We will be raffling off a smoker that day. There’s some interest in that.”

A stage will be set up just outside the main entrance to the Chambers County Courthouse. Live entertainment will be taking place on it. A featured performer this year will be Ducote Talmadge of Auburn, who has appeared on “The Voice” on NBC. Also appearing will be some local gospel groups including Going Home of Abanda, the Holloways and the Drakes from LaFayette and a singing group from Point University. Luke Keel and Charlie Hughes will also be performing during the afternoon.

Stormy weather has been a problem in recent years on LaFayette Day. Valley Haven supporters are hoping for better luck this year. “Three rainy days in 29 years isn’t bad,” Brown said.

Other events in this year’s Hike/Bike/Run fundraising effort will include an auction on Friday, April 25th and the Hike/Bike/Run on Saturday, May 3rd.

This year’s fundraising goal is $100,000. Until Covid hit in 2020 that goal was exceeded for more than 30 years in a row. Fundraising lagged that first Covid year but has bounced back since then, $100,000 is now a very reachable goal for a school with the kind of support Valley Haven has.

The Arc of the Chattahoochee Valley operates Valley Haven School. Its mission is to provide education, training, special instruction and other services for individuals, preschool and adult, who are intellectually disabled and/or developmentally delayed and who are not receiving these training services from any other school.

The Hike/Bike/Run is the largest fundraiser of the year for Valley Haven. What’s raised locally can be matched with federal and state grants on a 4-to-1 basis.

For a number of years the auction took place inside Valley Community Center. A couple of years ago it switched to the school. Things have gone well at the new location and will be back there again this year.

The auction items are gathered at the school prior to the auction. Having the auction there avoids having to transport them to a different location.

Another change took place with the Jane Carmack Memorial Walk. For a number of years it started in West Point and proceeded seven miles south to Valley Haven School. For the past couple of years it has taken place on a course near the school that goes past the Lakeview Cabin. It’s pretty much the same distance as the original walk.

The Jane Carmack walk honors the memory of a very dedicated supporter of Valley Haven School and the Hike/Bike.Run.

Other special events include Little Caesar’s Day on April 3rd and Skate Night from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 1st.

As it has been in recent years, the start/finish line for the May 3rd Hike/Bike/Run events will be located near the junction of Fairfax Bypass and Ram Stadium Drive, a short distance from Valley Haven School. The running events will include a one-mile run, a 4K run, one-mile and five-mile walks, a 10-mile bike ride and a kids’ ride in front of the school. Any youngster on a small bicycle, scooter or battery-powered ride will be welcome to take part.