How to Host Events That Engage the Whole Community

Last year, our school proudly hosted its annual Global Family Fun Night, welcoming over 500 community members to our campus. The evening was filled with music, laughter, and pride. Students and families wandered from food trucks to craft stations, petting zoos to henna artists, and story-time sessions to face painting booths.

The smell of global cuisine intertwined with the performance of the South Island Pacific Dancers, while heroes from the local fire department stood by their trucks, inviting students to explore. A Pinspiration Splatter Truck offered students a chance to engage in creative discovery, while displays of authentic Latin American heritage pieces like clothing and pottery invited awe and appreciation. Raffle baskets closed out the night with anticipation and excitement, but the real prize was the collective joy that echoed through our school campus.

More than just entertainment, Global Family Fun Night served as a reminder that schools can serve as a safe and vibrant space where families gather, cultures shine, and community blossoms. Using this as momentum, our school community created an even more ambitious event on the streets of our town.

A Community Stroll

This past spring, we reflected upon the Global Family Fun Night and created a literacy-enriched experience for our students. This idea was ignited by a simple question: What if our students’ words had the power to inspire, unite, and build bridges through poems, quotes, or songs? That idea became a Community Stroll, held over a weekend in April.

Instead of gathering on our school’s campus, students took to the paths of our towns, visiting local businesses with short pieces that reflected their cultural heritage or a culture they appreciated. As they read a quote, recited a poem, or shared a tradition, store owners responded in return with a small treat such as a piece of pizza, a T-shirt, or a cookie.

As I strolled through town on Saturday afternoon, I stopped by a table inside one of the participating pizzerias. A mother sat with her two children, one of whom was around 4 years old. He grinned up at me with pizza sauce smeared on his sweet face. When I asked if they were having fun, the mom smiled and said, “We already went to like nine different businesses, and it is so much fun.”

Late that weekend, another parent messaged us to share, “It was really cool! My kids are all adopted and have different cultures, and they loved sharing a fact about themselves! Great idea!”

Creating a Whole-Campus Experience

To create events similar to this in your school community, all you need is a commitment to student voice, cultural pride, and connection. Here’s how we made it work.

Vision: We aligned our vision for Global Family Fun Night and Community Stroll with key district philosophy focused on building a school community and increasing family engagement.

Finances: From there, we explored ways to make each event financially practical. For our Global Family Fun Night we applied for grants, donations from community businesses and organizations, and teacher association funds. For our Community Stroll, businesses donated the small treat.

We were especially grateful for administrative district grants and generous contributions from our teachers union, since both helped to make our vision a reality.

Logistics: The planning was extensive, but we used AI as a tool to brainstorm and generate language for event proposals and letters to local businesses. There are committees that meet regularly after school about once a month to ensure strong teacher participation. This ongoing collaboration helps to build excitement, distribute responsibilities, and foster shared ownership of the events. While the Community Stroll took place over the weekend, most of the work was done during committee meetings and volunteer time, allowing teachers to balance their schedules while committing to the event’s success.

We were able to take advantage of talents in our school as well as the broader community. For our Global Family Fun Night, the henna tattoos were done by an administrative assistant at our school who shared her talent with us.

For the Community Stroll, the planning was complex. To bring the vision to life, teachers first reached out to local businesses with a letter that explained the idea and invited them to take part. The response was enthusiastic. Those who agreed offered time slots during which they would welcome students to share their cultural pieces.

Once the confirmations were in, teachers carefully organized the two-day schedule. This schedule was organized first by town, then by business name, and finally by time slot.

Advertising: With the use of social media, we shared the event with an entire community within a short time frame. It was important to reach out to the community through the school’s social media pages and the principal’s weekly school newsletters.

Event day: On each day of the event, students took the lead, selecting meaningful poems, songs, or quotes and choosing the local businesses they wanted to visit from the list. As they stepped into each place, they were met with kindness. Business owners offered a small treat in return for each heartfelt share. Families strolled together through town, pausing to listen, connect, and celebrate the stories being told. Parents watched in awe as their children spoke with confidence and pride. The learning that unfolded was just as meaningful and rooted in literacy, cultural appreciation, and the power of public speaking.

After event: It is essential to celebrate with everyone involved. We shared photos, stories, and thank-you notes across social media and principal school newsletters. We hand-delivered thank-you notes to local businesses as well. In doing so, we reinforced the power of building a strong school community. 

Events like this foster a strong sense of community by nurturing learning, growth, and joy. By reimagining school events to celebrate identity, build connection, and spark joy among students and families, we were able to create events that meaningfully expressed our school’s values and philosophy.