We will have lots of inflatables this year thanks to a very generous community! We are hoping to get our local police department to come out and and do the picture and finger printing of kids. We've already spoken to them, but they have to get so many parents to agree by signing a waiver for the child to participate. We're waiting to see if we reach that total. We still have until May to get this quota.
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by jstone: We're coming up on the end of the year for our outside carnival and I'm interested in what everyone else does. We do the face painting, tatoo's, basketball throws, knock the cans down, bubble blowing contest, cake walk...the usuals, does anyone have something out of the ordinary to share? We're an elementary school. Some of the parents don't even want to do this anymore but some of us think we need to keep it. We get a pretty good turn out and most important - the kids love it. So I'm co-chairing it - and really want to make it fun. Any ideas? Thanks! [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img] <hr></blockquote>
If you are having it outdoors a horse/pony ride is always good. Most children nowadays don't get to expierience this. Try to find someone at the school or in the community who has access to a horse. $1 per ride (back and forth the length of the playground will do) Also, many Dr's/Dentist are usually willing to donate prizes from their "treasure chests". Also the chamber of comerce/ local business bureau might be able to connect you to businesses who have "promotional goodies" to give away, cups, frisbees, etc. Good luck!!! We aren't having a carnival this year due to lack of volunteer participation also.
Our carnival is not about making a profit, it is about lettig the kids have fun. Our yearly carnival is called the Fun friday Carnival. Every other Friday someone from our Fun Friday committee sells things like pickles, giant pixie sticks, popcorn bags, fruit rollups, brownies etc. Every week you sell a new item so that the kids are interested in what you have to offer. Our elementary school has approximately 450 children, and we average about $1500/year. We then use this money to payroll the carnival. We use a company that specializes in outdoor parties and we usually rent 5 or 6 huge blow-ups from them. We then scatter these with the pie in the face booth, dunking booth, bean bag toss, etc. Luckily, our principal stands with us on this project, and so on a Friday in May we have the carnival as an all day event and the children get to visit the carnival during their PE/Music times and at their lunch recess times. This gives the kids more time to play with less hassles from having younger or older children around them while they play. The best part is that since the parents and children paid for the carnival themselves by buying items throughout the year, they want to take part in having it run smoothly. We get great parental involvement since parents aren't obligated to stick around all day. They come during their child's class times and then leave when the next class comes. During lunchtime recess, we even have the teachers come out and get in the dunking booth. Our carnival is not a huge thing with ferris wheels and cotton candy, but the kids anticipate it every year and it is always a huge success. If you have questions, please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Last year we had a dj who played music, but every 15 minutes or so she would draw a name for karaoke. If a child's name is drawn, they had a few minutes to gather some friends and do their act. It was fun. Another thing -- I am simplifying our carnival this year due to the volunteer problem. We are having a local burger joint come in and cook burgers. We will sacrifice some of the profits, but no more food to cook! We'll still do drinks, popcorn, and snowcones. Also, we do a silent auction and bake sale. Good luck!
