[For Seniors] Fun Activities That Liven Up Cool Evening Festivals and Summer Festivals
The big summer event, the “Cool Evening Festival.” This time, we’re introducing summer festival-style games and activities that older adults can enjoy together.
We’ve gathered classic booth games that capture the festival atmosphere, such as goldfish scooping, senbonbiki (string lottery), and target shooting.
Of course, these are all easy to run indoors at a facility.
If everyone encourages each other as they join in, it will surely become a wonderful memory.
By tailoring how each person participates, conversations will flow and the whole venue will be filled with smiles.
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Summer Festival Crafts, Quizzes, and Events (11–20)
Festival Quiz
With helpful hints, it’s easy to join in! Here are some ideas for a festival quiz.
In Japan, there are famous festivals held in the summer.
This time, let’s try a festival quiz where you use hints to figure out the answer.
For example, there’s a question that shows three hints: “streamers,” “kusudama,” and “Miyagi Prefecture.” Some of you might know the correct answer right away from those clues.
There are a total of eight festival quiz questions, so be sure to give them a try!
handheld fireworks
Fireworks are one of the things that evoke summertime—the vivid dance of flames really highlights the season’s fun, doesn’t it? Among them, how about enjoying that summer feeling with handheld fireworks you can easily get? Each person holding one and searching for a beautiful angle enhances not only the fun but also your focus on what’s in your hands.
There are many types, each with different ways the sparks appear, so it’s also fun to find your favorite among them.
Rock-paper-scissors tournament
Rock-paper-scissors is a handy game for quickly deciding winners and losers, like when you need to determine an order.
Let’s turn this game that everyone’s played into a tournament and decide the strongest player on the spot.
The rules are simple and easy to understand, and players can actively use their hands while thinking about which move to throw.
To keep things balanced, how about a format where each match consists of two rounds—one with the right hand and one with the left—and if there’s no winner, it goes into overtime? We can run it as a tournament to determine the overall champion.
Karaoke Contest
Let’s host a karaoke contest that everyone—from kids to adults—can enjoy and get excited about! If the emcee researches songs that older participants are likely to love and adds brief introductions or a fun lead-in before each song, it will help boost the energy.
Providing “noisemakers” like maracas and tambourines that the audience can use to join in will also let people who aren’t confident singers or are shy about performing still have fun together.
Handmade watermelon-splitting
Watermelon is a classic summer food.
Many older adults may remember cutting a big watermelon and sharing it with everyone.
Some might also recall doing suikawari, the traditional watermelon-smashing game, on summer days.
Let’s enjoy an easy version of this summer-themed game.
Prepare a watermelon that has been cut in half in advance and place it on a table.
Blindfold the older adult and have them try to hit the watermelon with a stick.
If they manage to hit it, the watermelon splits in two.
It’s a playful way to relive childhood and fully enjoy the summer pastime of suikawari.
fireworks festival
How about enjoying a quintessential summer tradition: a fireworks festival? The great blossoms that bloom across the night sky are a sight everyone longs for in the heat of the season.
If there’s a local fireworks show, it’s wonderful to go and see it; or you can make your own mini festival by using a space like the parking lot of a care facility.
Another option is to savor the quiet elegance of sparklers, not just watch the big set-piece displays.
You can also enjoy famous fireworks from around the country through videos projected via a projector or on YouTube.
The glittering showers of light will become an unforgettable memory.
barbecue
The charcoal crackles, the meat sizzles, and the aroma is irresistible! How about hosting a barbecue using the facility’s open space? It’s the perfect recreational activity for the milder seasons.
Since you’ll be using fire, consider having staff do the grilling and hand the food to the seniors as a safety measure.
It’s also a good idea to set up sunshades or tarps to prevent heatstroke.
Along with vegetables and meat, grilling rice balls or marshmallows is highly recommended!