A school carnival attraction that needs no volunteers

Ask anyone who has run a school carnival what the hard part is and they will not say the attractions. They will say the roster. Every booth needs two parents for two hours, somebody has to hold the float, and somebody has to reconcile a cash box at 4pm when they would rather be going home.

Free play removes a booth from the roster

The arcade trailer runs on unlimited free play for the whole booking. There are no tickets to sell, no tokens to hand out, no change to make and no cash box at the end of the day. We deliver it, set it up, walk someone through it and leave. That is one line struck off the volunteer sheet, which at most schools is worth as much as the attraction itself.

A blacktop is close to the ideal setup

Flat, huge, already fenced, and reachable by vehicle. Field edges, bus loops and staff parking work too. The trailer needs eighteen feet by eight and a half, ten feet of overhead clearance and a clear path in — on a school lot that is rarely a question.

The paperwork is the slow part

Start the district approval before you set the date. Most districts want a certificate of insurance naming the district and a facilities use form, and those move at their own speed regardless of how organised you are. We can turn our side around quickly; the district cannot always.

All day, not a party window

Bookings run up to ten hours, which is the shape of a carnival rather than a birthday. Spring carnivals, fall festivals, spirit weeks, promotion days and end-of-year parties all book the same way.

Fundraising with it, rather than from it

Schools tend to use it one of two ways. Some run it as the free attraction that pulls families from the car park onto the field, and monetise the food and the raffle. Others build a shooting contest around it with a small entry. Both work; the first is less to organise.

Planning a carnival or a spirit day? Send us the date early — spring weekends go first, and a district approval takes longer than a booking.