I'm planning a Fall Harvest Festival for my church (as an alternative to Halloween). HOWEVER, it will be at a nearby park and be OUTSIDE (after dark). Most of the ideas I have found so far involve indoor fun. Another challenge is that I have ALL ages - not just little ones. So I need games and contests and activities that would interest teens and adults.
Elizabeth from MD
Answers:
Harvest Festival Ideas
If there is a trail in the park you could have some of the people dress up from church and decorate around the trail. The night of the festival send a group of 3 kids on the trail at a time! I hope this helps! (10/12/2006)
By stacy
Harvest Festival Ideas
Well for our Harvest Festival, they decorate with a lot of pumpkins and have like free carving lessons, bingo, mazes and other fun active things. I hope this helps you!
GothicMaiden (10/12/2006)
By Hayley
Harvest Festival Ideas
Will you have the area outside lighted?
Some ideas:
- Costume Contest for each age bracket.
- Cake Walk (have adults bring Halloween/fall decorated desserts to be won by the kids)
- Bobbing for Apples
- Do a lollipop tree - have the kids pick a lollipop and if it's marked on the bottom of the stick, they get a prize. Everyone gets to keep their lollipop no matter what.
- If you have time, you can do a pumpkin decorating contest.
- You can do a three-legged race with teams.
- Maybe a scavenger hunt within the park to find certain things.
- Set up stations for them to go trick-or-treating within the park.
Sorry I can't think of much. I've never attended one of these. Hope you are able to pull of a great evening for all the kids!
(10/17/2006)
By ChristiansMom
Harvest Festival Ideas
- Autumn Obstacle course (run around hay bales, jump over pumpkins, string of apples to crawl underneath, pop a balloon)
- Milk a cow
- Stenciling
- Butter churning
- Amazing race (after finishing you will receive a paper to tell you where and what to do for the next task to win a prize at the end)
- Baked Apples (cut out the core and put in brown sugar)
- Carmel apples, candy apples
- Make your own candy apple
- Bobbing for apples (In a big bucket, children try to grab the apples only using their mouths)
- Dress up in period clothing and have your picture taken as a family (or wood cut-outs)
- Apple heads- put ears, nose, and eyes on an apple to create a face
- Apple prints - use the apple to make shapes, then put paint on them and put on paper
- Sack Races/ Three legged races
- Autumn fall wreaths
- Make a Weather Vane
- Fishing Game
- Activity to do with Maple syrup (Tapping syrup from a tree)
- Apple pie or Watermelon eating contest (Police vs. Firemen)
- Farmer's Market - biggest apple, corn, pumpkin, squash
- Horseshoe Throwing Contest
- Corn Roast
- Log Cabin Milk Carton Craft
- Hoop and Sticks: You have a hoop and a stick you hit the hop with the stick. The object of the game is to keep the hoop rolling.
- Gold Panning: Have an area that is filled with small rocks and sand, children go and sift through the sand and rocks to find gold nuggets
- Rope Cattle
- Hay Maze for Kids
- Stick Pull Game (Using a stick two people sit across from each other, grab hold of the stick, put their feet together and try and pull the other one towards them to win the game)
- Needle in a haystack (not a needle but maybe candy or a large objects)
- Pancake breakfast
- Make your own candlesticks
- Black smith to show how it was done in the olden days
- Log Bird Houses
- Guessing Game: How much harvest candy are in a jar
- Pumpkin Bean Bag Toss
- Lollipop tree - The kid gets to pick a lollipop from the tree and if there's mark on it, they win a prize
- Make Jumbo smores
Hope this helps, and good luck. (08/16/2007)
By sophie
Harvest Festival Ideas
We have lots of food at our church festival, there are different tables set up and different food at each. Whatever the persons specialty is; we have fried potatoes with peppers and onions, one who does deer steaks wrapped in bacon, (the men love these) baked sweet potatoes, sweet shoppe booth, funnel cakes, cotton candy, hot dogs, burritos, etc. etc. all this is made on site. (09/20/2007)
By Nette
Harvest Festival Ideas
Pumpkin carving contest: take a pumpkin home from church and have a contest for the best pumpkin carving. Campfire with singing. Adult bell choir for fun at the campfire.
(10/01/2007)
By Cheryl from Centerville Christian Fellowship
Harvest Festival Ideas
Trunk or Treat is a fun event you can have in your church parking lot. Add some old fashioned games (believe it or not a cake walk is still great fun!). Invite church members to bring treats and the kids to come dressed in costume. Kids trick -or- treat at each car. The creative adults decorate their cars. Its fun, safe, enjoyment for all. (10/04/2007)
By d c n
