SCHOOLS
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
West Park kids take the cake
Every year, West Park
Elementary School
families bid for cakes to
raise money
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
Third grader Glendy
Matias Perez, 8, was feeling
nervous during the Dad’s
Cake Bake at West Park Ele-
mentary School on Monday
night.
She brought a small
white cake from the grocery
store for the contest and auc-
tion, and it would be the last
cake for parents to bid on
that night.
On one hand, she was
worried no one would buy
the cake. On the other, she
didn’t want to bid farewell
to the lacy frosting and spar-
kly cake-topper.
“This is special and so
fun and all of the cakes look
delicious,” she said.
Glendy wasn’t the only
one who had a stake in the
cake bake, where kids and
parents go all-out to make
cakes to auction off. This
year’s theme was “fam-
ily game night,” and all
the proceeds from the auc-
tion were donated to the
West Park Parent Teacher
Organization.
It was Brody Depew’s
fourth cake bake. The third
grader, 8, and his mother
crafted a larger-than-life
game of Yahtzee. Each die
was an individual rain-
bow chip cake with choco-
late cookie dots and cherry
frosting. The iconic red cup,
tilted on its side and spilling
out the dice, was composed
entirely of chocolate melts.
“It was pretty hard to
make,” he noted. “My mom
did most of it.”
The cake won the “Most
Elaborate Cake” award, and
eventually sold for $95.
There were several rib-
bons awarded that night
to parent-child teams who
made unforgettable cakes.
The “Most Humorous Cake”
went to a family that made
a Pac-Man cake with small
ghost cupcakes and plenty
of colorful fondant.
The “Most Original
Cake” award went to a fam-
ily that constructed a bright
green putt-putt golf course
on a sheet cake.
In total, the West Park
Parent Teacher Organization
raised more than $2,500 and
doled out many ribbons and
honorable mentions.
The highest seller was
actually a pair of cakes that
were dueling in the board
game Battleship and frosted
in bright teal. They were
auctioned for $200.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
West Park Elementary School kindergarteners perform for attendees at the Dad’s Cake Bake at West Park Elementary School on Monday night.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Max and Vivian Barth admire cakes at the Dad’s Cake Cake at
West Park Elementary School in Hermiston Monday night.
According to Kath-
leen Dopps, a fourth grade
teacher and organizer of the
Dad’s Cake Bake, the auc-
tion’s beginnings are a local
legend passed from PTO
member to PTO member.
Story has it, the cake bake
started as a fundraiser in the
late 1950s, when parents
were advocating to get side-
walks around the school.
The goal was to raise
$600, Dopps said. The city
would match the rest of the
funds.
“It was a big success
and the sidewalks were put
in. No more walking in the
streets,” Dopps stated in
an email to the Hermiston
Herald.
Principal Kevin Head-
ings said it was the 62nd
annual Cake Bake this year.
“I think it might be the
longest running event in our
district,” he said.
Parents crowd the West
Park gym to bid on hand-
made cakes of all fl avors and
shapes every fall. This year,
a special performance from
a kindergarten class kicked
off the event. The group pre-
formed three songs, includ-
ing the alphabet.
“That was phenomenal,”
said Headings, who hosted
the event.
Applause fi lled the room
before members of the
Hermiston High School Key
Club rolled the fi rst pair of
for-sale cakes onto the cen-
ter of the gym fl oor.
As the night drew to a
close, auctioneer Ford Bon-
ney began the bidding pro-
cess for the fi nal and 45th
cake — Glendy Matias
Perez’s cake. She sat in one
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
A Yahtzee themed cake awaits auction at the Dad’s Cake Bake at West Park Elementary School
Monday evening in Hermiston.
of the front rows of the gym-
nasium with her mom, fi d-
geting with anticipation and
nervousness
“No one’s bought it yet,”
she said before the bidding
process even commenced.
In minutes, bids leapt,
from $20 to $25 and then all
the way to $37.50.
Moments later, with
a diameter of just a few
inches, the little white cake
sold for $40. Glendy’s
mouth dropped open in sur-
prise. The night was over,
and she left West Park hold-
ing her mom’s hand.
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