Organizing a Fall Festival: Tips for a Successful Event

a scarecrow, and a pumpkin set out for fall decoration

Attending at least one fall festival during the season is a must for families with young children. It's a fun tradition that brings a community together and creates lasting memories.

For churches, this is the perfect opportunity to show the families in your area that you are interested in them and want to provide a welcoming, safe space for their kids. Going above and beyond to reach out to people makes a big impact on their perception of the church.

Here are some helpful hacks for making your fall festival fun and exciting but also intentional and impactful.

How to Plan a Memorable Fall Festival: Tips for a Successful Event

children standing while holding Jack 'o lantern and wearing costume

Here are 4 practical tips for hosting a successful fall festival event:

Plan early - It's best to start planning months in advance. You want plenty of time to make your fall festival come to life. Early preparation gives you ample time to refine your vision, coordinate logistics, and stay on budget. Most importantly, booking vendors early is crucial, delaying can lead to missed opportunities. I’ve learned this the hard way: great ideas can fall apart if you wait too long to make that call, only to find vendors are already booked, forcing you to pivot and rethink activities. Early action keeps your dream festival on track!
1. A part of planning is getting great signage. Reach out to your local graphic design businesses or explore the options on Etsy.

A couple of people that are standing in the grass

Get the Word Out

Create eye catching graphics through Canva.com!
Make a "save the date" post a month ahead of time so that people will have a heads up when making their plans.
Post on your local city's page on Facebook if possible.
Post on local school pages and ask if you can hang flyers at the school.
Post on local businesses Facebook pages and ask permission to hang flyers on their doors or by their check out.
Many businesses have a cork board for people to place business cards and flyers. I've seen them at coffee shops, restaurants, and many stores!
When making posts, be sure to make it shareable.
It's a good idea to create a few different images with slightly different information on each. This strategy may attract different audiences. Different graphics also keep it from feeling repetitive while reinforcing the event.

Recruit - It's important to realize that you need help organizing an event of this scale, even if it is for a smaller church or community. Get used to the idea of asking others for help. I get it, working with others sometimes makes things more complicated, especially when they don't share the same vision, excitement, or dedication. This is why it's important to be very specific when delegating jobs. Make it clear what you are needing and provide a deadline. Communication is essential.
Consider your friends, family, and congregation members with skills in decorating, crafting, cooking, social media, advertising, or music. Do you know someone with connections to local businesses for sponsorships or donations? Don’t assume they’re too busy to help—inviting them to contribute could be a blessing for both them and all who attend! By hesitating to ask, you might miss out on their gifts and the joy of shared service.
If your budget just doesn't have room for all of the awesome activities you want to incorporate, ask for financial help! Once again, it may truly bless someone to be able to help out in this way. Making a post on social media requesting donations or starting a little fundraiser or raffle are good ways to build resources and also get the word out more for the event.

Select and Plan Activities - When planning your fall festival, think about what will captivate the children in your community. What activities would light up their eyes with excitement? Consider what unique experiences your event can offer to make kids’ hearts race with anticipation.
Here are some ideas:
- Inflatables - And don't just limit yourself to bounce houses. Party rental businesses usually offer things, like obstacle courses, jousting, mechanical bull riding, giant mazes, and other inflatable games.
- Face painting - Kids will eagerly line up to have their favorite characters or fall-themed designs painted on their faces. Secure a face painter early to avoid disappointment, as they book up fast! When reserving, ask key questions like, “Do I need to provide the face paint?".
- Food - When an event is near a meal time, it's helpful to provide something so that the parents can relax and enjoy the event without having to worry about what to fix for dinner when they get home or rushing to get something in their bellies before leaving the house.
  Set up a dining area with seasonal favorites like chili. By providing options like hotdogs or Frito pie, you can ensure there is something for everyone's tastes. To make things even more interesting, make it a chili cookoff!
  *In my opinion, this is another opportunity to go all out in serving your community. Take the extra effort to have others cook homemade chili. It shows the parents that you want to provide a hearty, homemade meal for them and their family. Cooking is no doubt an act of love and I guarantee that those who are fed will be appreciative.
  Be sure and advertise the fact that you will be providing a meal so the parents can know ahead of time.
- Booths or Trunks - For some, having a trunk or treat in the parking lot is the best option. For others, setting up tables or "booths" inside a gym or throughout a church works better. And don't forget to have a plan in place in case of bad weather.
  - Booth themes - Pokemon, Minecraft, Mario Bros, farm, cowboy, fishing, beach, pumpkin patch, Bluey, unicorns, superheroes...
  - Game ideas - bowling, ring toss (on bottles, pumpkins, cones), fishing (set up a divider and have someone on the other side attaching prizes to the fishing pole), washers, horseshoe toss, metal detecting (bury coins in some shallow dirt or grass), dig for treasure (in a sandbox or bin), nerf gun target, football throw, basketball...
    Search online and Pinterest for more ideas! If you find something online you like but don't have exactly what they used, don't get discouraged. Make it your own and adjust. You may even end up with something better!
  - Other activities - corn maze (you can use string or hay instead of growing corn), petting zoo, craft table, photo ops, hay ride...