[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.
Stage (1–10)
Miss and Mister Contest
This is a project where entrants compete to see who is the most appealing person.
It’s not just about looks; it tests whether they’re supported by those around them and whether they can showcase their own charm.
How the judging is done is also a key point for building excitement, so let’s carefully plan criteria that really convey each participant’s appeal.
We could choose not to focus on participants’ gender and instead highlight their appeal as individuals, or even make it a cross-dressing contest—there are many possible variations.
Stages (11–20)
dance
Dance is an essential act for the stage—the centerpiece of any school festival.
Another perk is how easy it is to put together: just prepare the BGM and lighting.
You can hype up the crowd with a number everyone can dance to, or captivate them with acrobatic choreography.
Use large venues like the gym or athletic field to deliver a dynamic performance.
If you’re confident in your dancing, build in highlight moments to showcase your skills.
Why not take on a project that moves the hearts and bodies of the entire student body?
hero show
Many of us probably saw live hero shows featuring superheroes when we were little.
Because the premise is simple—heroes defeating evil—the real appeal is how many different ways you can arrange it.
You can straightforwardly amp up the quality of the fight scenes, or focus on crafting the story as theater, which could be interesting as well.
precisely because these shows are strongly associated with being for children, it would be great to add thoughtful touches that surprise the audience.
Class T-shirt Contest
At events like school festivals where everyone works together to take on a challenge, class T-shirts that stand in for uniforms are essential—they’re items that let you feel the bond with your teammates.
Let’s focus on the designs of these class T-shirts packed with group personality and compete to see which designs are the most appealing.
Using a runway scene with models as a reference, have participants show off their class T-shirts to the gathered crowd and let them check out the designs.
Since some people might think their own class T-shirt is the best, it’s a good idea to have judges evaluate them fairly.
wotagei
Otagei is said to have originated as a way to cheer on idols, and from there it gradually spread as a form of performance.
How about taking on otagei, with its intensely dazzling appeal, and letting your audience feel its beauty? Above all, sharpness and unity are crucial in performance, and you should practice thoroughly so you can move in a way that clearly showcases the sticks you’re holding.
It’s also a piece that tests your sense of structure—deciding which moves to show in which parts of the song, and at what timing to switch to brighter sticks, and so on.
Calligraphy performance
How about a calligraphy performance where you showcase shodo while clapping and dancing to music? Calligraphy performances have even been turned into movies and featured at Koshien.
Let’s work together in a group to write characters or paint pictures using large brushes on a big sheet of paper.
Viewers will surely feel excited, wondering, “What kind of piece will it turn out to be?” It would also be nice to coordinate your outfits by wearing matching hakama for the performance.
The finished work will become a wonderful keepsake that preserves the memory for a long time.
chorus
When it comes to class presentations, choral singing is a classic choice.
Pick a song that will move the audience and give it a try.
By coming together to perform a single piece, you’ll likely strengthen your bonds and friendships.
For song selection, we recommend choosing something that matches the cultural festival’s theme or a well-known pop tune.
That way, people of all ages can enjoy it, and it will be easier to incorporate arrangements and combine various ideas.
