A show-stopping party trick that energizes the crowd at a school cultural festival
What would you do if you were asked to perform a quick party trick at a school festival or cultural festival?
If you’re someone who already excels at a particular skill or has a special talent, you can jump in without hesitation.
But there are probably some people who feel like, “I don’t have anything I can show others… I’d rather not,” and want to turn it down.
In this article, we’ll introduce quick and fun performances recommended for cultural festivals that might come in handy in exactly those situations.
We’ve gathered plenty of ideas, from things you can do right away with no practice to ones that could become a neat specialty once you learn them.
If you’re thinking, “I want to do something, but I don’t know what,” be sure to use this as a reference!
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- Stage performance ideas to excite a cultural or school festival
- Simple! Easy one-shot gags. Surefire bits that liven up parties and performances [2026]
- I want to adapt these for the school festival! A roundup of comedians’ manzai, sketch comedy, and one-liner gags
- Unusual attractions you can do in a classroom for a cultural or school festival
- [Middle School] Cultural Festival Attractions: A roundup of popular exhibits, games, and stage performances
- [For High School Students] A roundup of recommended attractions for the school festival
- Hidden talent acts to showcase at school: ideas to liven up the event
- [Cultural Festival / School Festival Theme] Carefully Selected High-Impact Recommended Phrases!
- Recommended performance ideas for elementary school (middle grades) cultural festivals and learning presentations
- Magic that excites crowds at cultural and school festivals
- A roundup of recreational activities to liven up cultural and school festivals
One-shot Gags That Liven Up Cultural and School Festival Booths (21–30)
Parody of a commercial
There are those famous commercials that everyone knows, right? How about doing a bit that uses a memorable line or jingle from one of those ads? The one introduced here is a skit based on CHOYA’s “Sararito Shita Umeshu” commercial.
To the melody used in the ad, they stroke their own arm and say, “smooth arm hair.” I’m sure there are other commercials you can use, so why not look around and come up with your own bit? Your original routine might just steal the laughs!
Cup performance
The cups performance became known worldwide thanks to the movie Pitch Perfect.
Basically, it uses plastic cups to create sounds and rhythms, incorporating clapping to express harmony.
You can perform it solo or with multiple people.
When done with a group, you can pass cups to each other, which broadens the range of the performance and adds impact.
Try coming up with your own take and show it off.
One-shot gags that hype up school culture festival exhibits (31–40)
Caricature Illustration Challenge
Let’s try a caricature challenge as a quick gag.
Set a time limit and draw a simple portrait of the other person.
You can use paints or crayons—either is fine.
You don’t need to be good at drawing; the goal is to make a picture that gets laughs.
Exaggerate their features or create a hilariously “master artist” style drawing—just let your creativity run wild.
The drawing will stick around after the gag, so it can keep serving as a source of laughs afterward.
comedy sketch
A short skit meant to make people laugh is called a “conte.” If you’re confident in your acting skills or love making people laugh, give it a try! It can be a lot of work—writing material with friends and preparing props—but it will become a lifelong memory.
Juggling
Juggling the soccer ball by continuously kicking it without letting it touch the ground.
It looks flashier when you use not only your feet but also your shoulders and head.
Finish with a stylish touch, like scoring into a trash can! By the way, showcasing juggling as a performance is called freestyle football, and there are even world championships held.
nunchaku
How about trying to learn nunchaku techniques, the kind of weapon that often appears in kung fu movies? You could have a friend play the villain and make it feel like a hero show.
Doing an impression of Jackie Chan might be fun too!
Hige Dance
From 1979 to 1980, Kato Cha and Ken Shimura performed the legendary “Hige Dance” on the TV show ‘It’s 8 O’Clock! Everyone Gather!’ Even people who’ve never seen the show have likely come across parodies or heard the music and gone, “Oh, that!” The tuxedo-clad duo, sporting mustaches, rhythmically step through a series of acts—ranging from simple, street-performance-style tricks to more challenging ones.
It would probably be fun with a large group, too.
