Make Fall Festival Planning Easier

It’s just around the corner — it’s fall festival time. Or as we call them in some parts of the country, the Hallelujah festival. Having some Halloween alternatives for families is a great idea but waiting to the last minute to plan them can put you behind, big time. Don’t stress this year! You can make fall festival planning easier by preparing a few things in advance.
Start with a theme. Okay, so basically fall is the theme but it’s so much fun to get really specific with a fall festival theme. An underlying theme will inspire booth designers to get really creative with their decorations. For example, themes like “Candy Corns and Pumpkins” or “Old Fashioned Festivals” are good themes to use.
Delegate tasks now.Don’t wait too late to come up with games and a list of volunteers to work them. Make a list of the games you want to have ready or solicit suggestions from others. Assign the games to your volunteers and give them a deadline for completing their game, booth and decorations.
Have a pep rally. Kick off the fall festival by motivating your church volunteers with a pep rally. Roll out some cool prizes for the booth workers, like most creative booth or best decorations. Show pictures from years past and have a few testimonials from people who attended previous fall festivals.
Inspect what you expect. Make a phone call or send a pre-thank you card to the volunteers who are helping you. Some last minutes folks may appreciate the nudge toward the finish line.
Offer ideas and troubleshoot problems. As the event planner, you’ve got to be there for your folks. “The bean bags are missing! What should I do?” (Believe it or not, I’ve heard these kinds of questions.) Sometimes troubleshooting is just helping volunteers think things out. “Well what do you think we should do?” No matter how small the problem may seem, listen and help volunteers along.
Plan ahead and you’ll be able to take a stroll and enjoy your church’s fall festival.