During the summer my exec board decided we would have a Fall Festival. Then the principal tells me a couple of weeks ago that it would have to be took before SBDM. Then last night the teachers decided they don't want a fall festival due to the two elementaries having one. So now I really don't know what to do. I am thinking we can still have our Talent Show and Chili Supper and possibly a basket auction. Since it wasn't scheduled until October 21 our committee and sub committees had not met yet. So hopefully we can still pull something off.

Yes, it's definitely possible to still pull one off. Last year we held one with 500 people. I would suggest scheduling a committee meeting for the event the second or third week after school starts to get your volunteers. Deligate, deligate, deligate and keep it simple! We usually have two or three meetings before the actual event so everyone's on the same page and you catch any slackers early on. Good Luck!

We do a Halloween carnival for a school about the same size. I think it's doable if you have dedicated people. Here's how we break down our volunteers:

Chairperson - oversees the whole thing and has the big ideas. Responsible for layout, getting permits, signing contracts, etc.

Games Chair - coordinates all the games and rides. If you don't have existing games, the ones that you can rent from carnival companies will work just fine. We have games tht have been passed down for 20 years, but you can easily build your own. Examples are a toilet paper toss into a toilet, hockey, fish pond (we throw over a curtain and a volunteer attaches a small prize), duck pond, basketball shoot, pencil pull (put hundreds of pencils in a bale of hay - mark the ends of some - everybody keeps the pencil, but the marked ones earn prize tickets), treasure hunt (tub full of birdseed, pull out coins - some marked), etc. We also rent an inflatable obstacle course and joust. A cake walk is a fun thing, too.

Food Chair - our school district caters for us. Much easier! We have also just done hot dogs (rented a cooker) and pizza, sodas, chips.

Prizes Chair - We have a committee that buys the consolation prizes and the prizes for the prize booth (trade in prize tickets).

Entertainment Chair - We invite local martial arts groups, dance groups, choirs, etc. to perform throughout the day. We also get the local fire company to bring their truck and the police usually bring McGruff. We hire a DJ (or someone does it for free) who MCs the events all day.

Basket Chair - we do a basket silent auction - each class responsible for a basket.

Volunteer Chair - gets the volunteers coordinated. Each class is responsible for a booth or game.

Ticket Chair - does the ticket presales and sales at the carnival.

Finance Chair - responsible for handling and depositing all the money.

Hope this helps -

It's doable, but maybe not at the level you were hoping for. Just keep it simple and when you are done, immediately figure out what went wrong, what you could have done better and how you are going to change it. That's how I learned from last year.

GOOD LUCK! We are here for you.

I don't know what you're budget is, but there are companies out there that completely host your festival for you, including games and inflatables.

Good luck!

Pam

You and the helpers can do it! It can be really simple if you've never had one before. Just wing it if you have to, and ask for feedback, volunteers for next year.

Do simple things: Plastice fishing poles w/ magnets to catch "fish", ping pong toss in small/large bowls, "needle in a haystack", etc. Don't try to over do it, get the teachers involved. Are they asking for $$? If so, then tell them they have to come up with games/prizes and involvement from the parents.

sorry gotta go or I would give more ideas