by Garth Meyer
The 44th “Springfest” opens Thursday with contributions from some new organizers – students at Redondo Union High School.
Eighteen of their ideas were chosen as projects to add to the four-day carnival held in the parking lot of the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, through the weekend.
The kids are in teacher Mike SooHoo’s Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance class, mentored by the North Redondo Beach Business Association.
Robin Garfield, Springfest chair, had already been volunteering in the class on behalf of NRBBA, when she and SooHoo started talking about, “‘Wouldn’t it be great if students worked on an actual business? How about Springfest?” Garfield said.
Last fall, students in SooHoo’s five classes were put into groups of four, and given a two-part assignment: how to build Springfest attendance, and how to increase profits on Thursday, its opening day.
Students pitched 45 ideas, and a variety of judges, including NRBBA members, Springfest sponsors and a representative from the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce, chose the winners in December.
“Second semester was implementation,” Garfield said. “I think the students are learning that execution is the biggest challenge. The idea’s one thing but you’ve got to see it through.”
Also this year, the NRBBA launched a Springfest internship program, with 20 high school students – from Mira Costa, RUHS, Bishop Montgomery and Lawndale High School – assigned to work with an adult committee member from January to May: entertainment interns, logistics interns, marketplace interns, volunteer coordination interns, public relations interns and others.
“In every part of Springfest, an intern is assigned,” Garfield said.
NRBBA’s vice president, she is in her third year producing the overall event.
Of student projects picked and ready for the 2026 edition are; a restaurants’ raffle, an added comedy night and a battle of the bands (to coincide with the existing age 19 & under talent contest); Thursday’s “Neon Night;” a silent auction, an upscale candy booth seeded by $500 from NRBBA, and an “Eco-warriors” booth with Earth Day-related information and activities, in partnership with Athens Services.
“(The student ideas) were about promotion, or how to elevate the event,” Garfield said. “The kids all worked really hard. I was so excited; they’d get to apply skills in a real-world situation.”
As students honed their chosen projects over the winter, Garfield visited SooHoo’s class every three to four weeks.
Freshmen to seniors are participating.
“They’re absolutely getting out of their comfort zones to make an impact on their community,” Garfield said.
RUHS senior Blaze Braff is part of a 12-student group, their idea was the restaurants’ raffle; he led the original four that pitched it, for which people go to certain restaurants and ask for a free ticket. They take the ticket to Springfest to enter into a drawing to win gift cards from the eateries.
“We first thought of it like ‘Charlie & the Chocolate Factory’ (with one winning ticket) but it evolved to businesses that didn’t have the means to be involved in Springfest,” Braff said. “We got a lot of no’s but eight yeses.”
In his group, they divided up a list of restaurants to target. Braff himself had 12 and drew one ‘yes.’”
He estimates 30 hours went into it for him, including 10 hours in class.
“It’s all pretty efficient, it’s not tons of time that was put in, but you definitely have to be resilient. You have to get used to hearing ‘no,’” said Braff, who is headed to U.C.-Santa Cruz next year to study environmental economics. .
In his specific class, two projects were chosen.
“I’m super excited to see how this plays out,” he said. “It’s fun to be a businessman.”
SooHoo is in his 23rd year teaching at RUHS, originally a math teacher, then personal finance, now business.
“We are taking business outside of the classroom, bringing real business to a business class,” SooHoo said. “Not only a real business, but a fun business. Robin (Garfield) was our real client.”
Next year SooHoo begins an Entrepreneurship II class, for RUHS upperclassmen, focused on one particular (fictional) business, each department staffed and led by students.
Garfield is a former executive director of the Redondo Beach Education Foundation and was an interim executive director with the Redondo Beach Police Foundation. She was behind the revival of “Dine Around Artesia” three years ago, now to be followed by “Dine Around Riviera Village” in June.
The Springfest high school students’ begin their festival run Thursday at 5 p.m.
“It’s our first time doing it but it’s worked out really great,” SooHoo said.
The 44th Springfest, featuring more than 200 carnival rides and games, family-friendly bands and entertainment, and a beer and wine garden takes place at the corner of Aviation Boulevard and Manhattan Beach Boulevard Thursday- Sunday, April 16-19. Thursday 5 p.m. -9 p.m., Friday 5 p.m. – 10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. ER
The best thing is seeing young people doing great things!
Deepest gratitude to Mr. SooHoo. He is the model for what teaching needs to be.
Redondo High has been very lucky to have stellar teachers inspiring our kids!