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[For Kids] Fun Entertainment and Activities to Liven Up a Festival
We’ve collected ideas for entertaining performances and attractions that will liven up large community fairs as well as school and daycare festival events.
Since these are aimed at children, this is perfect if you’re looking for things like “performances involving lots of kids” or “entertainment for children enjoying the festival.” We’ve selected a variety of ideas, from activities that are especially fun within a close-knit group to ones that get everyone excited—even among people who don’t know each other.
Feeling unsure if you can pull it off? Don’t worry—keep challenging yourself to create wonderful memories, and let’s make it a fun festival!
[For Kids] Fun Entertainment and Booth Ideas for Festivals (1–10)
Kids Dance Competition
How about hosting a dance competition where the kids are the stars and everyone can get excited? You can divide them by age—or however they like—and have them showcase different kinds of dances.
Even little kids just moving their bodies to the music is heartwarming to watch.
It takes practice, but it’s great that they can choose from lots of styles like cheer dance, hip-hop, and breakdance.
fireworks
The climax of a summer festival has to be fireworks! Depending on the festival’s scale and budget, whether it’s handheld sparklers or aerial fireworks, they’re sure to become a special summer memory.
Aerial fireworks can be costly—even small-scale displays can run into the hundreds of thousands of yen—but if you want to take the festival to the next level, it’s worth taking the plunge! Handheld fireworks let children join in themselves, making them an easy addition for entertainment.
As summer approaches, a wide variety of fireworks hit the market, so it’s a great time to check out the latest options!
stamp rally
When it comes to classic event activities, a stamp rally is probably the first that comes to mind.
The typical format is to visit each checkpoint, stamp your card with the prepared stamps, and exchange it for a prize once you’ve collected them all.
Since festivals offer a variety of booths and game corners, a stamp rally is one of the easiest activities to incorporate.
If you prepare some small prizes, people will be more motivated to visit many booths, which should make the vendors happy as well.
Kids love stamping, so they’ll enjoy the festival twice as much!
Bingo Tournament
A festival is an event where each person can go around to their favorite stalls and booths and have fun.
But sometimes you want to enjoy it together with everyone, right? In that case, try organizing a bingo tournament.
Each person gets a card with numbers on it, and if a number that’s called out appears on their card, they punch a hole in it.
If you complete a line in any direction—vertical, horizontal, or diagonal—it’s bingo, and you win.
You can buy bingo cards at 100-yen shops or online, and there are free bingo apps that display random numbers, so it’s an idea that lets everyone have fun without much hassle.
lottery; drawing lots; raffle
Many children look forward to the lottery-style raffles at festivals, don’t they? For adults, too, thinking back to the fun festivals from childhood brings many memories—like winning that one thing in a raffle, or never managing to get what you wanted.
You can offer candy and toys as prizes and have kids draw paper tickets from a box, or try making a more elaborate raffle like a “Senbon-biki” pull-string game.
Create it in whatever style you like and let the kids have fun with it.
Karaoke Contest
Speaking of karaoke, I think it’s one of those activities people can enjoy regardless of age, from adults to kids.
Songs that adults tend to like are sometimes used as TV anime theme songs, so kids actually know them too.
If you prepare plenty of anime theme songs, tunes from preschool programs, and songs used in commercials, it’ll really liven things up.
Children’s Bon Odori
When it comes to summer festivals, bon odori is a classic, isn’t it? Watching children dance in their yukata and jinbei is so cute and heartwarming.
Dancing to traditional bon odori songs like Tankō Bushi or Sōran Bushi has a cool, old-school charm, but there are also lots of bon odori songs made for kids.
In summer, anime ending themes often turn into something like “___ Ondo,” don’t they? (lol)
Kids band performance
A band performance is one of the attractions that really excites a festival, isn’t it? It’s great to have people who can play instruments perform, but forming a kids’ band for the event and having them join in is also a great idea.
Performing songs everyone knows creates a sense of unity and is sure to delight the crowd!
Bamboo Dance
How about performing the traditional Filipino dance, the “bamboo dance,” as an attraction? In the bamboo dance, you step and dance while bamboo poles are opened and closed.
It’s a bit challenging because you need to learn the rhythm and match the timing, but if the rhythmic clacking of the bamboo and the elegant footwork come together beautifully, it will surely be a showstopper.
After the performance, you could also invite interested children from the audience to try it out.
theater
When you want a show-stopping centerpiece that grabs attention, why not try putting on a play? It may be an elaborate undertaking—with scriptwriting, acting, sets, and direction—but it will be all the more captivating and create memories everyone will cherish.
You could choose a seasonal theme, add lighthearted comedic moments everyone can enjoy together, or incorporate simple dance routines.
Coming up with fun staging and clever gimmicks is surprisingly enjoyable.
Rally everyone as one team and put on a performance that’s truly worth watching!