September 2005
Carnival
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At H & H Enterprises we have made a commitment to
offer schools the best value for their carnivals and
field day events. Without a doubt H & H Enterprises
can offer you the best entertainment package at the
best price.
Our commitment does not end there, We also have
the highest customer satisfaction rating in the
industry. With years of experience and time tested
methods and protocol, H & H Enterprises can proudly
say we offer the best in school carnival
entertainment.
Beware of other companies out there who are
operating without insurance and without safe
equipment. H & H Enterprises is fully insured. We are
serious about our quality and safety!
| Planning a School Carnival? |
SCHOOL CARNIVAL HINTS AND PLANNING TIPS
The School Carnival is a valuable part of any successful student community. These events can be a great opportunity for schools. It gives parents and teachers a chance to mingle, relax and "let down their hair." It gives students the opportunity to look forward to and be involved in something "fun" at school. At many organizations, the school carnivals a time honored tradition- which offers great things both in the realm of community building as well as in the realm of fundraising! A well organized carnival is the key to a successful picnic. School carnivals can be held for a single school or for an entire district. From a small event for just a handful of students to the largest of carnivals with thousands and thousands of attendants- H & H Enterprises has been the driving force behind all kinds of events. YOUR STUDENTS WORK HARD ALL YEAR- DON'T YOU OWE THEM THE BEST IN CARNIVAL ENTERTAINMENT??? Things to think about! You need to decide what you want your carnival to be and how much you want to spend. Yup that means set a budget! And as with any event, you also want to keep the needs and tastes of your attendees paramount. You will also want to allow yourself sufficient time to decide on the perfect date for your event. You'll need to plan your food and beverages, and activities and entertainment. You want to have time so you can notify your community well enough ahead of time so they can plan to be there! Don’t forget that parents and families, have their own busy lives, and giving them enough notice to show up, may determine the ultimate success of your event! When do you want to hold your Carnival? There are pros and cons to weekday carnivals versus weekend carnivals. School Carnivals held on a weekday (Monday thru Thursday) can be a lot cheaper to book rides and entertainment, and our rides and entertainment option as are less likely to be booked out already. But having a school carnival during the week can mean limited attendance depending on your community. Many families and students have commitments to various other sports, athletic, church, or civic groups during the week- you do not want these commitments keeping them from attending the carnival! Weekend Carnivals are definitely more popular. Typically we see a lot of carnivals on Friday nights- this is a time when most families put aside to spend on family related outings and such. Some schools choose to hold very large carnivals on Saturdays, which can be a great choice as A Saturday offers a larger amount of time for you to be "open for business." This gives families who have commitments like soccer games opportunity to go to the carnival before or after the game. Typically in our area, schools hold their picnics any where from October to November, and March to May. Some schools have found fall carnivals to be extremely profitable as well, as during this time there are alot less other events to be competing with. At H & H Enterprises, we are busiest during the spring months- so if you are planning your event at that time, be sure to book well in advance. We will work with you to get you everything that you need! Where do you want to have your School Carnival? School Carnivals can take place inside a gym (for maximum weather protection) But the most successful ones we see are outside, because this allows for much more space for activities and attractions. When schools are not limited by space we can offer our larger attractions, which are more popular. Plus these attractions will also bring in people from the neighborhood such as home school students, or children who attend another school in the area. Placing attractions outside where they can be seen maximizes the revenue potential and increases your schools visibility and recognition. Because picnics tend to be outdoors, you'll want to have a Plan B in the case of rain. Or a B selection of activities that can take place indoors. A tent with walls or access to on-site building facilities is one option, a rain date is another. Keep in mind that if you opt for a rain date, expect to pay additional charges. FOOD! FOOD! FOOD! We have cotton Candy, Sno cones, popcorn, and all that fun stuff! But you may want to consider more substantial food options than that. Providing meals can not only get your crowd to stick around longer, but is also lends you opportunity to raise more funds. If you choose to have the event catered, you don't have to worry about preparation or cleanup. The wonderful thing about carnival fare is that it can be very simple if you choose. Hot dogs and hamburgers are still the most popular dishes. But our caterers can design many food selections for your event! Keep the menu flexible enough to accommodate those with special needs. In today’s world many people are vegetarians. Muslims and Jews may not wish to eat pork. So having at least one non-pork and non-meat option is an excellent idea. If your event has a theme, your menu can reflect that. How many activities or attractions? Schools often choose to go all out on their picnics, they like to provide all kinds of games, activities, and entertainment- to be sure that their students have a good time. These carnivals are also the most lucrative. Depending on the size of your group we are able to design the perfect rides package to meet your needs. At H & H Enterprises it is our goal to insure that your guests will not be bored at your event! We have the materials and the knowledge bank to make your picnic the best it has ever been. When planning interactive games- it is sometimes best to make sure there will be enough people to watch and to participate. One of the things that adds to games like Sumo Wrestling, Jousting, Bouncy Boxing, or Obstacle Couse is the spectators. There is nothing like being there to witness the dunking of the principal! Call the office today and we will work out what works best for you and your budget! Do have age appropriate activities and games Some ideas are caricature artists, fortune tellers, magicians, face painters for the kids, DJ’s, Karaoke, clowns, balloonists, etc… We can arrange any of these sorts of things for your event. In addition, we offer a full selection of rides and attractions designed for these types of events. Our clowns can run Field Games, Egg Tosses, Water Balloon tosses, tug-o-wars and many other activities. We are just the company to get your students involved in your event. Door Prizes Door prizes are a cherished idea at many schools. Door prizes/Baskets work both as added activity and as additional fundraising income. They also are a great reason for people to linger until the event is over! Prizes range from a certificate good for a dinner for two at a local restaurant, gift certificate at a local department store, a day off with pay, tv’s, VCR’s, gift baskets made by each class in the school, and even a free vacation. Use your imagination- what is something that you know your guests will appreciate? Do you want to have a theme? A theme can make it easier to organize food and activities. Carnival Basics Carnival Hints, Planning tips, Ideas, and event planning resources!!!
CHOOSING A DATE: Selecting the right date for your event can be the most crucial factor in determining the ultimate success of your carnival. When deciding on your carnivals date take into consideration conflicts that your anticipated attendees might have. What other events are being held on your date? Holding your event on the same day as another major/larger event can be both beneficial or detrimental to your event. Many people will choose to go to a larger city wide event and completely overlook a smaller company picnic or school carnival. Other people may prefer to go to a more local event, in order to save time in travel/the hassle of parking etc... These factors are important to take into consideration- try to imagine yourself in your guests position- what would you choose? Ask others people, or take a general poll. If you are in direct competition with another event from the planning date typically for maximum attendance we recommend searching for a date that has very little else going on in your area! When choosing a date, make it far enough in advance to be sure that your guests can plan to be there. Families are busy. Setting up a carnival without giving sufficient notice for people to make themselves available can lead to disaster. PUT TOGETHER A PLANNING COMMITTEE Having the right team of help can be a saving grace for many carnival planners. When putting together your team, choose people who you can rely on to carry their own weight. There is nothing worse that leaving the cake walk in Betty's hands and finding out the day of the event that nobody is bringing cakes, there is no music, and Betty is vacationing in Jamaica. When putting together your committee- assign each member a particular task. Put someone in charge of food/concessions, someone in charge of games, someone to arrange volunteers, a marketing person, and staff any other tasks you can think of. Give these people deadlines by which they need to offer a proposal of ideas, suggest solutions, and have their tasks completed and ready for the event!
The more reliable help you have the better of you are. Thankfully, H & H Enterprises is here to help with the entertainment- and we are the most reliable in the industry! MAKE A WISH LIST Are there certain things you absolutely want to have at the carnival? Certain things your carnival has to have? Write all of these things down on a piece of paper- and GET THEM. Using any method you know make them happen. If you are afraid of being able to afford a certain thing for your carnival you will be able to pay for it if you build it into your admission price. In fact you may be able to make money on an item that draws a larger crowd- or that people want to use more. We have some regular customers who go for the cheapest options every year, whose carnivals typically stay about the same. These carnivals are successful. They are small and simple with reasonable sized crowds and a decent return. Compare these to the events we do where people invest in a full fledged entertainment package or themed event from H & H Enterprises- and there is a difference. The schools, churches, companies, and other organizations who go for this approach draw larger crowds, make more money, and grow their events and attendance each year. What you wish for and what you are determined to get for your event will be what decides your events success. And remember, If you don't get the carnival of your dreams this year- you can use this years profits to make your carnival better and more profitable next year. MARKETING YOUR EVENT Marketing is a huge part of determining the ultimate success of any event. Be sure to use the best resources available to you to market your event. Newspapers, newsletters, making flyers, posters, email campaigns, coupons, pre-selling tickets, and radio or television campaigns are just a few of the avenues available. For smaller events in smaller communities, there are ways to advertise your event and let people know you are having it. For example: A school might send home a weekly or monthly newsletter, post information on the school reader board, or send a special flyer home with the students the week before the event. We suggest marketing what you will have at the event- and use pictures! These are what will excite the kids and parents alike. A flyer like that expresses that the event coming will be fun, and the use of "eye candy" pictures truly lets people know what they can expect at the event. They increase excitement and increase your attendance. Getting a few of our attractions at an event will give you a great way to market what is coming! ARRANGE VOLUNTEERS The best events are ones that have responsible attendants for the rides, attractions, and games. H & H Enterprises can staff your event for you, however, some organizations choose to provide volunteers. This is one of the best ways to cut costs at an event. If you can arrange for volunteers to assist with set up, teardown, and attend our attractions- we can offer them at a much lower cost to your organization. But you must be able to arrange the number of people we request, for the time we request, and with good heads on their shoulders. Ride attendants must be responsible, authoritative, and not afraid to take control of a situation. The safety of your event participants depends on the types of volunteers you provide for the event. Also when thinking of people for set up/clean up tasks- keep in mind that many of our attractions weigh hundreds of pounds. We always suggest that you have several adult/adult sized individuals who are not afraid to sweat and lift heavy objects! If you would like we can also fully staff the event- this allows all the people in your community to partake in the activities and entertainment.
DECIDE ON A BUDGET Determining a budget for your carnival will give you a place to start. To assist you with your budget planning and calculations, contact our office we can supply you with a full price list. We also are capable of offering estimates of other services that you require, from catering, to tent rental, event signs and banners, and more.. For those people out there with a large budget, H & H Enterprises has the expertise and experience to plan your entire event- from catering to clean up. SELECT CARNIVAL GAMES Some organizations have committees put together carnival games like ring toss, beanbag toss, and whatever else people can think of... This usually translated into hundreds of hours brainstorming, planning, finding supplies, and building games that often end up looking home made and are good for use once- which means going through the whole process again next year. H & H Enterprises offers a full selection of carnival games like dunk tanks, ring toss, beanbag toss, field games and more. Why spend hours putting together games, and thinking up ideas- when you can call us? Select from our carnival games and classic games here, to determine what games you want at your next event!
PLAN ACTIVITIES AND ENTERTAINMENT In today's world- the simple carnival games are still great, but people are used to the other kinds of entertainment available to them. At H & H Enterprises, we are happy to offer a full selection of entertainment options for even the most demanding of crowds. We have a full line up of entertainment and activities options available: CLOWNS - FACEPAINTING - MAGICIANS - DJ's - AND MORE! FOR MORE INFO ON ANY ITEMS CONTACT OUR OFFICE TODAY! Some events have a Disc Jockey, or DJ playing music and interacting with the group over a PA system. A DJ can offer entertainment to the entire group at once, offer a fun filled ambience, and help people to relax. We can arrange DJ for you, or supply you with the equipment to play your own music, and run your own stage.
SELECT YOUR RIDES AND INTERACTIVE GAMES! Visit our rides and attractions page for a full line up of what we have available. Determining the right variety of attractions for your event will translate into how much fun your group will have. You always want to make sure that there is entertainment for every one. This way every one at the carnival will have something to look forward to! Our office staff can help you to determine what the right games and activities are for your group. Contact Us today- and we will help you to determine what attractions will work the best for your group! SPACE/POWER Determining the space and power requirements for your event can be a daunting task. Fortunately we are experienced in this area, and we can help you. We offer a free sight evaluation for larger events. We will also help you determine these factors during the selection process of your rides and attractions! With just one phone call your entertainment worries are over! |