Bigfork seventh- and eight-graders need to raise $1,800 each to go on a trip to Washington D.C. in April.

Fifth-grade teacher helping organize the trip, Julie Bonner, said students are required to put down a $300 deposit by December.

“That’s when the rubber hits the road and we really know who’s going,” Bonner said. “If they don’t have that $300, then they can’t go.”

One way the students are trying to raise money is through the All-American FoodFest at Owney’s in downtown Bigfork on Tues., Nov. 13, which will have raffle prizes, a silent auction, games and food from 5-8 p.m.

Visiting national monuments, chatting with congressmen and interacting with students from across the United States are just three things they can add to their travel resume — if they can get the money together.

This is the second time Bigfork Middle School students get the chance to travel to Washington D.C. as a class. Bonner helped organize and chaperoned the first trip in 2011. She said nine kids went on the 2011 trip and there are already 35 kids signed up for 2013.

An advantage kids who signed up for next April’s trip have over the 2011 group is they are six months ahead on fundraising efforts. The Raven in Woods Bay held a community night fundraiser earlier this year and the sixth-grade class donated money made from their carnival to the middle school trip fund. The Swan River Club also gave money to the trip fund and organizers of a Silpada jewelry party donated their proceeds.

Bonner said the great thing about a trip to D.C. is all of the new things Bigfork students are exposed to.

“There’s just all kinds of things that could come out of an experience like this,” Bonner said. “It could foster someone’s future desires.”

The trip is organized through Close Up. Close Up has organized trips to Washington D.C. for middle school and high school students since 1971. Airfare, lodging, food, academic materials and monument and memorial entrance fees are all included in the $1,800 cost.

One of Close Up’s development associates, Sara Walkup, said Bigfork’s students will get the opportunity to interact with students from 10-12 other states.

“So students really get to see through the eyes of a peer who might look like them and talk like them, but have totally different life experiences,” Walkup said. “We really use Washington D.C. as a living classroom.”

They will participate in workshops, a mock legislative session, visit monuments and discuss issues ranging from international to historical.

Bigfork students will also visit with their Montana representative and are signed up to tour Jamestown and Williamsburg as part of their trip.

American history and the way the United States government operates are two big educational points Bigfork students will be able to bring back from the trip. They are things that students learn about in school, but Bonner said they can really be brought to life for students on a trip like this one.

“To be able to see a whole different way of life,” Bonner said. “What a great opportunity for kids in our town.”

The Grand Raffle Prize at the All-American FoodFest is the winner’s choice of $500 deposited in their child’s D.C. trip account or 25,000 Delta Air miles. Tickets to the event are $12 for adults and $8 for kids. Raffle and event tickets can be purchased at Owney’s until Nov. 13. All proceeds will go toward a joint trip account for all the students.

If potential donors can’t make the fundraiser, there are other ways to support the trip. By visiting Close Up’s website, www.closeup.org, donors can donate funds to the organization, the BMS trip or a particular student on the trip.

Seventh- and eighth-graders going on the trip will also make “cookie in a jar” Christmas gifts to be sold in the PTA’s Christmas catalog of local goods.