For more than 20 years, the fall turning of the leaves brings with it the McKinley Harvest Festival. This year's theme is a 1930s-style traveling carnival, and if it is anything like years past, the McKinley Elementary School event promises to be a crowd pleaser.

For one weekend in October, the gym turns into a Mansion of Horrors, the play area evolves into Little Boo's Playground, the black tops become a go-kart racing track, and all of a sudden, the city of Burlingame is filled with the spirit of the season.

For the past two years, co-chairs Kelly Duncan, Gavin Duncan and Stephen Senatore have overseen this event. Along with countless moms and dads, they work to make each year better than the last. Their motivation for this event is to not only see the frightened faces of Burlingame residents after they make their way through the haunted mansion, but also to raise funds for the Parent Teacher Association (PTA).

All the Burlingame schools are taking action to bridge the gap between what the state gives them in funding and what is required for their students to receive a quality education. Kelly Duncan has a third grader at McKinley and knows that, if it were up to the state alone, the Burlingame School District would fall short financially.

"With the way the state budget goes, PTAs and community education foundations are picking up more and more of the slack," she said. "The PTA allows for a complete, whole education as opposed to just reading, writing and math. It's fantastic, but it takes a lot of work."

The McKinley PTA funds programs like art, music for grades kindergarten through second, paper, copier ink, field trips, a classroom budget for each teacher, and even a school counselor.

 "Elementary school counselor positions got cut back in the 1980s," Kelly Duncan said. "Even some middle schools, with upwards of 800 students, sometimes only have one counselor."

The counselor, along with many programs, are available to McKinley students because of fund raising events like the Harvest Festival.

McKinley also hosts the district's only Spanish Immersion program for kindergarten through third grade, additionally funded by the PTA.

"It's a neat thing for McKinley," said Kelly Duncan.  "It adds a unique, multicultural flavor to the school."

The PTA funds go towards providing everything a Spanish course requires, from the teachers' salaries to the teaching materials. The program will be extended through fifth grade in two years time.

Not only is the Harvest Festival imperative to the school's funding efforts, but it promises to entertain both the young and old. McKinley dad Senatore took me through the Mansion in the days before the festival, and I was amazed at the talent that goes into making the Mansion a spectacular spook fest.

"The Dad's Club here at McKinley takes over in the days before the festival to put up structures, lights and things like that," Senatore said. "We have so many talented families here; it shows in the finished product."

Dads were everywhere, working with a multitude of pyrotechnics, with their children helping, as well. The McKinley gym has been divided into about seven rooms this year, one McKinley family per room. Each family has the freedom to let its creativity loose, as long as the members stay within the boundaries of the theme.

McKinley dad Allen D'Ambria and son Gino, a third grader, let their imaginations fly with their clown-themed room for this year's haunted mansion.

"We all have a great time," D'Ambria said. "We tone it down for the little guys, but for the most part, it's great to see people spooked."

The Harvest Festival includes games, arts and crafts, music, a silent auction and more. All donations to the silent auction are donated by McKinley families.  Standard carnival treats like cotton candy, popcorn and soda, as well as food off the grill are available, as well.

The Festival provides entertainment for everyone, and is suitable for all ages. Come support McKinley and participate in one of Burlingame's yearly fall traditions.