Creative Ways to Make Local Events More Engaging for Families
Engagement is the art of captivating and compelling the attendees of an event. The aim of engagement is to ensure that event attendees remain interested in an event and ongoing activities throughout the event. It involves encouraging players to enhance their participation and active involvement in an event. Things like using custom modular exhibition stands can help out.
Engagement is quite key for any kind of event. However, when it comes to local events where attendees include families, coming up with ways to increase engagement requires some creativity. This is because you are not dealing with a specific demographic since families have individuals of all kinds, ages, preferences, and more. Let us look at some creative ways of making local events more engaging for families:
Harness the power of technology
Technology is a powerful tool that can help you promote engagement at local events. There are so many things that technology has to offer. For instance, you can use LED lights to attract clients, Virtual Reality to keep attendees interested in the activities going on at the event, AI technology to create tailored experiences for all event attendees, and even using screens. It is up to the event organizers to research how they can incorporate different technologies into local events to make them more engaging for all family members.
Incorporate activities that appeal to all ages
When organizing an event for families, you should always remember that your event will include people of all ages. Therefore, you have to make sure that the activities at the event appeal to attendees of all ages. You can have different kinds of activities so that all attendees are catered for. Examples of some engaging and creative family-friendly activities you can incorporate are:
Hands-on activities like cooking classes, arts & crafts, dance lessons, and more.
Contests like family-friendly games with prizes for attendees with a competitive spirit.
Themes photo boots.
Events that foster physical activity
You can go as creative as you can with these events. They will add a layer of fun to your local event, which will keep attendees engaged and interested. When deciding on which activities to have in your event, you should make sure that the activities align with the overall theme and goal of the local event. For instance, if the goal is to foster collaboration and unity, hand-on events would be perfect.
You can never go wrong with food
No matter the kind of event you are planning, you can never go wrong with adding an element of food. However, if you are looking to make your local event memorable, then you should be creative with the foods you offer. You can come up with creative options like finger foods, sandwiches, and fruit cups for younger attendees, healthier options like salads and smoothies for older ones, and some special options like allergen-free and gluten-free foods for health-conscious attendees. Giving families options will make their experience memorable and encourage attendees to engage in other activities at the event. You can set up food stations and make sure the options are labelled to reduce wait times on food lines.
Come up with entertainment options for all family members
Live entertainment is always a good way to go. However, since you will be dealing with entire families, you should think of creative entertainment options for different family members. For instance, you can have interactive puppet shows and sing-along for toddlers and younger kids, petting zoos and magic shows for school-aged kids, VR and gaming stations for teenagers, live music for youths and young adults, and for adults, alcohol and food should do the trick.
Provide comfortable amenities
Many families steer clear of local events where they have to stay standing for long hours and experience discomfort. You can change this by making sure the event environment is comfortable. It is easier for attendees to participate in events and engage more if they are comfortable. For example, if you want people to participate in a survey, you should provide them with a comfortable place to sit, shade from the sun, and an overall comfortable environment. Some examples of comfortable amenities you can have at your local event include:
Clean portable potties for hygiene and comfort
Changing stations for babies
Benches and relaxation stations with shade
Hydration points like taps
Designated seating areas
Designated nursing stations
Conclusion
The best way to come up with creative ways to create an engaging local event for families is to come up with goals for the event. Your goals will help you map out the right creative moves to make your event more successful.