School Colour Runs - How To Organise
Colour runs are a super fun way to raise money for any number of causes such as charities, hospices, retirement homes or your local community. They emphasise fun over competition and as such, attract a larger number of participants who just want to have a fun day taking part in a bit of exercise whilst getting covered in colour powder! Sounds fun doesn’t it?
We’ve written a guide previously on how to organise a colour run in general which features lots of super helpful tips and advice, but today we’re concentrating on organising a colour run specifically for children at school and how the event could differ from a more ‘traditional’ colour run.
Pre-Colour Run
Choose A Fundraising Cause
Before looking to plan your school colour run, you need to choose what cause will be benefiting from your fundraising efforts. Whether that be a national or local charity, a deserving hospice or even just your local community in general, identify the fundraising goal early so that materials such as leaflets, newsletters, emails etc can be made to inform everyone on what it is that they’re raising money for.
Come Up With Further Fundraising Ideas
The colour run itself is of course the main fundraising drive, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be the only one. Depending on how big you want the event to be, you could invite parents or people from the local community to donate items for a raffle to raise further funds for your chosen cause. Or you could encourage students or volunteers to bake items for a bake sale too, a rather yummy way to raise more money!
Create Promotional Materials
The more you shout about your event, the likelihood of raising even more money increases (which is fantastic!). So include it in any regular materials that are sent to parents and if possible create materials specifically to raise awareness of the colour run too. From email campaigns to leaflets, whichever works best for you. It’s a great opportunity to ask for help from any parents too who may want to get involved.
Advise Parents on What Children Should Wear
Understandably one of the concerns for most parents will be ‘will the colour powder stain my child’s clothes?’ Our advice is to dress for the mess, however, our colour powders will wash out of most materials when used correctly. Plus we even have plain white t-shirts that are perfect for the day if parents don’t want to risk the chance of staining their kid’s clothes. One further piece of advice would be to advise the students to wear glasses of some kind, just in case. We’ve got parents covered there too with sunglasses available in various crazy colours that their kids are sure to love!
Plan Our The Course
When it comes to planning the colour run course for little ones, it’s a great idea to get even more creative to make it as fun as possible! So alongside multiple colour powder stations where teachers or volunteers will cover students in colour powder as the students run past, why not introduce additional playful elements too (budget permitting) such as;
Inflatables - Hiring an inflatable section for the day would certainly bring something different to the course and it’s sure to be a big hit with the kids. Or maybe even just an inflatable arch for the finish line would be pretty cool!
Slime - Alongside covering them in colour powder, squirting slime at the colour run participants will make things even messier! Which kids love! The slime will help the colour powder to stick even more too!
Bubbles - Having teachers, volunteers or even a dedicated bubble machine blowing bubbles towards the course just adds an extra element of fun to the run.
Foam - A foam pit would be another fun addition to your colour run and you could even use our colour powder to make the foam different colours too!
Tyres/inflatable rings/hurdles - Why not add another hurdle (sorry for the pun) for the little ones to face by adding obstacles such as tyres, inflatable rings or even small hurdles for them to jump over.
It’s also important to ensure the course is age-appropriate in terms of its length. Make sure all participants are able to complete the course and then you can add on an extra lap for those who want to run further.
On The Day Of The Colour Run
Brief Teachers & Volunteers On Their Roles
To ensure the event goes as smoothly as possible, make sure teachers and volunteers know exactly what they’re doing on the day. Equip them with the right gear to cover participants in colour powder, slime or foam (whatever you choose) and instruct them on how to safely do it. We recommend putting the colour powder into buckets and then using your hands, plastic cups or bowls (get raiding the school kitchen) to scoop the powder out to throw at runners. Also make sure they’re on the lookout for any safety issues and have a reporting procedure in place for such events.
Strategically Place Colour Powder Throwing Stations
You’ll want to space these out throughout the course to ensure that participants get covered in colour powder throughout the run. Our colour fountains are ideal for the starting line with their blast of colour and 20m reach, they're sure to get everyone covered in colour and ready to run! If you do introduce other elements to the colour run such as slime and foam, then placing throwing stations directly after these will ensure that the powder sticks even more!
You’ll also want to create a special moment at the finish line as this is where parents will be getting most of their photos! So make sure you have enough colour powder and volunteers to create a colour spectacle as runners cross the finish line. Our individual 100g bags are the ideal size for each runner to throw some powder in the air to create a colour cloud at the finish line! They’re perfect for a little colour fight afterwards too!
Post Colour Run
Colour Powder Cleaning Instructions
As mentioned earlier, parents will be understandably concerned about how to clean it off their child’s clothes and potentially the safety of the powder too. We recommend you print out our downloadable safety guide PDF and provide it to parents on the day. It’s also a good idea to share the link with all parents prior to the event too to set their mind at ease.
Let Everyone Know How Much Was Raised
Finally when the dust (or colour powder) has settled on the event and the donations have been counted up, make sure you share with everyone how much was raised! People want to know and it’s always a great feeling knowing that you’ve helped a good cause.
Hopefully our guide has helped you to plan your school colour run and you’re on course (sorry, another pun) to have a fun filled day to remember. Because after all, that’s what’s most important!
If you need any help in choosing the right products for your colour run, our team of experts will be happy to help, just use our contact form or call us on 0330 321 3996.
Leeds Holi Festival 2023
I was thinking there'd still be snow in Leeds and so layered up with three pairs of socks, leggings under jeans, the works! I had an overwhelming feeling that people weren't going to turn up because of the weather! Well, in true English Weather fashion, it was a stark difference from the day before...
After a quick pit stop at McDonald's for coffee and hash browns (my fave), we were on to the M62 and en route to Leeds Holi Festival!
The stall was situated in a small through-room at the top of a set of stairs, leading into a big area full of old arcade machines and a yellow submarine! We had to remove the doors from the room to make sure our customers could reach us! Boxes upon boxes of colour powder,sunglasses, floral leis, whistles, headbands and drawstring bags filled the small room.
When the gates opened at 12:30, it didn't take long for a sea of excited faces to flood the venue. Everyone who bought a ticket received 2 complimentary bags of colour powder, but that didn't stop them from buying plenty more from our stall! We were so busy for the full day, right up until closing, people were going crazy for our vibrant colour powders!
The sound of music and laughter filled the air, and colour clouds were drifting through the sky. Also, the smells... Oh my goodness the gorgeous aroma of Indian street food was just irresistible. When we finally got a break, Nigel very kindly offered to get a selection of goodies to share. We had chicken curry and a soft bread type wrap filled with spiced paneer and vegetable. It was the most delicious food ever and I've eaten at a LOT of Indian restaurants! Definitely check out Punjabi Heaven in Leeds if you get the chance, out of this world food!
Everyone was so happy, it felt like winter was really over and spring was finally here!
Throughout the event, I was constantly inspired by the sense of community and togetherness that permeated the air. People were dancing and laughing, throwing colour powder at one another and enjoying the music. It was a truly magical experience and I felt so grateful to be a part of it.
Leeds Holi Festival was a really inclusive day where everyone was made to feel welcome. Holi Festival, also known as the Festival of Colours, is a joyous celebration of peace, love, happiness, equality and the triumph of good over evil through live music, food and bright colours.
Another thing that I loved about the day was spending time with my colleagues out of the usual work setting. It was a great opportunity to celebrate our successes and discuss how we are going to make 2023 our best year yet! I'm so grateful for such an amazing team, you guys are the best <3
Abi & Chloe at Leeds Holi
When we had the opportunity, Chloe and I were keen to get into the mix! As you can see, we fully immersed ourselves and got covered in colours. The event was so busy, at times it was difficult to navigate through the crowds, but it was such a great experience and we all really enjoyed the day! The highlight of the day for me, was seeing Eshaan (the organiser of Leeds Holi Festival), letting off our colour fountains! They offer such an amazing visual impact, it really gets the party going!