Bringing the Three “R’s” to Your Carnival
By: Sandy Iwata of SchoolCarnivals.com
Thinking about carnivals brings to mind grinning kids with hands sticky from cotton candy gripping bags full of “junky” plastic prizes, running wildly past overflowing trash cans. You can “green up” this scene by applying the Three R’s to your carnival planning: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
You can go all out and plan an Earth Day eco-carnival, like the Seatuck Nature Center in Islip, New York, or just use “green” principles to enhance your annual event. Either way you’ll find you also save something else green, money!
Reduce
Reducing has two components, buying less and wasting less. Part of wasting less is careful planning and good record-keeping. Keep notes on what you buy and how much you use. Next year’s carnival committee will thank you!
Buying less means finding alternative sources for the supplies you’ll need. Here are a few ideas:
- Ask local grocery stores if they would donate reusable bags to use as loot bags. It is good advertising for them and the bags will be useful rather than disposable.
- Give out larger redemption prizes so there are fewer small “junky” prizes going home. I have a guide to planning for redemption prizes on my website, schoolcarnivals.com2.
- Feature some games that have no prizes but are just fun to play, like a karaoke booth, dunk tank, or sponge throw.
- Ask other schools or churches in your area if they have games you could borrow. When they have an event, you can return the favor.
Reuse
Everything you reuse is one less thing to buy. From games to prizes, think of how you can get what you need from what your community already has:
- Instead of buying or renting games, make them out of reused materials. You can find examples online by searching on “recycled carnival games,” or look to organizations in your community for ideas. For example, Imago for Earth in Cincinnati, Ohio is putting on a class in April on how to make carnival games completely out of recycled materials.
- Make it a school-wide challenge to invent and build games. Your school’s Science Club or Destination Imagination team could help with creative ideas.
- If you are going with an eco-theme, ask local environmental organizations if they would like to create a game for your carnival.
- Get crafty with your junk and have a craft booth where the kids make items out of recycled materials. Disney’s FamilyFun has over a hundred ideas online, or just search on “recycling crafts.”
- Have kids bring in unopened fast food toys to stock your prize area.
- Have a “bring one, take one” book exchange booth.
Recycle
Despite your best efforts to reduce and reuse, there will be some waste that is generated by your event. You can minimize the impact of that waste by planning ahead for recycling:
- Your county may be able to provide recycling containers. Make sure you have enough containers and that they are clearly labeled.
- Ask your food vendors if they use compostable materials and if they can supply bins for food composting and packaging recycling.
- Selling bottled water and soft drinks can be a good money-maker for an event, but so can recycling the empty cans and bottles. If your committee is maxed out with carnival planning, consider asking a sports team or service group to handle the recycling effort. At the large Punahou School Carnival in Honolulu, Hawaii, the school’s Rifle Team heads up a massive recycling effort as their main fundraiser of the year.
Now think about all that your carnival could be, a teaching tool for green practices – with kids still running wildly with fun prizes and having a fantastic time. The sticky cotton candy is up to you!
About the Author:
Sandy Iwata has been sharing carnival ideas on her website, SchoolCarnivals.com, for ten years. In response to requests for sources of carnival items, she started the online store Schoolcarnivals To Go to supply carnival games, prizes, and supplies. In their own effort to “go green,” the Schoolcarnivals To Go catalog is now only available online. You can find more carnival planning ideas on her popular Facebook page, Schoolcarnivals To Go.