As school resumes, planning a fall festival comes into focus. Many churches enjoy hosting a harvest event for neighborhood families. It’s a great way to reach out to the community and connect with people who wouldn’t normally attend your church or ministry.
Planning a fall festival doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Here are four tips to make your preparation a treat.
4 Tips for Planning a Fall Festival
1. Emphasize teamwork.
First up: Don’t scare yourself into thinking you need a large team to pull off a fantastic Fall Fest. We’ve seen a church pull off an 800-kid extravaganza with only 20 volunteers. Consider all the pre-planning that needs to be done beforehand. It’s important to get a core leadership team headed by a director to delegate the work and make the event go smoothly. A little extra recruiting at first goes a long way.
Be sure to screen your team, too. Group’s Shepherd’s Watch Background Checks partners with the leading global background check company, First Advantage. Each background check starts at just $9.
2. Use this picture-perfect idea.
You could be planning a simple Trunk or Treat in your parking lot. Or you may be making room for a multi-station interactive experience. Either way, you’ll want new families to keep coming back long after the event. One easy way to do this is by setting up a photo booth at the entrance.
Hang up a backdrop and set up a tripod. Then have a friendly volunteer invite families entering the event over for a picture. Have families come back next week for the printed picture. Or, if you can print the photos right away, cut out some frames from construction paper. Then write a friendly note on the back inviting families to return.
You can also use VBS-themed frames like these to transition from summer fun into fall activities.
