You can be sure most Peachtree

City teens are spending these first few days of vacation sunning by the

pool, getting up to speed on that summer job or packing for camp.

Not so for Joanne Smith and

Karen Hill, 16-year-olds who've been running all over town in recent days

asking for donations, door prizes, free food, volunteers anything to help

them stage something they call "Family Fun Fest," set for Saturday

at Kedron Elementary.

Joanne is a rising 11th grader

at Starr's Mill, while best friend Karen will be a junior at McIntosh.

They live on opposite ends of town, but that's a minor inconvenience for

the longtime pals, who sealed their friendship through years of membership

in Girl Scouts Troop 278.

Today, they represent just

a handful of local Scouts who've made it to the senior level. They hope

"Family Fun Fest" helps them reach the very top.

A block party, carnival, and

informational fair all rolled into one, the girls are using the event

to meet the final requirement for the Gold Award, the Girl Scout equivalent

of Eagle Scout.

But while Boy Scouts usually

are required to build something permanent and lasting like a monument,

or a park bench the Girl Scouts must conceive, plan, organize and pull

off (successfully) some type of event for the community.

Two years ago, to earn their

Silver Awards, the pair organized backyard seminars on baby-sitting called,

"How to be Cool with Kids."

Kids are welcome to the fair

Saturday, which runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Face Painting, Moon Walk, Bean

Bag Toss and other attractions will be on hand for them, while their parents,

and especially newcomers to Peachtree City, can sample the talents and

opportunities of groups like the Country Western Dance Team, the McIntosh

High Chiefettes, Georgia Youth Ballet, and the Martial Arts Demo Team.

Local service clubs and organizations

will have tables set up to promote their goodwill. Among those Joanne

and Karen have convinced to come out are the New Neighbor League, the

Running Club, Peachtree City Library, the Fayette County Board of Realtors

and the Dixie Wing of the Confederate Air Force.

City fire and police personnel

will be on hand to demonstrate their skills as well, the girls said.

But the main attraction, they

hope, will be a golf cart decorating contest, based on the theme, "Why

I Love Peachtree City." The grand prize for the best decorated cart,

as decided by Mayor Steve Brown and state Superintendent of Schools Kathy

Cox, will be an Emerson home stereo system donated by Wal-Mart. Other

prizes have been offered by Publix and J 93.3 radio.

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