FAIRMONT — An activities fair and fall pep fest will take place from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday evening in the horseshoe at Fairmont High School. The event serves as a time to highlight the large number of athletics, activities and clubs the school offers.

The goal of the activities fair is to get students to find something that they can be a part of.

“If it’s one activity, great. If it’s 20, even better,” said Activities Director Mat Mahoney.

Mahoney said that each group will have a booth with either a head coach, assistant coach, advisor or in some cases, captains present. He said they will get creative with it and have schedules with them and sometimes play games.

“We try to make it interactive and get people involved,” Mahoney said.

When the 6th-graders visit in the spring, high school co-principal Alex Schmidt said he highlights the fair to them.

“As a 7th-grader, they don’t know what’s out there. It’s a good time to get involved,” Schmidt said.

“We picked that night specifically because it’s after our 7th-grade orientation,” said high school co-principal Chad Brusky.

The school currently offers 22 sports and 28 other activities and clubs, including 10 fine arts activities like speech, math league, robotics and orchestra, several drama activities and student-led activities. Some additional activities include FFA, Polar Plunge, student council and clay target.

“We know that the students who are successful in high school are involved. The more you can be involved in activities of any sort, you’ll find a spot, there’s going to be people that have the same interests as you,” Schmidt said.

Mahoney said when he graduated from Fairmont High School in 1999, there were less activities and twice as many people.

“We have so many things that we can offer kids. It’s a wide variety,” Mahoney said.

At the end of the school year they recognize all of the letters each senior has received form being involved in activities. Mahoney said last year a students had about 32 letters.

“It’s really cool to watch some of these kids get involved in so many things. Kids can have these opportunities, whereas in other schools they might not have the chance to,” Mahoney said.

“We couldn’t have a lot of these activities if it weren’t for the dedication of community members. It would be impossible to offer all of these with just teaching staff. We have a community that invests in our kids by being the advisors and coaches,” Schmidt said.

Following the activities fair, the fall pep fest will take place in front of the high school building in the horseshoe.

“It’s a good way to get students excited about the start of the school year. The band will be here playing the school song. It’s a fun way to kick off the school year and have kids see faces again,” said Mahoney.

Coaches also will introduce players on the fall sport teams at the pep fest. In the past, the pep fest was held downtown at Citizen’s Park.

“One of the reasons we brought it here was to incorporate it into the activities showcase,” said Mahoney.

Schmidt said that by grouping multiple events together, they get higher attendance and it makes it easier for families.