Annual Peach Blossom Festival helps build confidence in young students

FRESNO, Calif.–The Peach Blossom Festival is a Fresno State tradition that has been around for the past 59 years.

Last week, hundreds of elementary school students took a field trip to campus to perform spoken literature and poems in front of crowds of people.

The Peach Blossom Festival director, Marcie Lierly, became involved with the event because she has a passion for children.

Lierly says that encouraging public speaking at an early age can only be beneficial for children.

“Children don’t naturally have a fear of public speaking, but as we get older we do,” Lierly says. “So what we see in instructors here, is students have a just a paralyzing fear of public speaking.”

Students at Fancher Creek Elementary have been preparing for the Peach Blossom Festival since the beginning of February.

They held practice two days a week for 40 minutes to get ready to perform.

Their teacher, Liz Aniotzbehere, noticed a huge change in her students since reherasals began.

“It’s kind of gone from kids standing in the back, swaying back and forth not really saying the words,” Aniotzbehere says. “Now we are about three months later and they’re full blown doing the movements, saying the words, and inflection in their voice, they’re very excited to perform.”

The festival hopes to have the kids keep the same self-assurance and excitement they had while they were performing as they move on throughout their lives.

The Peach Blossom Festival holds a special place in Aniotzbehere’s heart. She was actually part of the event when she was younger, and remembers it being something fun and helpful.

“Its something that’ll carry with you throughout the rest of your life,” Aniotzbehere says. “I now as a teacher have to speak in front of parents and I speak in front of other teachers, I also have to speak in front of many different people in many different situations.”

Aniotzbehere says that being able to continue to be a part of the Peach Blossom Festival is a great experience for her and her students.