Fete Theme Ideas

Finding a unifying fundraising theme, or ‘hook’ in your fundraising can go a long way to increasing participation and engagement.  The more clever and creative you are about it, the greater the returns can be and with a little imagination you can develop a theme that’s unique to your organisation or local area.

A theme can help you unify everything from stalls, signage and promotion of the event. It can help you select entertainment and activities, prizes and even sponsors.

Finding the right theme is more than creating ambience. It provides cohesion to all the different elements of a fete and for all communications.

Theme Ideas: 

• Country fair 
• Rock and roll
• Around the world     
• Mothers/Fathers Day        
• Aussie Summer Celebration
• Spring fair
• Winter Wonderland
• Colour (eg your school colours)
• Jazz/Music
• Pet-Friendly
• Fiesta/Carnivale
• Halloween/haunted house     
• Outer space
• “Green Fete” ie Sustainable/Environmentally Friendly
• Sports day 
• Old-fashioned carnival
• Christmas/Christmas in June/July 
• Medieval
• Anniversary (ie back to the 1920s or back to 1980s)

For example, a country fair theme might include stalls decorated with hay and dried flowers, volunteers dressed in denim jeans, flannel shirts, and straw hats, and entertainment such as a bush band, free boot scootin’ lessons, or a petting zoo or Aussie animal experience for children.

An international fair, on the other hand, allows for a variety of food stalls representing different countries and cultures, as well as opportunities for community members from diverse backgrounds to get involved. You can use flags for decoration, ask volunteers to wear national costumes, and tailor activities around specific countries or cultures, such as traditional music, dances, and games.

TIP: My favourite theme was ‘the circus’. The kids loved it — and so did the teachers. They were able to work the theme, and all the preparation that goes with it, into class time with drama and art lessons. An Arts Council troupe of performers came to the school in the lead-up and taught the students some fun moves. They even returned on the day of the fete and worked the crowd for us. Linda, experienced fete convenor.

More Theme Examples

• At Melbourne's North Fitzroy Primary School Fete, they held a concert featuring popular local bands that donated their talents, attracting around 5,000 visitors—an impressive effort for a school with only 460 students. 
• Goondiwindi State School hosted the Gundy State Fantastic Fete, which included the popular Gundy Idol, a talent quest for primary and secondary students. 
• The P&C at tiny Dwellingup Primary (with around 55 students) have been holding the Dwellingup Pumpkin Festival every Easter for over two decades. While elements of the event have changed over the years, the original ethos—and the biggest pumpkin competition—remains constant and attracts over 10,000 people to the festival each year.
• Brenda was raising money (and awareness) for people living with epilepsy. She needed to come up with an idea based on their theme of '91' to represent the 91,000 people living with epilepsy. Some ideas she developed included learning 91 new words, running 9.1 kilometres, dancing for 91 minutes, climbing 91 stairs, and theming raffle prizes around '91.'
• If your football club has a friendly rivalry with another club, consider challenging them to a game outside your comfort zone, such as chess, netball, Trivial Pursuit, or even a bake-off between the coaches. You could also sell different raffle tickets to each team's supporters, with only the winning team's tickets entering the draw.
• A small school sought a theme for their fete. Previous themes, such as 'Around the World,' 'Lost in Space,' and 'Rock Around the Clock,' didn't quite resonate with the image the school was trying to create. Although the school was small in numbers, it had ample green space, so they chose a 'Country Fair' theme that aligned with their marketing message and appealed to the school community. The theme proved to be very successful:
  • Stallholders dressed in theme, including convenors who wore show sashes and matching check shirts for easy identification.
  • Stalls were decorated with a country theme.
  • Entertainment included sheepdog herding, sheep shearing, singing, and class performances.
  • Activities and novelty events featured gumboot tosses and hobby horse races.
  • General theming was embraced – a scarecrow was placed beside the stage, hay bales created a performance area, large 3D cows made from MDF were painted and scattered around the grounds, signposts resembled old palings, and entrance direction signs mimicked green road distance signs seen on highways, giving visitors an idea of what to expect.
  • The event was held on the school's oval to showcase their space.
  • The Teahouse they ran at the fete was a hit!

You don't need great connections to have a drawcard at your event. Consider appearances by local sporting teams, cooking classes by chefs from popular restaurants, or offering a bonus raffle prize if the winner is present. 

You also don't need a fixed idea in mind before establishing your fundraising theme or 'hook.' Once you've found a meaningful concept that aligns with your organisation's purpose, brainstorming ideas becomes much easier and enjoyable.

Celebrating Anniversaries or Milestones

Anniversaries and milestones are constants in our everyday lives, including birthdays, wedding anniversaries, graduations, housewarmings, baby showers, and new jobs.

The same applies to schools and clubs. Important occasions such as moving to a new campus, opening a new building, or reaching a significant anniversary or milestone deserve recognition.

The good news for your committee is that any of these events can be turned into your fundraising hook. For instance, if you're celebrating 21 years, you could create a 21st birthday party theme, complete with 'baby' photos and memorable stories shared by the principal or club president.

Celebrating a specific decade is another great option: 20 years corresponds to a 90s theme, 30 years to an 80s theme, 40 years to a 70s theme, 50 years to a 60s theme, and so on. Encourage attendees to embrace the theme by awarding prizes for the best-dressed participants.

Ideas to incorporate include:

• Themed dress day: students dress according to the theme and bring a Tombola jar, secondhand book, or another item for stall donations instead of the usual gold coin.
• Burying or digging up a time capsule.
• Historical displays from the opening year, showcasing big news stories, popular songs or albums, clothing trends, popular foods, old photos and maps, celebrity sports figures, and more. You might invite former local dignitaries who served at that time.
• Poetry or story writing competitions aligned with the anniversary theme.
  Tree planting ceremonies involving local members or former principals.
  Former students visiting assemblies to discuss what the school was like 'back in the day.'
• Photo walls displaying images from across the decades.

Commemorative gifts and merchandise ideas:

• Engraved bricks and pavers for upcoming school projects or additions to existing projects.
• Commemorative walls: mosaic walls, tile walls, graffiti walls, plaques, laser tag walls, handprint walls, or murals designed or created by past and present students.
• Cookbooks featuring contributions from past and present families.
• Tea towels.
• Aprons.
• T-shirts.
• Rulers or other stationery.
• Canvas bags.
• Glassware or mugs.
• Calendars.
• Privately labelled wine with your logo.
   

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