Creating a Fall Festival to Remember

Creating a fall festival requires understanding the issues you need to address and starting on them as early as possible. One of the most important steps is to address some of the main questions surrounding creation of a fun, engaging fall festival. The checklist below hits upon all of them.

By partnering with experienced event managers, you will have help every step of the way in choosing, setting up and operating the best attractions and party rentals perfectly suited for your fall festival.

Eight Important Areas for Creating a Fall Festival

The following looks at some of the main issues involved with creating a fall festival that fulfills its mission and provides quality entertainment for the intended audience. These areas also apply to company parties, school fundraisers, large community events, college festivals and other large events.

Create a Fall Festival Team

As with any large-scale event, the chief party planner shouldn’t attempt to do anything on their own. They must first assemble a team to help with every phase of the festival. A successful fall festival is essentially the product of good project management. You’ll want someone in charge of the main elements of the festival, including attractions, games, food, advertising, and (if applicable) donations. These people should all have strong leadership skills. They can then create subcommittees to help with their phase of the fall festival.

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What Is the Purpose of the Festival?

In some cases, people create a fall festival just for the benefit of those in attendance, such as a corporate fall festival meant to reward employees. In some cases, a fall festival is a fundraiser for a school, church or other organization. Whatever the case, establish your goal for the festival from the start so you can stay on track as you move forward with planning.

Choose a Location and a Plan B

It’s important to choose a location far in advance to ensure you have the right amount of space for your fall festival. You also want time to get the proper permits if using a public space, which is often the case with outdoor fall festivals. Always have a Plan B – either another date or another location – n case the weather takes a turn for the worse on the original date.

Do You Need a Theme?

Some fall festivals are simply that – a festival held in the fall, with the decorations one might expect from a fall festival. However, in some cases, a more specific theme works with the fall festival. One of the most popular themes is to hold something that features carnival games and concessions.

Fall Festival Attractions and Games

A smaller fall festival can sometimes work well with the efforts of a team of volunteers. However, medium-to-large fall festivals work better when you rent attractions and games suited for the crowd you expect. Choices range from large inflatable attractions, including slides and obstacle courses, to thrill rides such as unique climbing attractions, laser tag, amusement park rides, Zorb tracks and even a Ferris Wheel. You also can rent concessions, such as popcorn and cotton candy machines.

What Type of Food Will You Offer?

In addition to the carnival concessions, you can also work with local vendors or restaurants on concessions. This is another area where you want proper permitting and licensed food vendors. For a fall festival, popular choices include cotton candy, candy apples, hot apple cider, and hot chocolate. But you’ll never go wrong with pizza and burgers at any type of event.

Marketing and Advertising For Your Fall Festival

Once you’ve planned and arranged to hold an excellent fall festival, how do you plan to let people know about it? Social media is one of the best places to start with getting the word out about your festival plans. But “old-fashioned advertising” also works well. Create flyers to distribute in the local community – including schools, churches and businesses – and be as specific as possible about what you plan to offer. By putting in the time and the work, you can create a buzz about your upcoming event!

Planning in these areas can make creating a fall festival more manageable. It also increases the chances of holding a festival that is highly successful.