www.fetefun.co.uk	Attraction Notes
Introduction:
These notes are biased towards the organisation of primary school fetes but the principles are relevant for all types of fetes. Check the main web site for more detailed instruction on the individual attractions. Some of the ideas for attractions, stalls, events and games are potentially dangerous, it is your responsibility to ensure the safety of the fete organisers, visitors attracted to the fete and members of the general public. If you are in doubt as to the safety of any of the attractions, stalls, events or games, DO NOT run it. All of the fete attractions, stalls, events and games must be operated by competent adults. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are fully compliant with all of the safety and legal regulations and requirements for the location in which you are holding your event. In particular we draw your attention to the need for Public Liability Insurance, Lottery and Gaming Regulations, Public Performance Licenses and Alcohol Licenses. Contact your local authorities for advice and assistance.

Baked Beans Bath

The victim sits in a bathtub or paddling pool and has baked beans poured over them, use safety goggles as beans have a high salt content and will sting the eyes. This works best if the person in the bath is a person of authority such as the school Head Teacher. Additional money can be raised if sponsorship is collected before the event. Invite the local Press Photographer along as they like this type of event and there is a good chance the picture will appear in the local paper. Variations include the use of custard or any other gundgy substance in place of the baked beans.

Balloon Burst

A solenoid holding a dart is slid down two wires strung between a tall post and a short post. As the solenoid slides down the wires it passes over a balloon on the ground. The contestant presses a button, releasing the dart, and attempts to pop the balloon. A prize is won if the balloon is popped. A very popular game as it is harder than it looks to pop the balloon.

Bauble Hunt

Make or purchase baubles to hang on a Christmas tree. Hide a number in each bauble, pick the bauble off the tree and win a prize. For a cheaper version, decorate square envelopes to look like Christmas presents and hang these from the tree in place of the baubles.

Bear’s Bungee Jump

The customers bring their Teddy Bears (or other favourite toy animal) and these are thrown off the top of the church steeple attached to a bungee cord. The name of each bear is recorded on a certificate, which is presented to the bear's owner after the jump. This event was very popular at our local church when run as part of the church fete, a lot of adults produced some very battered but much loved bears to jump alongside their children's bears making it a good family event.

Beat The Goalie

Set up a football goal with a goalie, allow three kicks per contestant. Award prizes for each football kicked past the goalie.

Bottle Tombola

Ask for donations of bottles (such as shampoo, soft drinks, wine or alcohol) then stick a number on each bottle, use tickets from one half of a raffle ticket book. Depending on the odds you wish to offer either stick every number on a bottle (100% chance of winning) or just use every 5th ticket (1 in 5 chance of winning). Fold up and put the other half of the raffle tickets in a box suitable for people to draw out off. If a child wins an alcoholic prize then hand the prize to their parent, alternatively run two bottle tombolas one for children and one for adults (charge more for the adult’s tombola). If the quality or quantity of the donations is not high then you may need to buy some bottles to make the stall more attractive, take care not to buy too many expensive bottles!

Bouncy Castle

Big inflatable castle or inflatable animal for children to jump on. Don't expect to make lots of money from a Bouncy Castle as they are expensive to hire. However they usually breakeven and should be considered as a loss leader. No school fete is complete without a Bouncy Castle. As they are big they often stick up above building and help to draw in the crowds.

Bucket Of Water Coin Drop

Fill a large tub with water and place coins on the bottom. Contestant drops coins into the water and if they completely cover a coin on the bottom they win a prize. This game is a lot more difficult than it looks.

Cake And Bake Stall

Put prices on all of the cakes and baking donated by parents and place on a table.

Chocolate Tombola

Similar to the bottle tombola but use chocolate. Ask for donations of chocolate then stick a number on each bar, use tickets from one half of a raffle ticket book. Depending on the odds you wish to offer either stick every number on a bar (100% chance of winning) or just use every 5th ticket (1 in 5 chance of winning). Fold up and put the other half of the raffle tickets in a box suitable for people to draw out off. If the quality or quantity of the donations is not high then you may need to buy some chocolate to make the stall more attractive, take care not to buy too many expensive bars!

Coconut Shy

Set up the coconuts on the stands and allow three throws of a wooden ball per contestant. The contestants win any coconuts they knock off the stands. Use netting (a football goal works well) to contain the thrown balls.

Count Sweets in The Jar

Fill a jar with sweets (candy), count the number used as the jar is filled. Keep the total secret (write on a piece of paper in an envelope). Record the name and contact details when a guess is make, winner gets the jar of sweets. It is also possible to use a jar of beans and then offer something else as a prize.

Cow Pat Sweepstake

Mark out a field into squares, sell the squares and record the "owner" of each square. Put a cow in the field and award the prize to the "owner" of the square where the cow produces the first cow pat. Could also be played with a sheep, goat or for a more manageable version use a mouse or hamster in a cage.

Darts

Set up a darts board, give each contestant three darts and award prizes depending on the number of points scored with three darts. Alternatively set up a darts board covered with pictures of local dignitaries, cartoon characters or members of the school staff and award prizes for the pictures hit.

Duck Racing

Each contestant buys a numbered toy bath duck. The ducks are dropped into a stream to start the race and the first duck past the winning line is the winner. Collect the ducks up so they can be reused or given to the contestants.

Duck Shoot

Set up a row of toy bath ducks on a stand and give the contestant a water pistol to try and shoot the ducks off the stand. Award prizes for each duck shot.

Egg And Spoon Race

Each contestant is given a spoon and a hardboiled egg. The egg must be carried, on the spoon, as fast as possible along the course. If run as a fete attraction try using an obstacle course and divide the contestants into age groups. Times can be recorded using a stopwatch and either award prizes for the winner in each age group or for completing the course within predefined time limits.

Face Painting

Children's faces (or adults) are painted to look like cartoon characters or animals. Obtain sets of face paints from party shops or children's stores. Try and use someone with artistic talent to carry out the face painting.

Fire Engine Darts

Place pieces of paper with the contact details of the contestants on the ground (the papers may need weighting down with rocks or sand). Drop a large dart from the top of the fire engine’s extendable ladder. The contestant that is closest to where the dart lands is the winner.

Grand Prize Draw

Obtain donations of prizes from local companies and sell pre-printed draw tickets both in advance and at the fete. Hold the draw at the end of the fete. A gaming or lottery licence may be required to hold a Grand Prize Draw.

Greasy Pole Pillow Fight

Can be held using either a pole over a swimming pool or a long bench on gym tumble mats. Two contestants stand on the pole/bench and try to knock the other contestant off the pole/bench using a pillow. Wet the pole/bench to make the game more challenging.

Greasy Watermelon Scramble

Best played in a swimming pool. Cover a watermelon in lard or other edible grease and allow two teams to scramble for the watermelon. Points are scored for each goal scored. At the end of the game the teams share the watermelon.

Guess Bear’s Birthday

The object is to guess the birthday of the bear (or other cuddly toy). The person to correctly guess the date, or come closest to the date wins the bear. Not a great money earner but popular with small children and their grandparents, a useful way of raising money using toys donated by department stores or toy shops.

Guess Bear’s Name

The object is to guess the name of the bear (or other cuddly toy). The person to correctly guess the name, or come closest to the name wins the bear. Not a great money earner but popular with small children and their grandparents, a useful way of raising money using toys donated by department stores or toy shops.

Guess Baby’s Birth Weight

If a new baby is available (a couple of days old is best) put them on display and charge for a guess at the birth weight. Award a prize for the correct or nearest answer, record the guesses on a piece of paper marked up in 1 oz or 50 gram increments. Can also be held if the baby has not yet been born, the Mum to be sticks a notice advertising the contest on her bump and walks around the fete collecting guesses.

Gunge

Nomination Gunging - This works by using a vote system. You have several people up for nomination. They could be bosses, teachers, or anyone. Over a week or so, people vote for who they want to see Gunged. Charge a set amount per vote, 20p votes can raise £500 in a senior school teacher Gunging! At the end of the voting period, the winner (or loser, as is more appropriate) gets Gunged. Auction Gunging - When the person to be Gunged has been selected, auction off the privilege of pouring the Gunge to the highest bidder. If someone has a particular grudge against the person up for nomination, they will pay surprising amounts to be the one to cover them in Gunge! Gunge Bombs - You can divide people into teams each having a flag to protect. Each team has a little stock of Gunge Bombs. Teams take it in turns to try to get the enemy's flag. For charity events you can make teams pay to enter or make each individual player pay every time they are hit. This game could be described as a less painful, more Gungy version of Paintball! See www.gungeshop.com for gunge supplies.

Hook A Duck / Boat

Float a number of toy bath ducks or boats in a child's paddling pool. Place a star on the bottom of one of the ducks/boats and give the contestants either a pole with a hook or a child's fishing net. Award prizes for the ducks/boats caught with a special prize for the duck/boat with a star.

Hoopla

Arrange the prizes on a table and provide hoops for the contestants to try and throw over the prizes. Very useful game for getting rid of the donated "fast food chain free toys", vary the criteria as to what counts as a successful throw depending on how many prizes you want to get rid of (hoopla ring partially on the prize or fully on – BE CONSISTENT). Also works well if chocolate is used as the prizes, if the prizes are too large for a hoop to fit over then use something smaller as a target and mark it indicating the prize to be won.

Horse Shoes

Set up a throwing area with a stakes at increasing distances from the throwing line. Give the contestant three horseshoes to throw and award prizes based on the stake "caught" by the horseshoe.

Human Fruit Machine

Three large boxes are set up with a person (child) in each box, on a signal each person at random picks a piece of fruit and holds it out of a hole in the front of the box. If all the pieces of fruit are the same the player wins a prize. This is a good event for children to help run and is not often seen at fetes so has a novelty value.

Jumble Sale

Collect in donations of jumble, price it up and display on a table. Use any donations that are unlikely to sell for Trash or Treasure.

Lucky Dip

Purchase small toys and wrap in tissue paper, place in a box filled with packing peanuts or sawdust. For a Christmas Fete use Christmas paper and place in a box decorated in a Christmas theme.

Mine Field / Mouse Trap Game

Set up the mouse traps (at least 8) in a fenced off area. Throw tennis balls at the traps, if a trap is set off a prize is won – fun size chocolate bars. Put exploding caps on each trap for added effect. Use netting as the fence to prevent the balls rolling away. Originally seen as a means to raise funds for a mine clearance charity.

Obstacle Course

Set up a course using scrambling nets, barrels, climbing frames and balancing beams for the children (or adults) to climb over. Charge for either each circuit of the course.

Outside Traders

Arrange for small traders to sell their goods at the fete, charge either a table fee or ask for a percentage of takings. Handmade toys, cards, chocolates, candles, clothes etc. usually sell well. Consult in advance with the traders to ensure that you can provide any tables or mains power they require. If the fete is to be held outside, you may need to arrange for marquees or other suitable shelter to provide protection from the elements. Try your local Avon Lady and ask all the traders if they know of other traders that would like to participate in the fete.

Panning For Gold

Place a layer of sand approximately 25 mm deep in a plastic storage tub and seed the sand with "gold nuggets" purchased from a fete supplies company, fill the rest of the tub with water. Each contestant pans for gold using a baking dish with holes drilled in the bottom. Weigh the nuggets panned by the contestant and award a certificate or prize. Recycle the nuggets for the next contestant.

Pick An Egg

Fill a tray with sand and place upturned eggshells in the sand. If the shell picked has a dot inside it the contestant wins a small prize.

Pick A Lolly

Obtain an empty fruit tray from the supermarket, decorate the box, turn it upside down and poke lots of holes in the bottom. Put a red dot on the bottom of a few of the lollies and then stick all of the lollies into the holes. Contestant picks a lolly and if it has a dot on the bottom wins an additional small prize.

Ping Pong Ball Throw

Stand tubes of different lengths on end (sections of tube from carpet shops work well), place small prizes in each tube. The contestant throws the ping pong ball at the tubes and win the prize if the ball falls into the tube.

Plate Smash

Arrange unwanted crockery on a stand and charge to throw three wooden balls at the crockery. Obtain the crockery cheaply from charity shops. Arrange netting to catch the balls and set up the crockery smash in an area where the broken bits can easily be swept up.

Pocket Money Toys

Buy pocket money toys in bulk from a fete supply company or other toy wholesaler, display the toys on a table and sell for a profit. Not all of the toys will sell so be prepared to store some of the toys until the next fete. Use any left over toys for the next fete or as prizes in the lucky dip or Santa's Grotto.

Pony Rides

Charge for children to sit on a pony whilst it is led around a field or playground.

Putt For Points

Set up a long board, with a number of holes cut into its bottom edge, so that a golf ball may be putted into the holes. Allocate points to each of the holes depending on the size of the holes. Award prizes based on the number of points scored.

Quizzes

Quizzes are always popular as they can be easily copied and sent home with each of the kids or just used on a quiz night. For a themed quiz, set all of the questions around the chosen theme.

Quoits

Numbered stakes are set into the ground and the contestant tries to throw rope rings around the stakes. Prizes are awarded based on the number of points scored.

Raffle

Obtain donations of prizes from local businesses. Sell raffle tickets on the day to everyone attending the fete. At the end of the fete, conduct a random draw and allocate the prizes depending on the order the tickets are drawn. A gaming or lottery licence may be required to hold a Raffle.

Refreshment Stall

Sell soft drinks, tea, mulled wine (alcohol licence may be required) and slices of cake, use some of the cakes and baking donated by parents. It may be possible to give an alcoholic drink away as part of the entry fee without having to obtain an alcohol licence – check with your local authorities.

Rudolph Beanbag Throw

A cartoon character is drawn on a piece of cardboard or MDF approximately 1.2m x 0.6m with a large hole for its mouth. The contestant throws the beanbags at the character and prizes are awarded for beanbags that are thrown into the mouth. Either award prizes depending on how many beanbags are thrown through the mouth or give out a sweet to each contestant. This attraction does not usually make a lot of money but is fun, especially for young children. A more advanced version has a switch in the mouth, this lights Rudolph’s nose each time a beanbag enters the mouth. For a summer fete replace Rudoph with a clown.

Sack Race

Stand contestants in hessian sacks and then watch them shuffle or hop down the course. For added amusement use a simple obstacle course for the race rather than a flat grass course.

Sand Art

Obtain coloured sand and plastic bottles from a fete supplier. Participants get to create a colourful bottle of sand made by pouring each of the coloured sands into the bottle to create layers of colour.

Santa’s Grotto

An absolute must for all Christmas fetes. Set up a small room or screened off area with suitable Christmas decorations and charge admission for the children to tell Santa what they want for Christmas. Include a small gift and for an additional charge provide a photo of the child with Santa. The small gifts should be wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper and divided up by age range and sex, remember to allow for the cost of the gifts in the admission price for Santa’s grotto. The photo needs to be produced immediately so either use a Polaroid camera or set up a digital camera and printer.

Shove Half Penny - Giant

A giant version of the regular "shove half penny" game.

Snowmen Skittles

Snowmen Skittles is a Christmas themed version of skittles. The object is to bowl the ball at the skittles trying to knock over as many as possible. Each contestant gets three throws and prizes are either awarded for knocking over all of the skittles or just for competing. Decorate 10 plastic bottles to look like snowmen and use a child’s ball to knock the skittles over. Either award prizes depending on how many skittles are knocked over or give out a sweet to each contestant.

Spin The Wheel

Use a circular board divided into 8 colours with a spinning arrow. The contestant picks a colour and if the spinning arrow stops on the colour the contestant wins a prize. Alternatively place a prize on each of the colours and the contestant wins the prize pointed to by the arrow.

Splat The Rat / Alien

Classic fete game, a section of drainage pipe is mounted vertically on a table and the contestant tries to splat the beanbag rat or alien as it emerges out of the drainage pipe with a bat. The rat dropper counts down from three each time they drop a rat. Allow each contestant three rats and award each contestant with a lolly.

Tin Can Target Practice

Use either wooden balls or a large super soaker water pistol to knock over stacks of empty cans. If wooden balls are used, then some sort of netting / backstop will be required to prevent injury.

Trash Or Treasure

Not a huge money earner but very, very popular with children. Chose items from the incoming donated jumble for the Trash or Treasure stall, remember one person’s trash is the next person’s treasure so include a good mixture of books, toys, games and free toys from fast food chains. Wrap everything in newspaper to hide what it is and charge a small amount for each item chosen. Very useful for getting rid of all the jumble which has been donated but will never sell on a jumble stall. Be prepared for a mad scramble as children love this stall, arrange to have a bin close by for the newspaper. If the child is not happy with what they have chosen suggest that they may be able to use it as a Christmas present for someone, intercept anything that is being thrown into the bin and offer it for sale again, unwrapped this time.

Treasure Map

Draw a map of a treasure island on a large piece of paper (include sketches of palm trees, sea monsters etc.) and then draw a grid over the paper. Number the squares and record the numbers of the squares that contain the treasure (small prizes or sweets) on a hidden piece of paper. Contestants pick a square by drawing an "X" on the square and win any treasure in the square.

Used Car Smash

Obtain an old wreck from a scrap dealer and set it up on a hard standing. Charge to use a sledgehammer to hit the car, or to use a nail to scratch the paint. Charge extra to break windows. Provide goggles and gloves. Get the scrap dealer to pick up the car at the end of the fete and then sweep up the bits.

Wet Sponge Throw

The victim sits on a chair or in a set of stocks and charge to throw three wet sponges at the victim. Provide the victim with goggles to prevent eye injuries. This event is best held on a warm summer's day and not in the cold of winter.

Wiggly Wire Game

Bend stiff wire to produce a course for the contestant to move the hoop along. Wire a buzzer up to the wiggly wire course and the hoop so that if the hoop touches the wire a circuit is made and the buzzer sounds.

The idea for the attraction, stall, event or game shown on this instruction sheet or on the fetefun web site has not necessarily been tested or tried by the authors. We accept no responsibility for any injuries, damages or any other losses caused by following our instructions. The use of these instructions or any ideas shown on the web site implies acceptance of these terms.

Ó 2005 N & C Forbes (www.fetefun.co.uk) Permission is granted to photocopy this document.