
Article
9 September 2025
Great fetes and festivals don’t just happen. Those few happy hours of games, stalls and entertainment represent months (and months!) of hard work and rigorous planning by an often unseen army of workers.
In Australia, primary schools dominate the fete scene, but whether you are organising a community-based festival, a high-school fiesta or a charitable fair, the same principles covered in this handbook will apply.
A successful fete is one that runs smoothly, is enjoyable for all who attend, and is financially rewarding.
It will require creative planning and astute preparation and while a bit of luck with the weather is needed, even an unforeseen weather event can be compensated for, with - you guessed it - creative planning and astute preparation. This handbook is designed to help you hit the ground running, to save you time and help you avoid mistakes.
Plan, promote and run a brilliant school fete with ready‑to‑use checklists, forms and sponsorship tools tailored for Aussie P&Cs/P&Fs. Everything is practical, printable and designed for time‑poor volunteers and it can all be found in our Toolbox. Best of all, it's FREE to access!
Success rests with what happens behind the scenes. Take a deep breath. Don’t be frightened. You can organise a fabulous fete because I’m about to share all the know-how I have that will enable you to create a GREAT fete.
Before we begin, I’d like to give you a heads-up of some key mistakes to avoid during this process. Check out the next part (Top 6 Fete Mistakes to Avoid) here.

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