A Children's Circus - A Great Way to Raise Money

One of the best ideas that I have ever seen for raising money was a Children's' Circus. Several years ago I was passing through a small town in the Midwest and saw a sign advertising a Children's' Circus to raise money to fight cancer. Since I had some time on my hands, I decided to take it in.

The circus was held in a church hall. They had folding chairs all around the room. The center of the hall had three rings. There was a rind on each side of the hall with one large ring in the middle. The rings were made out of green garden hoses attached together. The adjacent Sunday school rooms were used to store props and also for dressing room areas.

The circus started out with a parade of the participants. The children came out and paraded as close to the folding chairs as possible. Music was used to parade the children around the room. The music was patriotic. Some of the children carried their props with them. Some had dogs and animals on a lease. Some of them had costumes on as well.

When the circus started, their was ringmaster. He was an adult that had a gift for gab. He could make any disaster that took place look like it was a well planned course of action. He was dressed with a very nice suit and a typical circus hat. He even used an old fashion megaphone to broadcast the acts. He would introduce each act as they came into their appropriate ring. His announcement was very lively and vigorous with excitement. He really hammed it up.

There were acts of all sorts. Here is a list of what I observed. There were clowns. Lots of clowns. There were children that could do gymnastics. I saw animal tricks, magician tricks, juggling acts, balloon animals being made, children walking on a small balance beam simulating a tight wire act, pets dressed up like ferocious animals, and more clowns.

There was a brief intermission. During this time refreshments were served but, not sold. The refreshments came with the cost of admission. Pictures were allowed as well as videos. Parents, grandparents, friends, and relatives were all over enjoying the festivities.

There were so many children involved that the after the intermission, the second part was longer than the first part. I did notice though that the younger children went first. I guess this was because their attention spans isn't as long as the older children. Even though some of the acts seemed to be duplicated, nobody really cared.

I talked to one individual that had helped start the circus idea. They told me that it didn't take a lot of planning to put on the circus. However, they sent out fliers, posted it in the local paper, and had an announcement on the local radio station. They always said that the reason was for raising money to fight cancer. Although it could be used for other reasons as well.

At the end of the Children's' Circus, a lady came out and had all the children sing three songs that related to the circus. On the third song the people in attendance were asked to sing also. Another photo session was allowed and the children even signed the programs for the adults in attendance. They were then dismissed to go with their parents. Many parents stayed and help clean up afterward.

The price of admission was $3. There were no bleachers in the hall only folding chairs. There were some people in wheelchairs in attendance. they could see just as well as anyone. Some family members tried to sit near the ring that their child performed in but, it didn't matter. You could still see very well. Some of the refreshments that were provided was popcorn, soda, coffee, pie, and yes cotton candy.

I don't know how much money they raised to fight cancer. However, I do know that everyone had a very good time. So in the future if you need to set up a fund raiser, a Children's' Circus might be a good idea.