[Non-food] Cultural festival attractions: from classroom exhibits to stage events
Are you struggling to decide what to do for your school festival booth—other than food? Let’s energize the venue with unique ideas that are a bit different from the usual food stalls! From hands-on attractions like those at amusement parks, to photo spots, to performances your whole class can take on together, this article is packed with ideas that will win over your visitors.
We’ll also share helpful tips from preparation through day-of operations, so use this as a guide to create a booth that’s uniquely yours.
- Unusual attractions you can do in a classroom for a cultural or school festival
- [For High School Students] A roundup of recommended attractions for the school festival
- Cultural Festival: Ranking of Popular Booth Ideas
- [Middle School] Cultural Festival Attractions: A roundup of popular exhibits, games, and stage performances
- Ideas for stage events and attractions that will liven up a school festival
- Attraction Ideas for School Festivals That Only High Schoolers Can Pull Off?
- Games that rival street festivals and variety shows!? Crowd-pleasers for school cultural festivals
- Ideas for class projects at the school festival: A roundup of popular attractions
- [For Elementary Schools] Recommended Exhibits and Recreational Activities for a Cultural Festival
- [By Genre] Cultural Festival / School Festival Booth Catalog [2026]
- [Cultural Festival / School Festival Theme] Carefully Selected High-Impact Recommended Phrases!
- Festival booth menu items that can be served without cooking and without using fire
- A catalog of recommended festival booths for school culture festivals, with ideas that will shine on social media.
Games (11–20)
Pe-tan Darts
At a school festival, it’s nice to have a game everyone can enjoy together.
How about having fun with a darts game? You can make darts using items like construction paper and straws that you can buy at a 100-yen shop.
If you make darts using straws, prep should be easy.
But straw darts won’t stick into the target, right? In that case, attach a small ball made by rolling up cellophane tape to the tip.
The key is to use slightly larger pieces of cellophane tape.
With homemade darts, everyone’s sure to have a great time.
Strikeout
Here, we introduce “Strikeout,” a surefire hit for the game corner at a school festival.
The rules are simple: throw a ball at the target and try to hit the numbered panels.
It’s simple, but it really gets the crowd going! Hitting the number you’re aiming for is trickier than you’d think, so playing in teams makes it even more fun—highly recommended.
It’s also great because even those who aren’t athletic can join in easily.
Be sure to include it in your classroom events at the festival!
Cardboard crane game
Claw machines are loved by both kids and adults, aren’t they? That thrill when you operate it yourself and win a prize is ageless! In fact, you can even make a claw machine by hand.
Of course, building a large one can be challenging, but a small version can be made in just a few hours if you have cardboard! For prizes, you can put in snacks or handmade trinkets—coming up with the contents is fun too.
If you have the time and budget, try making a large claw machine that can be the highlight of a school festival.
Cardboard Corinth game
How about including the classic “Corinth Game,” a staple you’ll almost always find at game corners, as one of your attractions? Since you just launch a ball using a shooter, it’s fun for all ages.
If you prepare prizes based on the scores, people are sure to love it.
The Corinth Game can be easily made out of cardboard.
If you make several, many people can enjoy it at once.
If you’re making a larger version, be sure to reinforce it by layering multiple sheets of cardboard to increase its strength.
Bank Bowling
Here’s an introduction to bank bowling, a bowling game that uses a slope.
In regular bowling, you roll the ball straight down a lane to knock over the pins.
In bank bowling, there’s an incline like a ramp.
You calculate how to use that sloped section and throw the ball.
Not only do power and release position matter, but changing where you throw the ball can send it to completely different spots.
It might be harder to hit the pins, but when you do and they fall, it’s sure to be exciting.
You can make the sloped section using cardboard.
Stage (1–10)
band performance
A band performance on the cultural festival stage is often the highlight of the event, and it’s a situation that anyone who plays an instrument has probably dreamed of at least once.
It will likely remain a cherished memory in your future musical life.
While the quality of the performance itself is important, the preparation leading up to it matters even more.
It’s not something you can do just because you have instruments; there’s a lot to prepare for delivering sound—gathering various pieces of equipment, arranging staff, and more.
Since it’s rarely just one band performing, it’s more realistic for several bands to come together and advance preparations by pooling their resources.
fashion show
When it comes to what our friends wear in everyday school life, we usually only get to see their uniforms, right? At a bright, festive event like the school festival, it should be acceptable to show off more colorful outfits.
The concept is straightforward: participants come on stage to music and repeatedly make their appeals.
Since it’s a fashion show, paying attention to the clothing is a given, but deciding how to present yourself when you appear on stage is also a key point.
Let’s come up with appeals that will get the crowd cheering.