[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!
- Games that liven up festivals. Ideas that children can enjoy.
- [For Elementary Schools] Recommended Exhibits and Recreational Activities for a Cultural Festival
- [Children's Association] A Collection of Fun Entertainment and Activity Ideas
- Liven up your children’s club event! A collection of ideas everyone can enjoy
- Ranking of popular skits and performances for entertainment segments
- Performances that liven up an elementary school thank-you party! A collection of ideas everyone can enjoy
- Recreation Activities That Excite Kids’ Clubs! Plans and Ideas Children Will Love
- Fun for adults and kids alike! Home festival ideas to capture the lively spirit of a Japanese matsuri
- A fun, everyone-joins-in game that gets everyone excited!
- [For Kids] Popular party games. Fun games that get everyone excited
- [For Kids] Today's Recommended Recreation Idea Collection
- [For Seniors] Fun Activities That Liven Up Cool Evening Festivals and Summer Festivals
- Recommended for children's clubs! A roundup of popular prizes for kids
[For Kids] Fun Performances and Attractions at Festivals (21–30)
Recommended for koma lovers! Tightrope-walking tricks
If you’re good at spinning tops, how about showing off a slightly more advanced trick called “tightrope walking”? In this trick, the top travels along a string that you hold taut with both hands.
Before attempting it, you first need to learn a move called “Swallow Return.” Swallow Return is a trick where you throw a top with its string wound and catch it spinning on your palm.
Once the top is on your palm, hook both ends of the string around your index fingers.
Raise the hand without the top slightly; when the top’s spindle touches the string, lower the raised hand and guide the top along—if it keeps moving, you’ve nailed the trick! Practice well and give it a try.
Unicycle master!
A unicycle is more challenging than a bicycle because it doesn’t have handlebars.
That’s exactly why people who can ride one look so impressive! It’s also a perfect idea to show off as a hidden talent.
The key to riding a unicycle is to focus on moving forward from your navel.
Start by simply pedaling straight, then gradually try turning and taking curves.
Performing solo is great, but forming a team with a few people and presenting a dance-like routine to music is also highly recommended! Give it a try!
Candy fishing
There may be many children who have never been fishing.
For those kids, enjoying the feeling of fishing with a “candy fishing” game at a festival might be a great idea.
A common version uses a magnet instead of a hook.
If the magnet matches the one attached to the candy, you can successfully “reel in” the treat.
Struggling with the swaying fishing line is part of the fun of this activity.
If you make the line longer and place the prizes a bit farther away, it becomes a slightly more challenging recreation.
Mixing a secret prize among the candies will make it even more exciting.
Chorus
How about having everyone practice and perform a choral song? It would be great to have the kids perform on their own, or collaborate with a moms’ chorus group for an impressive show.
If there’s a child who’s good at piano, you could even ask them to accompany, like in a school choir competition.
Choosing which song to perform is part of the fun, too.
Quiz tournament
How about trying to hold a quiz competition? You could make it a true-or-false quiz, a multiple-choice quiz, or a format where participants write their answers on sketchbooks—there are lots of possibilities.
There are also plenty of quiz videos available nowadays, so let’s make use of them.
Since some questions might be difficult depending on age, it could be a good idea to roughly divide participants by age groups, such as preschoolers and lower elementary grades.
Cross-dressing contest
How about a cross-dressing contest as a stage event for the festival? In fact, cross-dressing contests are surprisingly popular and are a staple attraction at various events.
They’re fun to watch, with a wide variety of participants—from those who are clearly cross-dressing in a humorous way to those who look convincingly like beautiful girls.
While recruiting participants and preparing costumes can be a lot of work beforehand, it’s highly recommended because everyone gets excited and has a great time.
Water gun battle
A water-gun battle that’s sure to captivate kids and adults alike! It’s a perfect attraction for festivals during the hot season.
You could attach targets on hats or helmets and have people shoot at the targets with water guns—that sounds fun, right? If there are lots of participants, a tournament format would work too.
Plastic water guns can be bought at 100-yen shops, so costs stay low.
It might also be nice to let kids try bamboo water guns, which many of them probably haven’t seen before!
