We have been asked by our Stake to plan a Ward activity to go along with our Ward's upcoming "Invitation Sunday" (for more information on Invitation Sunday, see the section on this topic on the right side).
Based on the needs of our Ward, we wanted to come up with an activity that met a specific criteria. We want to have an activity that is casual and fun, so non-members can come to our Church building and get to know our Ward members in a positive atmosphere. We also want it to be an activity that our Ward members would be excited to attend and truly feel comfortable inviting their non-member friends/relatives to (without fearing a surprise sermon or missionary 'ambush').
The idea that we decided on is to have a Ward "Talent (and No-Talent)" Show. I have adapted this idea from a post about a 'No-Talent Show' Ward activity that I read about on The Idea Door website, here. We changed it to a Talent AND No-Talent show for our Ward because we thought we could get more participants if we offered a choice of performing conventional or non-conventional talents.
Here is the planning sheet that we used to plan the activity - it gives a good explanation of what the activity is about....
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Ward Activity Planning Sheet
Activity: Ward “Talent (and No-Talent)” Show*
Plan: Ward members volunteer to perform a talent (a regular talent or non-conventional talents) during a Ward “Talent (and No-Talent)” Show (followed by refreshments)
Examples of talents: singing, dance, musical instruments, etc
Examples of non-conventional talents: nose-whistling, packing a suitcase in 30 seconds, spinning plates, or ripping a phone book in half, etc
Purpose: Provide a fun activity that ward-members will be able to invite non-member friends/relatives to attend
Benefits: A “Talent & No-Talent” show activity is a fun way to familiarize non-member visitors with ward members in a casual atmosphere. We should have participants from all age groups (primary, youth, & adults) performing talents or non-talents. Participants may feel more excited to invite non-member friends/relatives because they (or a relative) are performing. This is an activity that can be enjoyed by performers and audience of all ages.
Display tables: We can have several display tables in the cultural hall. Some of these will have displays of non-performance talent by Ward members (paintings, crafts, etc). There will also be display table(s) near the door with Church information & pamphlets about our basic beliefs, how to learn more, etc.
Refreshments: We will ask several people in the ward who are talented in cake-decorating to each bring 1-dozen decorated cupcakes.
Things that would need to be done to pull-off a “No-Talent Show”:
Recruiting the ‘talent/no-talent’ performers (sign-up sheets, email, phone calls)
Pre-screening acts to make sure they are Church-appropriate
Arranging for an emcee
Advertising (specifically that this is a great event to invite non-members to)
Arranging the program (order of acts)
Setting up chairs and microphone
Providing refreshments at the end of the talent show
Create display tables for non-performance crafts (scrapbooking, woodworking, art, etc)
Create display tables with info about attending church & our basic beliefs, how to learn more, etc
Clean-up
*The term “Talent (& No-Talent) Show” isn’t meant to be demeaning to anyone. We are encouraging all types of talents and don’t want to discourage people who aren’t traditional performers. There will be no judging, prizes, or labeling of who is a ‘talent’ or a ‘no-talent’
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We have also come up with a handout that will be passed out at Church on Sunday with information for Ward members. This is meant to get the word out about the “Talent (& No-Talent) Show”and to (hopefully) encourage Ward members to sign up to perform. Here is the text from the handout:
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(Name of Ward here) Ward
"Talent (& No-Talent)" Show
(Date and time here)
Do you have a talent to share? We’re looking for acts to perform in the Ward Talent (& No-Talent) Show. It doesn’t matter if you’re traditionally ‘talented’ or not…There won’t be any judging - this is just for fun!
We’re looking for Ward members of all ages to do:
Conventional talents (like singing, dancing, juggling, yo-yo tricks, etc)
OR
Non-conventional talents (like nose-whistling, packing a suitcase in 30 seconds, spinning plates, or ripping a phone book in half, etc…)
Sign-up sheets will be passed in classes on Sundays. Not a performer? Please sign up anyhow- There will also be a display table for people who want to share their non-performance talents (like painting, woodworking, scrapbooking, sewing, etc).
Even if you don’t have a talent you’d like to share, please plan to come as an audience member and BRING A FRIEND! This activity is being organized by (insert names here), please contact us for more info (insert phone number here)
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