We have a spring carnival each year. There is a local company that has carnival games and the only thing they charge is the delivery fee (unless you order the inflatable things like moonwalk, etc.) We have face painting and cheap food in the kitchen, usually about $2 per person. In our newsletter we usually ask for people with hidden talents to perform i.e. dad or grandma who is a clown, magician, puppeteer. They usually donate their time. We then also have a raffle where we put together about 30 themed baskets (mom's day off, couples night out, etc) We get the donations from local businesses, a lot of which are in the form of a gift certificate or gift card, which promises them business as well. We advertise a lot for the business (newsletter, posters during the carnival) and encourage parents to thank them when they stop in. This originally started out as just a fun day but has since turned into a nice fundraiser for us.
Hi All!! We too are getting ready for our fall carival, Oct 27. I've got to pass along this information....For the past 2 yrs I have gone through Rhode Island Novelties for our carival prizes, so far no company has been able to come close to there prices. The kids love to play a game that the prize is the glow in the dark fangs, we pay $5.40 for 144 PIECES. They have so much to choose from and this company ships VERY fast!!! If anyone would like to know more, I'd be glad to pass alone information!! Good luck with your carnivals!!
Can I get some more information on how your Chinese Auction works? My email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Any information would be helpful.
we started a new booth for our festival two years ago. it is the book walk just like a cake walk but for books. the children and parents loved it. the books were donated. we held book drops and soda drops the month before the festival and enought books came in for the whole night of walking.
I am from a small town in south Louisiana and every year we have many many festivals, our town likes to spoil the little ones with games. Most of them are cost efficient and really simple:
Lolly Pop Forest: Cone Shaped Stiro-foam, Lolly pops w/ tips colored. Prizes for each color. Kids simply pick a pop, and win a prize.
Plink - It: This is a take off of the "Price is Right" You need a Large peice of board, a few 2x4's to make it lean, a box of long nails, and three disks, this year we glued 4 old CD's together to make our disks. You simply place the nails in a diagnal fashion that will make the cds plink back and forth. Using the nails, create 5-7 sections at the bottom. Color these sections to fit the prizes.
The booth that got the most activity last year was the Nintendo Booth. We simply connected a Nintendo 64 w/ 4 paddles to a Large TV. We placed the TV on a high table, and 4 kid chairs for the players. We used the computer labels to create 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winner stickers. We chose games that would take a small amount of time. Olympics, Racing, and such. We displayed a Sign that would show our Game Guide since we started a new game each hour. The kids loved playing their favorite games with their friends, and we had an overwhelming response.
