Fresno State’s campus was bustling with 6,000 enthusiastic elementary school children as the 52nd annual Peach Blossom Festival of Oral Communication took place Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19.

Students came dressed up and ready to impress the judges with their memorized and well-rehearsed performances. While some students appeared a little uneasy as they performed in front of a full audience of their peers, the most wrenching expressions were found in the audience as parents tensed up when it was their child’s turn to step on stage.

It was also the supportive parents, rather than the young participants, who seemed more relieved and proud when their child executed their lines with perfection.

“We really have a good time and they love the experience,” said Mikelle Hatch, who was at Friday’s event to see three of her children perform. “It’s good for them to be able to get up in front of people they don’t know and perform so it’s always a lot of fun. This is probably our sixth year coming here.”

Hatch admitted she gets more nervous and excited when her children take the stage than they do. She said she plans each year to spend the day at the festival.

“I’m here every year,” she said. “I want to support them and what they’re doing. I just know, as a parent, if you’re there it puts them more at ease and also you can really get a feel for how things went.”

Her daughter Jillian, a 12-year-old from Quail Lake Environmental Charter School in Clovis, said she looks forward to her mom being there every year.

“I like to have a supportive mom,” she said.

This year marked Jillian’s sixth and final performance in the festival because she will no longer be considered eligible to participate.

“I’m gonna be too old to do it next year but if I could I would,” Jillian said. “It’s fun because I like to perform in front of a lot of people. Every year it’s always different.”

She said she will use her experience and knowledge to assist her younger siblings next year when they prepare for the festival.

“I’ll be back here for quite a few years,” Hatch confirmed.

Irene Chavira defined the moment her granddaughter stepped on stage as a proud moment.

“They got superior performance,” Chavira bragged as she spoke of her granddaughter’s 6th grade class from John Sutter Middle School who performed early Friday morning.

Alyssa Chavira, 11, said she was nervous when it was her turn to get on stage and show what her and her classmates had memorized and rehearsed.

“I was thinking ‘I hope I don’t mess up,’” she said.

Alyssa and her friend and fellow classmate Sierra Rodriguez said the most important theme of the day was not what place they received but was more about their experience.

“It’s mostly about having fun,” Rodriguez said.