How to Host aGreat

Blue & Gold Banquet

Pioneer District Cub Scout Roundtable

What is Blue and Gold?• A special event held in

February to mark the anniversary of Scouting.

• A “birthday party” for the pack

• A time to bring pack families together to share a meal and have an evening of fun and cheer.

• A celebration of Cub Scouting that is the highlight of the pack’s year

Questions to Ask• What kind of experience do you want your scouts to

have?

• Will there be a theme?

• Will it be held during the regular pack meeting or at a special time/location?

• Will the meal be catered or a potluck?

• Who will be involved in the planning?

• How will the pack pay for it?

Theme IdeasSpace

Pirates

Indian Lore

Old West

Jungle

Luau

Sports

Monopoly

Circus

Trains

MagicFish

Medieval

Minions

Patriotic

Around-the-WorldCamping

Traditional

Nautical

Highways

Planning the Blue and Gold• Pack Committee

• Selects banquet chairman • Picks time and location

• Banquet Chairman • Recruits planning team and helpers to fill jobs • invitations, publicity, decorations, food, entertainment, cleanup

• Pack Leaders • Lead the program, ceremonies, recognitions, awards

• Scout Dens• Make decorations and provide entertainment

Planning Timeline• Three months before

• Reserve banquet hall, entertainment

• One month before

• Invite guests, publicize with pack • Three weeks before

• Finalize program agenda, work on decorations • One week before

• Get final headcount • Day of

• Get there early to decorate and set up hall

• Have a great time!

Meal Types• Catered

• Collect an additional cost per family or use popcorn money

• Potluck• Families/Dens sign up to bring food, their own plates and utensils

• Food Committee

• Decide what the pack provides: meat, pizza, utensils, cake, etc.

• Families provide other side dishes, salads, desserts, beverages

• Other

• Reserve a private meeting room at a restaurant

• Eat family style by den

• No meal; have a cake and ice cream celebration

Invitations• Send written invitations to special guests one month before

• Head of charter organization or their pack representative

• Religious leader

• Scoutmasters

• Pack alumni, Den chiefs

• School Principal

• District/Unit Commissioners

• Ask for an RSVP

Decorations• Hall decorations

• Balloons

• Streamers/Banners

• Table decorations

• Tablecloths

• Placemats

• Centerpieces

• made by each den

• Plates/Napkins

Table Games• Clip It - pass a bowl of paperclips around the

table and see which table can make the longest chain

• Banquet Quiz - trivia questions about scouting and your pack

• Who am I?- put a sticker with the name of someone famous on each person’s head and have them guess who they are by asking questions

Entertainment Ideas• Hire a magician, comedian, speaker

• Ask an OA ceremonial dance team to perform

• Invite an older scout leader to speak about his experiences

• Show a slideshow of this year’s pack activities

• Den skits, songs, stories, cheers

Program Agenda• Opening ceremony

• Invocation

• Dinner

• Welcome and introduction of guests

• Entertainment

• FOS presentation

• Scout Awards

• Recognition of leaders and parents

• Closing Ceremony

Ceremonies• Tailor to your theme

• Open with something fun

• Involve the Dens

• Close with something inspirational

• Scoutmaster minute

• A BP story

• Patriotic

Fun Awards

“Off on the right foot”

“Hats off”“Thanks a million”

“Tea-rific”

“Rose to the occasion”“Udder-ly Ridiculous”

“Marble-ous Job”

Friends of Scouting

• Annual council-wide fundraising campaign

• Funds used within council to provide a quality Scouting program

• Presentation often made during Blue and Gold

Miscellaneous Tips• Don’t let the program run too long!

• Time the agenda, prune it until it fits

• Evaluate your banquet afterwards

• Write down who did what and how

• Describe what went wrong/right

• Make suggestions for next year’s committee

Online Resources• 6 Blue and Gold Planning Guides

• http://cubscoutideas.com/2149/blue-and-gold-banquet-planning-guides/

• Pintrest

• http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=Blue%20and%20Gold%20banquet

• Scouting Magazine

• http://scoutingmagazine.org/2011/01/make-your-blue-and-gold-banquet-enjoyable/

• cubscouts.org

• https://cubscouts.org/8-themes-blue-gold-cub-scouts-will-love/

Remember…

“Keep It Simple, Make It Fun!”