Independence Day

[cad-properties]

Hi Guys,

This is a question for our American Friends.

I am the Treasurer of the PTA (Parent Teachers Association) of our Primary School. We are a group of unpaid helpers who organise social events for the children and fundraising events to purchase equipment or fund activities which are not funded by Government.

Each year we hold a Summer Fete, which is our main fundraiser.

This year the fete will be held on 4th July, Independence Day. So we are going to have an Independence Day Theme.

What I would really like to know is, How you celebrate Independence Day in the USA. Do the children do any special activities in School or are there any traditional ways to celebrate (e.g. Food, Music, Dance, games etc) ?

Also any ideas for Fund raising that anyone has, would be greatly appreciated. We hold the usual Raffle, Lucky Dip, Games such as Guess the weight or Name etc but this year we are looking for something a little different!!!

Thanks in advance.

[lafifille]

American kids are on summer break at that date, so no special activity at school.
In my family, and it doesn't mean everybody else does that, they throw a big family/neighbours BBQ (we're in Kansas after all [msnwink]). Flags everywhere, and some fireworks (illegal, but who cares ). Everybody sings the Spangled Banner at least once. There might be a parade in the neighborhood, or a concert in the park. Big family/friends time. Did I mention the flags? [msnwink]

Nathalie.

[caroline]

SorrY I can't help with what is traditionally American but here's few things we used to do..

One of most successful fund raisers we used to do for our kids schools were luxury hamper raffles - every child was asked to bring in 1 item of food or drink a couple of weeks before the event - they would be allowed to wear their own clothes for the day as reward[msnwink] - and then we used to make up about 5 or 6 hampers from all the goodies, wrap them in cellophane and stick big bows on them. Then sell the tickets for £5 a strip - the hampers were fantastic and so the tickets always sold well - we used to regularly raise £600 - £1000 just from this - the trick was to get 2 people selling the tickets that everybody would have trouble saying no to[msnwink] We had the PTA treasurer and the Head!

Maybe you could ask people to bring in American themed food and wine and decorate the hampers with red, white and blue to go with your theme.

We also used to do guess the last 2 digits on a £50 note - the person selling the numbers has a £50 note with a little sticker over the last 2 numbers and then this is sealed a clear plastic wallet - they then have a list from 00 through to 99 and people pay a £1 to guess the digits - whoever gets it right wins the £50 note. We used to get the treasurer to seal the note and then the person selling the numbers can honestly say they have no idea if the winning number has gone - people always ask! Maybe do this with a US bank note?

We also used to get the dance club, baton twirlers and Tae Kwon Do clubs to put on a displays as well as holding a talent contest for the children - we found that by getting as many kids involved in activities as possible meant that more parents/grandparents came and as well as spending more money it also added to the atmosphere.

We also found that by having the local Hospital Radio crew there it really helped to create a great buzz - they were great at getting the kids involved.

Our other big fundraising stalls were always the food and Bar - we were lucky to have lots of different nationalities at the school, so we always had Japanese, Indian and African food stalls, sometimes a Chinese too as well as the BBQ - maybe you could theme your food and drink - have the bar selling American beers and Californian wine possibly an American cocktail rather than the traditional Pimms then a Texan BBQ.

Maybe instead of the traditional tea tent, you could have a Boston Tea Party, don't throw it all in the water though [msnwink]- you could serve cookies, muffins and doughnuts - we found our local supermarkets were always happy to donate foodstuffs rather than cold hard cash!

[brizzle]

We did it the other year and the thing I remember most was lots and lots of flags.

Our kids made smores so you could add that.

Apart from that a lot of what we do already at outdoor events; hotdogs, burgers etc...

So get some stars and stripes, and other red/white/blue bunting, work out how to setup a smores making table for a modest fee.
Maybe some stalls selling the hotdogs, burgers, apple pie, corn dogs...

[cad-properties]

Thanks for the replies and the ideas. The Hampers and the Boston Tea Party are great ideas I also like the numbers on the note idea, a great variation on the usually guessing games.

I have been Treasurer for 3 years now and we have a great committee, however, it is a challenge to keep coming up with new ideas.

Thanks to those who replied.

If anyone has any spare bunting [msnwink]