I didn't have much involvement with the carnival set up, I wish I could offer more help there. But I did learn a lot from the silent auction. The best thing we did was close in waves. We closed one section at 6:30, 6:45 & 7:00. If I had to do it again, I would space the waves further apart. It was too much because once we finished filing the first wave, it was time to close the second. SO, I would space that apart more. Another thing I didn't account for was the "floor plan" I tried to make the flow nice, which it did work out, but then once we started closing bids, everything just got in the way. We had the auction in the cafeteria along with the bingo and food, so it was crowded and noisy. I think I would want it in a whole different area that I could clear out. My husband had an idea that really made every thing work well. We held a "coordination" meeting 2 days before the auction. All my volunteers knew exactly what to do and arrived ready to jump in with both feet. Because they knew what we were supposed to do and who to ask for directions, it all went smoothly. I didn't have a great way to line people up at the end. I was so involved with closing bids that I wasn't able to direct the traffic. In retrospect, I should have assigned someone just to crowd control. The other thing I wasn't expecting was the amount of parents that wanted to bend the rules or buy the item right then. I also didn't have a good system for accepting money or a way of keeping on top of it while I was doing other things. All in all, there is a lot of improvement. But I am pleased with how it all played out. Please feel free to email me with any questions.
We are rethinking our fundraising efforts because the amount of stress and work involved with each event is not satisfied by the amount of money brought in. Our silent auction made about $3800 (including the online auction) which is more than we have in the past and the carnival only made about $4000. Clearly, we are missing something because there are many here who out do that. I am anxious to learn more.
Hi..just a note...our 1-5 school has a carnival as it's primary and sometimes only fundraiser for the year. It is a winter carnival so that does limit some activites. Last year we set up a rented "bouncy tent" in our gym. Students used game tickets to buy 5 min. worth of fun. It worked out so great because there was no prize exchange like with other games (which means no additional cost to us) and it kept folks from clogging up our hallways! There was never a time, during the 4 hour event, that there wasn't at least 20 kids in line. It really helped our kitchen (located in the back of the gym) sales for the day.
Definitely - we'd all like you to share your lessons learned. What worked, what didn't? What information that you learned here helped? any tensions? What was the biggest surprise?
My husband suggested doing a carnival, but this yrs PTO group barely has an interest to do a 1/2 way done field day.
Can you share how you got your Carnvial set up? Our school (as of now is 67) but I'd love to give kids next year something to remember the school by, besides no fun. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
I have family in Mesa, I live in Idaho [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Hey everyone. Yesterday was our carnival and silent auction. I want to say thank you to all of you who had a hand in making this night a success. I really relied on this board for advise and help. SO thanks a ton! I was in charge of the silent auction and because of much of the advise I received here, it was pulled off according to the plan.
For all of those who have emailed me recently for all the forms I have, I am happy to share. Please email me again if I have not yet responded. I have been swamped so I have missed some of those.
Lastly, our carnival rides flopped. The company we used, Funrunners, were terrible and provided us with broken rides and workers who wouild do nothing. We are looking for a new company -- servicing Mesa AZ -- so any help in that area would be great. I would like to suggest NOT to use Funrunners!
