All the fun of the fair
Planning your first summer fair since 2019? Take inspiration from these PTAs, who held a fair in the autumn term and delivered a roaring success
FIND OUT All about fair planning at pta.
co.uk/events/ fairs/
Who needs Glastonbury? We held our own mini festival
Music filled the air as the fantastic live band got into their groove. Parents chilled out on their picnic blankets, watching their children run across our large, grassy field. Although it felt like a festival, this was no Glastonbury – it was our very first back-to-school fair. Holding our festival in the school’s massive
playing field gave us more confidence that our event could go ahead safely. Excited chatter could be heard all around as families who hadn’t seen each other in person for months caught up. To remove barriers for parents, we decided our
fair would be free entry this year, which brought a smile to everyone’s faces! Without an entrance fee, people felt more inclined to splash out on the circus skills workshops or the magician’s performances we had organised. We had a ‘PTA shop’ selling a selection of pocket
money toys and handcrafted items, including teddy bears fashioned from old school uniforms. The fair was open to external vendors too, who paid a fee to set up their stalls. To put everyone’s minds at ease, we made several
safety adjustments. Instead of our traditional face painting stand, we offered glittery festival face gems that people could stick on themselves, reducing the need for contact. We set up a play zone for the children with a
selection of outdoor toys to keep them entertained, and we ran a bar serving a selection of alcoholic and soft drinks. People strolled to and fro, listening to music in the September sun. Holding our festival so close to the beginning
of term proved to be a bit of a challenge. Even with 17 PTA members, we still needed more hands on deck. But with many parents still in summer holiday mode we struggled to find enough volunteers to run stalls. We only had two weeks to promote the event to our school community, and we weren’t sure how many people would attend. Imagine our surprise when we counted the takings – we had made £4,500. Thrilled with our result, we were able to put this towards the next stage of our playground redevelopments – a trim trail for the Key Stage Two children. The success of our back-to-school festival has been encouraging for all of us. We hope to run a summer fair this year because we know how much our parents appreciate these events. Sarah Everson, PTA Secretary, Friends of Halsford Park School, East Grinstead, West Sussex (410 pupils)
48 SPRING 2022
pta.co.uk
WORDS: ANNA SCOTT
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