If you need any assistance on what products to buy, how much you need per person and how to plan your preparation to save time and headaches, please email me (click on the email link above this post). I put on 2-3 spaghetti dinners/year for groups of 200-500 and I usually cook solo (before you get too impressed, I was a chef before I became a PTA Dad of 3!!).
I thought I'd offer any operational assistance I could to you - Everyone is sending awesome advice on their spaghetti dinners!
Added Note: I almost forgot! The best tip I could give to you is to contact your local Domino's Pizza before the event. Should you decide that you are going to run out of food (or need a side dish in a hurry), you can make arrangements with the store manager to get as many large pizzas as you need @ $5 each with free delivery. I ran out of food once due to a ton of walk-in's in the last hour and they saved my butt in a hurry!
This also is a great fundraising tool at events at $1 / slice - Adds up FAST!!
We have gone from our traditional Fall Festival and spaghetti supper to Fall Festival and chili and hot dogs. We were working ourselves to death! This year we split this evening into two events to make both more "family friendly". A traditional Fall Carnival on a Saturday afternoon giving students and parents opportunities to play together. We sold carnival foods/cotton candy/hotdogs etc. Our games were free but we took donations for face painting and balloon animals, as well as pony rides. Food was sold ala carte. Our chili supper was converted into an elegant adult-only Italian dinner and live/silent auction. We had table hostess sponsor tables by providing a pan on lasagna for 8 and decorate their own table. Our salad and drinks were purchased with gift cards from Walmart, Kroger, and other area grocery stores. We more than DOUBLED our fundraising by splitting these two events up. Our parents enjoyed the evening out!
Your local high school may have a jazz band that would be willing to perform. They usually only have 10 - 20 members and provide great entertainment. I agree with IMovePeople on providing free meals for the musicians.
We charged $5.00 for adults, $3.50 for children and offered a $15.00 family ticket for families for 4 or more.
O.K. - so YOUR arts programs aren't underway - I would bet that the chorus/band/orchestra instructors at the high school level would love to showcase their kids! And those kids may have younger siblings at your school - and their parents will want to buy tickets to eat and enjoy the sounds of music coming from their children. High school bands, especially marching bands, have been gearing up for a while now. Tap into them for your entertainment and additional attendance. (You may want to ask only the seniors if it's a big high school and a small cafeteria you'll be serving in - and offer to feed the musicians.)
Our middle school is charging $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids 6-11 in advance, $8.00 for adults and $6.00 for kids 6-11 at the door, kids under 5 are free. Spaghetti, salad, bread and tea or lemonade (this is Texas, you know!) Sodas and desserts can be purchased separately.
Thank you all very much for the ideas. They are really great and very helpful!!! As for the entertainment....we are kind of in a spot for performance the art program doesn't start until next semester so we do not currently have an art class, the chorus is on hold for now because our teacher is on maternity leave and so that will not start until the spring also, so as you can see that area isn't looking very good. I will let you know in a couple of days how things are going. Again, Thanks for all your help,keep all the great ideas coming!!! [img]smile.gif[/img]
oh I almost forgot what do you usually charge for the speghetti dinner?
If your school has any cultural arts programs - band, chorus, drama - be sure that those kids are performing that night . . . that way you know that they and their parents will be there and will buy tickets. Beg, borrow and steal (that last one wasn't serious, y'all!) door prizes and hype the heck out of them. Are you doing fundraisers that you have contracts signed for already - call those vendors and ask them to donate something that you can raffle. Beg local stores for food donations (local bakery for the bread, grocers for pastas, sauce, bagged salads). Be sure to tell all these folks that you'll be recognizing them in your newsletters and on your marquis if you have them - then be sure to include them in the circulation and take a picture of the marquee that says "Blah Blah Grocery Supports our School" - frame it and ask them to hang it in the store.
I've been the "new" school - so begging comes naturally!
