New homecraft & school fair class ideas
• Promote & collect items at a local Farmers Market
• Partner with a local library – supply crafts and keep the item
• Adult colouring pages
• Cricket crafts
• Diamond painting
• Pinterest ideas
• Christmas tree displays – themes
• Bra decorating – partner with a cancer organization
• Community quilting category
• Commercial quilted finish category
• Cheese balls (have to be thrown out after and kept in the fridge before judging)
• Parade, float for each school and business
• At the farmers market provide craft supplies to help make and bring as exhibit
• At farmers market bring samples of classes and have entry sheets to take and bring items to fair
• Seniors or assisted living classes, special needs categories – use of computer assisted drawings
• Farm toy
• Stuffed animal house
• Tissue paper stained glass
• Bridging gap between Jr and adult special classes to encourage
• Hot dog pillow cases
• Grandma's kitchen
• Nature walk collection
• Egg carton collection
• New photography classes
• 4-H classes
• Cell phone case decorating Acrylic pours
• Bedazzle bra BRAZ for the CAUSE donation/ charity
• Paint night submit entries for fair
• Make an animal out of a toilet plunger
• Marshmallow creature
• Punk art
• Metal working
• Industrial art
• Garden sculpture
• Wooden signs/ repurposing wood, metal
• Whirling metal chimes
• Woodworking class- cutting board, bowls, chacutiery boards, carvings
• Ugly cupcake
• Lace making
• Rughooking
• Parent and child entry/ grandfriend open to any form of multigenerational- picture working together making item
• Multiculture class open switch up categories every 2-4 yrs
• Combine lists- more prize money
• Separate classes for quilts take junior classes to centers and schools
• Special culinary categories one of your own (special class using dignitary or recently passed members favourite recipe)
Volunteer Recognition & Appreciation at the Fair
• Had a catered dinner – no one came
• Teenagers get teen swag bags
• Pot luck
• Volunteer appreciation before the fair
• Food tickets during the fair
• Half price at food booths
• Statement that says teenagers get fair teenagers – maybe that should be passes??
• Feed volunteers during fair, set up and take down during fair have fruit/ food available at the office or grab bag at station, potluck provided by fair
• Free passes into fair if helping all weekend get ride passes
• Appreciation dinner with door prizes have them sit with JR directors and main directors along with executive have it catered (service club or WI) but they don't pay to attend
• Director of the year
• Pizza party for students volunteers
• Introduction of directors to volunteers
• Volunteer tea before awards dinner
• Rest station with food and water
• Night at the races with buffet
• Volunteer photo booth with beverages
• Every time they volunteer the get a ballot on appreciation night they draw 10 names
• For 40 hrs students – have volunteer award at the school
• Mix up how you appreciate them thank you card, gift and a wall of appreciation . make it personal from committee they helped with
• Ontario appreciation volunteer award
• T shirts to help recognize them on the grounds…announce to fair goes to thank them for helping you have a great experience
• Before fair to get volunteers have a roast beef picnic bouncy castles fun night
Incorporating Fair theme
• Special occasion categories
• Different themes every year
• Directors dressup / parade in theme
• Barns / business decorate for the theme
• Santa on vacation at your fair walk around
• Pick theme at AGM as a draw
• Pick them for next year at end of this fair so all can prepare
• Buttons, signs, footprints through the barns using theme
• Ambassador sash
• Merchandize /clothes with theme .
• Have kids make posters on theme use as advertising
• Incorporate theme on board as well
• Plan 2 yrs in advance
• Make them silly and fun get more involved
• Follow through before, during and after
• Celebrating years 5, 10 15 using anniversary – paper, china, silver, gold
• Use theme on cover of prize book
• Theme- certain area so not have to change entries yearly
• Use new/ special categories yearly so not have to make all new book for theme classes
Themes:
• Farm fun
• Fairy tales
• Keep it counting
• Learn, share grow
• Hats off to harvest
• Grandmas cupboard
Fairboard Fundraising Ideas
• Loonie auction – directors donate an item to be used
• Drive in bingo
• 100ppl-1000$ names wood burned onto a board to be displayed at the fair for a fee
• Homemade pie, cake, cookies auction donate 50% of money, slice of pie sold $5.00
• Cow plop bingo (need a lottery license)
• Silent auction at fair
• Pig races with each racer sponsored/ named by a business
• Craft show/sale
• Pork auction- farmers donate, butcher donates time
• Yard sale
• Vendors selling items then donate item for auction
• Horticulture societies have plant sale
• Boston pizza fundraiser night
• Charging stations sponsored / use of service
• Ball/ golf/ curling tournament
• Barn dance/ BBQ/ silent auction corporate sponsors tickets $ 20-25 ticket
• Jamboree and camp out with breakfast and dinner
• Trivia night
• Air band, karaoke sessions do 3-5 x/yr charge to participate
• Plant/ paint night
• Pancake breakfast, spaghetti dinner homemade bread sell at fair
• Advertising on a derby car
• Rent out grounds for storage, weddings
• Banks to sponsor classes, sell fair tickets at bank
• Auction of naming rights to building
• Competing radio stations
• Ladies night/mens night
• Mutton busting/pig catching
• VIP " best seat in the house" seating private server comfy seats sponsored by… provide a couple of van seats with food, wine, beer close to stage
High school Volunteer hours how to prepare and assist
• Sharing from Providence Bay fair/ Shannonville fairstudents need to get 40 hrs fairs can help
• Trying to get volunteers- once high school done stop helping
• Local authority- see who needs community hours
• Shannonville – runs pancake breakfast every month they have volunteers for that
• High school- have to take the time to show the high school volunteer what to do
• Judging day- training day ahead of fair
• Use judging day to have them come and train kids to help at fair
• How to keep them Teach, feed, appreciate – give swag bags special shirt use 4H
• Use Art class students to design class cover page
• Use wood shop as signs on grounds
• Use art and healthy living class to design colouring book /pages for…. about your fair post in other areas for people to see to go to that area and see
• Reach out to students taking: marketing, graphics, social media, photography
• Keep contact with students who have been volunteers asking them to events to help keep interested if as guest then come as helpers
• Provide scholarship
• Outside the box fair split up fair to 1 day events during the year-easier to get volunteers for a day if not able to get for 2-4 days or a weekend
Managing exhibits with no storage
• Storage shed at local storage no charge/ security
• Local farmer use empty barn
• Space at arena
• Purge at end of each year old / have auction
• Sea can
• Old trailers store at winter storage inside or out
• Township owned – allowed to use space
• Old arena
How is your fair book changing
• 50-60 pages put out in businesses, charge for printed $6.00
• Use assist expo
• More advertising included
• Only online now
• Use same book for 2-4 years – have special page yearly
• Smaller size, not mailing out at all
Future of Ribbons at your fair
• Ribbons vs stickers
• Stickers are over coming than ribbons
• Participation stamp
• Tickets for rides over ribbons
• Place 1st-3rd with ribbons only rest get sticker
• Use assist expo
• Ball caps, horse blanket, any item instead versus rosettes
• Who pays- service clubs, sponsors
• Buy back/ recycle
• Ribbons not sponsored- no year on them
• Definitely still needed for kids' categories
• Certificates could replace placards and trophies
• Ribbons make it hard to display without covering other entries
• More fairs are using stickers instead of ribbons