Spring Carnival Committee Description

Dates held: Spring

Description: Annual carnival held to raise funds and create fun for the school and students. Duties: Responsible for marketing the event, determining the logistics of registration, selecting booths and games, stocking and staffing the concession stand, working with the Room Parent Committee to gather classroom baskets, fundraising, choosing a theme, decorating and prize selection and setup/cleanup after the event. Additionally, while a core planning committee is needed to oversee the entire Spring Carnival fundraiser, we strongly recommend creating subcommittees with a chair responsible for each team. Along with regular planning committee meetings, each subcommittee should meet separately to discuss ongoing tasks and ensure everything is on schedule.

Time Needed: The committee is responsible for providing updates at each monthly PTO meeting. It is recommended that the committee meets at least once a month, separate from the PTO meeting, to work out the details and put together a proposal ahead of the next meeting. Lifespan of committee: Planning should begin in January and the event is generally in April.

Co-Chairs

Management & Logistics: Sets the carnival goals and budget. Responsible for overseeing that sub- committees meet their deadlines and have what they need to be successful.

Communications: Determines the theme. Develops the communication strategy for promoting the carnival to the students/school/parents/community. Responsible for creating maps and generating buzz on social media.

Fundraising: Secures cash and in-kind donations from local businesses. Ensures all signage and communication appropriately recognizes sponsors. Oversees add-on fundraisers such as Silent Auctions or Raffles.

Concessions: Determines what food and refreshments will be sold at the event and where. Consider a mix of substantial food items such as burgers, hot-dogs and local favorites like pork rinds, pulled pork or kettle corn. PRO TIP: Consider adding a Food Truck corral with a limited menu and a percent of profits going to your group.

Ticket Sales: Procures tickets or wristbands, sets prices, develops security protocols for collecting funds and develop the presale and day of registration.

Carnival Booths & Games: Chooses what booths and games will be included. Work with the Volunteer, Ticketing and Communications team to build and decorate booths and signage.

Volunteers: Recruits and coordinates volunteers for all aspects of the event including setup and decorations, clean up, parking and ticket attendants, booth and game volunteers for each section, concession stand volunteers and more.

Prizes: Selects and purchases prizes for the carnival games.