Activities for Kids

Festivals have an opportunity to increase attendance and support by providing kid-friendly activities and marketing their events to families and schools. Although families and schools are two different markets requiring different marketing strategies, both groups are looking for activities that are fun and engaging, age appropriate, and interactive.
 

Family Friendly Festivals

Festivals that provide activities for children are always of interest to families. Whether your festival targets local families or tourists, providing fun and informative things for children to participate in is an important component. Families will be looking for more than free balloons or a petting zoo! They want experiences for their children that are both entertaining and educational, and they particularly value interactive or hands-on activities.

There are many things a festival can do to make their festival "kid friendly" and to offer hands-on activities that will engage children and their families. Remember, if these activities are a part of the festival, they should also be a part of the publicity. Families will drive quite a distance if they are assured of high quality “edutainment” for the entire family.

School Friendly Festivals

Teachers are always looking for exciting ways to link academics to real world experiences, and a field trip to your festival could be just what they need. Many teachers are also interested in promoting pride in local/regional heritage and history, and this fits right into the mission of many festivals.

But remember, teachers cannot obtain permission to take their students on a field trip to your festival just because it sounds like there might be some fun academic connections. They have to be able to justify their field trip request by pinpointing those connections. Academic connections must be highlighted in all marketing materials aimed at schools. Anything festivals can do to design educational activities and prepare materials that can be given to teachers to use with the students in advance of the fieldtrip will increase the possibility that their class will attend your festival.

One of the best things that you can do to attract a school to your festival is to invite an educator to serve on your board or on a committee. This way you can get direct input from someone who understands the needs of educators. If this is not possible, try to arrange to have an educator join you for at least one meeting where you can explore ideas.

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Plan Ahead!

When planning your festival try to begin a year in advance. Think of ways to incorporate activities, demonstrations and exhibits that celebrate local culture and heritage. What activities can be specifically developed with children in mind?

Important Reasons to do Advance Planning:
 

  • If you are going to apply for a grant to support activities for kids at your festival you have to take into account that there is often a gap of several months between the application due date and the actual funding of the grant.
  • You need to give schools a chance to put the festival on their calendar and plan for attendance.
  • And, you will need plenty of time to develop activities and accompanying materials for the schools.

Using Demonstrators

Having artists, craftspeople, or performers demonstrate their skills during a festival always draws a crowd. The easiest way to host demonstrations is to offer to pay the artist for their time. In the case of artists and craftspeople, you might exchange free or reduced booth space for some free demonstrations. Since demonstrations usually boost sales, many exhibitors are happy for the opportunity.

Other demonstrators might show off skills that go along with your festival theme – splitting rails, making molasses, etc. Talk with artists in advance to see how to make their demonstration be of interest to kids.

  • Is there anyway for kids to be (safely) involved in some step of the process?
  • Can the demonstrator use interactive techniques and include questions and answers?

It is always important to make sure kids understand what the process is about. For example, if you are showing how to make molasses, you need to include a tasting experience.

Another way to make demonstrations more kid-friendly is to add a hands-on activity that is quick and fun, such as creating a quilt pattern on paper with pre-cut pieces of fabric or weaving with paper strips. A volunteer can often handle these types of hands-on activities.

Using Performers

Musicians, storytellers, actors, and dancers can greatly enhance the festival experience. When targeting young audiences, look for performances that are quick-paced, age appropriate, and dynamic. Interactive components are a plus – sing alongs, call and response storytelling, or an opportunity to learn a dance, make performances more engaging for children.

Performers need to be paid for their services, but often, if you book a performer for an evening event aimed at the general public, they will give you a reduced rate for additional performances during a “school day” at your festival.

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Examples of Kentucky Festivals using Grants for Kids Activities

The Stringbean Festival in Jackson County, KY has used grants from the Kentucky Folklife Program to enhance their fall folklife festival, which devotes two days for school children. They have used the grants to identify local musicians and artists to present at the festival. Grants also helped with the development of educational materials to be used in the schools before and after the festival. Kentucky Folklife Program (KFP) http://history.ky.gov/Programs/Folklife/

The Discovery Festival in Renfro Valley, KY has used a grant from the KY Humanities Council to have a presentation by one of the Chautauqua characters, Daniel Boone. Although this festival did not occur during the school year the festival targets families. Kentucky Humanities Council http://www.kyhumanities.org/

The Mary Breckinridge Festival in Hyden helped the Leslie County Public Library apply for a grant that had a puppet group give a free workshop for all ages on making larger than life puppets. The creators then wore their puppets to march in the festival’s parade. Kentucky Arts Council (KAC) http://www.artscouncil.ky.gov/

Don't forget that you can use the Kentucky Peer Advisory Network to help your Festival develop Activities for Kids!

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GO TO: Planning for School Groups

GO TO: Guidelines for Inviting a School or Class to Your Festival

GO TO: Resources & Links