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So much to say…but where to start? The Halloween Carnival is the Lincoln PTA’s biggest fund raiser of the school year. The funds raised at the Carnival subsidize many of the events and programs that the PTA offers to the students of Lincoln School during the school year. This is the event where you can really see the spirit of the Lincoln staff, students and parents as we all rally together to pull off this monumental event. It is a spooktacular good time for young and old alike!! What is it? The Halloween Carnival is a multi-faceted event. Yes, it is a Carnival. There are carnival games set up throughout the school, including large inflatable games for the children to play. Families can purchase tickets to watch the scheduled entertainment. In the past, the Carnival has offered a wide variety of acts, from live animal shows, to science experiments, to even a game show! The Carnival also offers a general and grand prize drawing for a variety of gift baskets and prizes donated from the classrooms and our many generous donors. With all the awesome activities offered at the Carnival, we know you may need to refuel, so we offer snacks, food and drinks for sale to keep you going. The Carnival Committee sells wristbands and tickets in advance of the event, or you can purchase them at the door for the games, activities, food and prize drawings. When is it? Well, obviously the Halloween Carnival is held in late October. Traditionally the Halloween Carnival has been held on the Saturday afternoon prior to Halloween, however this past year we held the Carnival on the Friday evening before Halloween. Volunteers needed? - Chairperson and/or Co-Chairs: The Chair(s) are the key organizers who work closely with the Principal and the Committee Chairs to make sure every step is taken to have a successful Carnival. The Chair(s) generate the publicity, give monthly updates at the PTA meetings and meet with the Committee Chairs to determine games, prizes, food and volunteer schedules. There is no hiding the fact that the Halloween Carnival is a huge commitment. It is really best handled with at least two Co-Chairs. The steps in the work process are very well documented, so it mostly requires a lot of time. The Chair(s) oversee the Carnival from the planning stages in the summer all the way through the thank you notes after it’s over.
- Committee Chairs: These are the behind the scenes people who are instrumental in organizing things like the food, scheduling of volunteers, prize drawing, donations, entertainment, set up and clean up, among many other things. Committee Chairs roles are greatly varied in terms of how and when they can be done. Things like soliciting donations and scheduling of volunteers are all done from home and prior to the actual Carnival day. Other roles like set up and clean up require work on the day of the Carnival.
- Parent Volunteers: There is no doubt about it; this is the bread and butter of the Carnival. The actual day of the Carnival we need parents, parents, parents!!! Game shifts, working the kitchen, security, selling tickets, game shifts, set up, clean up, redemption center, ticket takers, and oh did we mention game shifts? We need around 100 volunteers during the Carnival to run this event smoothly. Working a shift only requires about an hour of your time, and it’s an hour well spent. How can you go wrong working for an hour at the Carnival while you get to watch the joy and excitement of our children as they enjoy a Carnival brought right to their very own school?
How much time does it take? - For the Carnival Chairperson/Co-Chairs, the organizing and planning stages, and booking of vendors and entertainment starts early during the summer months. As September rolls in, the time commitment and responsibilities gradually increase. Once October hits, the Carnival takes over and really takes up some part of each day whether it is making phone calls, responding to e-mails, or handling all the little details that need to be complete before the Carnival. The time commitment is big, but honestly in the end, it is so rewarding - and yes, the people writing this have Chaired the Carnival in the past. We know people shy away from Chairing this event because of the enormity of it, but for those of us who have Chaired the Carnival, we all look back with such pride at pulling off such a big and critical event for Lincoln School and the PTA. If you have any questions about Chairing or Co-Chairing this event, please take the time to contact a prior Chair for information. They would love to share their experiences with you.
- Committee Chair positions vary greatly regarding the amount of time they take, and when the bulk of their work is done. Some positions are done mostly alone, like organizing the schedule of volunteers, and some of the Chairs have a committee who works with them, like the kitchen. If you’re interested in Chairing a Committee, call or e-mail a PTA Officer today. Most of the Committee Chairs are assigned in the summer so they’re ready to roll once the school year starts. Some of them are doing some of their work over the summer, like soliciting for donations and organizing the redemption center.
- Parent Volunteers can step up for an hour to handle a shift at the Carnival, or work the whole Carnival if they’d like. Some of our Parent Volunteers like to show up early and help out with the set up, and others enjoy sharing the exhausted but happy glow that we all have during the clean up afterwards.
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