Ideas, Tips and Games for School Carnival planners from the West Coast leader in carnival events and entertainment.

School Carnival Ideas + Planning Tips

If you are the lucky PTA Mom or Dad who has taken upon the task of planning the school carnival and do not know where to turn for some great carnival game ideas or even some guidance on how to make the event fun for the kids – you have stumbled upon the right place on the world wide web!

School Carnival Tip #1 – Form a Committee
A successful carnival is going to take more than just you. surround yourself with people, assign tasks, follow up and coordinate with people. This will lead to a much more successful carnival. You need help- there is no way you can manage all the games, food, selling tickets, etc… So you will need to put together a plan of what you want to do, and find some good help to accomplish each task.

School Carnival Tip #2 – Reserve your games and entertainment
Many school carnivals take place on the same weekend- which means that companies like ours who supply carnival games, entertainment, inflatable rides, and more to all sizes, shapes, and types of schools get sold out. The last thing you want to do is wait until the last minute, because this could lead to disaster!

School Carnival Tip #3 – Food for thought…
While your crowd meanders around the school, they will stay longer and the event will be much more successful if you can offer food. Food can also be a source of revenue for the carnival. While many schools stick to the basics with carnival type snacks like popcorn, cotton candy, soda, snokones, hot dogs, etc… We have also seen schools that offer full meals, or even several food vendor options. (local restaurants or delis will often partner with a school to provide at an event, offering a portion of the proceeds back to the school.)

School Carnival Tip #4 – Have a Rain Plan
If you have a rain plan, you will be in a much better place on the day of the event when the heavens open up on you. Decide what you will do if it rains- and be prepared if it occurs.

School Carnival Game Ideas
We have all kinds of great school carnival games available for rental- and some schools use them along side some they make themselves. If you decide to make games, also think about where you will store these items until next years carnival (a lot of people get stuck with school carnival items in their garage until next year.)

Some great school carnival games:

Ring toss, Bean bag Toss, can smash, a high striker, the cake walk, a fishing game, karaoke, pop a shot basketball, dunk tanks, etc… There are no limits to the amount of great school carnival games that are out there!

Here are a few more items which we find to be increasingly popular at School events…

Just about everything we have in our party and carnival rental inventory has appeared at a school carnival at some time or another.

Bounce Houses – A bounce house is a great attraction at a carnival. Kids love to jump bounce and play around. Some schools choose to get more than one bounce house, so that they can separate the kids by age group. This makes a lot of sense if you are expecting a large crowd.

Inflatable Slides at School Carnivals – YES. an absolute must have. this is the perfect attraction to keep the lines moving at any carnival event. An inflatable slide is a hugely popular attraction and we have them available to meet any theme you may be planning for your event.

Obstacle Courses – Another high capacity attraction that will keep the lines moving, an obstacle course also offers a nice challenge for competitive kids. Two people can race each other through the unit, which is a great way to get some energy out.

Concessions – What is a carnival without concessions? We have them all- everything from cotton candy to popcorn, snokones to shave ice, hot dogs, and more. Your carnival can be a huge success with our concession machine rentals.

School Carnival’s are great for any school community

Any school community can benefit from a school carnival event. If you are looking to raise funds, or simply looking to have a great community building celebration the carnival is an excellent means to do either. All that you need to do is determine which path you want to take, and set your ticket costs in accordance with your goals. Or if your organization has a surplus in the budget, you may be able to hold a free event for your local community.

We offer our planning and party rental services to portland school carnivals as well as planners throughout the State of Oregon. In addition we have a location which services the Seattle and puget sound areas with our amazing carnival and event items.

If you are looking to host an event for your school- give us a call, and we will help you to start planning your carnival event!