Tips for Making Your Carnival A Success!

Courtesy of KirkseyAmusements.com

Carnivals are not only great fun - they can be great fundraisers, too!

Host a carnival for your school and invite your whole community!

Families will have a blast and your school will make some cash!

Planning!
Start by recruiting a group of Carnival coordinators. Set up regular meeting times. Choose a date and name for your event. Make sure that other local events do not clash with the date you have chosen. Have the event on a weeknight from 5-9. Weekend carnivals tend to conflict with family activities, vacations, sports, etc…

Money!
Decide how you will handle money/ticket collections. Will the Carnival events accept cash, tickets, both? Set entry, ride, game, and food fees (if any). Book Carnival rides, games, entertainment/entertainers and other venues as soon as possible!

Coordinating!
Put one person in charge of each event or booth. Each coordinator should have a committee to assist in collecting or making the goods for sale, setting up, and running the event or booth on the day. The coordinators should set schedules for the volunteers. It is best to have a list of all booths and helpers arranged as early as possible. The coordinator needs to monitor the booth throughout the Carnival.

Publicity!
Get the event announced on the radio, and inform the local newspaper. Place signs at major intersections at least two weeks before. Notify the parents at your school and other schools. Send out flyers to all families, the local community and other local schools. Actively promote the Carnival in the school newsletter. (You may request donations and help in the newsletter as well.) Have parents write in shoe polish the date and time of the carnival in the backs of their car windows. As they drive around town the week before, this is sure to get you a lot of attention.

Maps!
Draw a map of the school grounds and plan out where each booth will be positioned. Try not to spread the Carnival out too much as it will lose atmosphere, an essential ingredient with any event! Clearly mark each booth with prominent sign posting.

Announcing!
Ensure that you have a good sound system with speakers placed in all areas so announcements can be heard. It is also a good idea to give someone the job of being MC for the evening and informing people of the various booths, times of the different entertainment and other activities around the Carnival grounds.

Crafts
No Carnival would be complete without a craft booth, so start planning yours early. Organize craft mornings with parents to make a host of different items. Contact people in the community you know who create quilts, pottery, art, and other hand-made goods. Pricing should reflect the cost and work gone into making an item, but still a little below retail prices. Label and price each item clearly. Ideas are potpourri bags, magnets, jewelry, bags, embroidered towels, painted candles, and baskets.

Christmas/Easter Crafts are always very popular (depending on the time of year your Carnival is held). Popular ideas I've seen are bread dough ornaments, Christmas stockings, Christmas wreaths, and homemade chocolates.

Food
Food is always very popular! Set up booths close to each other. Make sure you have suitable food warming facilities and that the booths are well marked so that people know what they are getting. Popular food items: hamburgers, hot dogs, shish kabobs, French fries, funnel cakes, candy apples, and ice cream.

Games and Events
There are countless games and events you can add to your Carnival! Some ideas include ring toss, bingo, bowling, basketball shooting, hole-in-one golf, dunking machine, haunted house, auction, and raffle.

Trinkets
For this booth collect donated items from the community and local businesses. You may get a lot of junk which involves sorting out beforehand. However if you have a good committee, this booth can be an absolute hit. Everything is donated so it can be a very good fundraiser!

Entertainment
A range of live entertainment is a huge hit at Carnivals! Approach local groups that do such activities as dance, karate, music, and comedy. Other fun entertainment ideas are pony rides, Emergency Services display, and farm animal "petting zoo."