[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 · Staff Performances (21–30)
Japanese taiko drum
If you want to liven up a summer festival, a “wadaiko” (Japanese drum) performance is highly recommended! The powerful sound of the drums fills the venue with excitement and spreads smiles to everyone watching.
One of the charms is that you can enjoy Bon Odori along with the drum rhythms, and even those who aren’t confident about dancing will find their bodies moving naturally when they hear the familiar beat.
Drumming together, dancing together, and getting excited together will become the best memory of the summer festival.
Give this idea a try to create a lively, energetic summer moment!
Summer Festival Crafts, Quizzes, and Events (1–10)
Making wind chimes
Wind chimes are an essential summer decoration—watching them sway gently in the breeze brings a sense of coolness amid the heat.
How about making one of these refreshing wind chimes using origami paper you can get at a 100-yen shop? It’s a simple design: connect an umbrella-shaped part and a tanzaku (paper strip) with string.
The umbrella section is made three-dimensional by cutting paper into circles and layering them together.
Let’s think about which combinations of origami patterns and string will create a cooler, more beautiful design.
Uchiwa making
When you think of summer evening festivals, there are lots of things to enjoy, and one small item that really sets the mood is the uchiwa fan, right? How about holding a little workshop beforehand where everyone makes their own uchiwa? These days you can easily find DIY uchiwa kits at 100-yen shops, so it’s simple to put together.
People can draw their favorite illustrations or add summery stickers.
Folding origami and attaching it, or creating a collage with chiyogami paper like torn-paper art, would also make for a lovely finish.
shaved ice
If you want to boost the summer vibe and really soak in that classic Noryo-sai festival atmosphere, shaved ice is a must, isn’t it? A household shaved ice machine is more than enough, and you can set out a few classic syrups like strawberry, melon, lemon, and blue Hawaii, then let everyone pick their favorite and pour it on.
Getting foam cups like the ones used at festival stalls and straw-spoons with spoon-shaped tips will really take the excitement up a notch!
Theme Bingo
As a recreation everyone can enjoy, let’s try Theme Bingo.
In a regular bingo game, numbers are called and you mark your card, but in Theme Bingo you play using words that match a given theme.
Players write words in the squares beforehand, and the host announces the words one by one.
For a summer evening festival, a theme like “foods related to summer” works well.
Thinking of words related to the theme is good brain training, and it’s exciting to wait and see when the words you chose will be called.
Summer Origami
How about everyone trying origami together? To make it a summery recreation, let’s fold items related to summer! For example, yukata, watermelons, and sunflowers are popular, so you should be able to find plenty of instructions.
Each person can fold something different, or if you decide to make a sunflower, you can split up the parts and work together to create a single piece.
If you display the finished works for a while, you can keep enjoying them even after the summer festival.
Summer-themed coloring pages
In nursing care facilities, coloring is one of the classic recreational activities.
It’s fun to think about which colors to use, and moving your hands helps exercise the fingertips, stimulate the brain, and provide a refreshing change.
If you’re going to do coloring as a recreation at a summer festival or similar event, it’s best to incorporate seasonal themes.
Prepare several pictures featuring summer motifs—such as festivals, fireworks, or the seaside, all considered symbols of summer—so participants can choose the ones they like.