School Carnival Planning Guide
School Carnival Planning Checklist
Create a committee.
There are many moving parts to creating a successful School Carnival event. Having several individuals who are able to dissect the different components of the school carnival and take responsibility for their part is necessary for both the success of the carnival and the mental well-being of all.
Decide what elements of your carnival need an individual to be the control person, for example, a finance manager, and then enlist enough individuals to be able to give each person an area of responsibility.
Set your goals.
Everyone needs to be in agreement! What is the goal of the carnival? For most school carnivals, the goal is to be fun and profitable. Decide now what the financial target is of your event. If your carnival is a fundraiser to raise money for new equipment and you know how much is needed to be able to purchase the new equipment, then be candid about that. Be sure to make that financial goal, and the benefit of reaching that goal, part of your marketing and promotions.
Lock down the date and time.
After checking your school calendar to make sure that there are no conflicting dates, then choose a date that is most likely to work for everyone. Typically, a Friday after school is a great time to host a school carnival. Avoid weekends that fall on a holiday as oftentimes parents will take that time to travel with their children.
Location, Location, Location!
Will your school carnival be held inside of the gymnasium or out on the ball field? Will your location be able to handle everyone all together at the same time plus the addition of parents and siblings and the carnival booths and activities? Will your location have enough power if needed? Are you able to partner with another organization that has a larger venue to host your school carnival event? All of the questions must be taken into consideration before making the announcement to your prospective guests. If your school campus is small, then it may not be able to offer enough parking to all of the parents and guests who show up.
Define your budget.
Most school carnival committees start off with little to no money to create their event. Resourcefulness is the key to overcoming the budget crunch. Make your requests for donations a win/win for everyone. The best success has been when school carnival committees partner with local businesses to request sponsorship of activities. Once you know what activities you would love to have then a local business can sponsor one or more activities in exchange for recognition in your marketing, social media pages, website links back to their business, signage at your event, and more.
Get creative with this aspect of drawing in sponsors. Most successful sponsorships are built on a tiered plan: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze sponsorship levels. Define what each level will provide in terms of marketing and advertising for that sponsor then sell the value of sponsoring at the highest level. Many parents who have children in your school may also be small business owners who would appreciate the opportunity to target your families. Many local realtors and car dealerships would find value in targeting families in your school with their services. So make it a win/win when seeking out donations.
Most local bounce house rental companies are small family-owned businesses. Asking them to donate their services is not a good idea as oftentimes they can not afford to donate. Your school carnival's success depends upon working with a reliable bounce house rental company that is reliable and most importantly, insured! Since these rental items will be the big 'draw' to your event, plan on paying for these services, and instead of asking the bounce house rental company to donate - ask for sponsors to cover the cost!
Decide on a theme.
Many organizations have a theme that carries through
the decorations, booths, parade, merchandising, etc. Some themes we have seen
used include Mardi Gras, Looney Tunes, Sports, Halloween, Vegas, Rock ‘n
Roll, Smile, Luau, Patriotic, Fiesta, and of course the traditional carnival theme with the red and white striped canopies, cotton candy, and midway style of games.
Apply for any necessary permits.
Some areas require permits for tents and inspections by the local fire department. Don't risk having your event shut down due to a lack of due diligence. Do your homework and know what permitting is needed to have tents, bounce houses, and other attractions such as mechanical rides, etc. It is a state law in many areas for a bounce house rental company to be state inspected annually for their jump houses. If a state inspector shows up at your event and the bounce house company that you hired is not state inspected then your event will be shut down, and both the bounce house company and your organization can be fined! Protect your event and your organization from making a costly mistake by not seeking out the right information from the start.
Check on insurance coverage.
This is a big one...Protect your event and your organization with event insurance. Event insurance is a small price to pay for the right amount of coverage in case anyone is injured during your event. As stated before, any vendor that you contract to provide services should have their own insurance. You can also ask for your organization to be added as an 'additional insured' on their policy. Generally, there is no cost to be added to a vendor's insurance policy but don't rely on just your vendor's insurance. You should have your own event insurance because if something happens that is not a result of the actions or negligence of the vendor then the liability will still fall squarely on to you.
Select the right bounce house rental vendor for your event.
The bounce house rental company that you select should have a proven track record of working with schools, churches, and other organizations that draw a large crowd. Safety is always number one and your event rental company should have delivery and set up crews that are trained in the proper and safe set up of the equipment. As stated before, your bounce house rental company should be able to provide a Certificate of Insurance that will remain current through the date of your event and should also have inflatables that are current on their state inspection. If your school carnival fundraising event is being held in Central North Carolina then you can call on Carolina Fun Factory and have confidence that the services you receive are the highest in the industry.
Written By: B. Padgett
Date: 02/07/2022
