Wicked Awesome Traditions

[Amulek]

So, my ward has been in a bit of an activity slump lately. The bishopric and ward council have been talking about various ways to start holding more social events to get the ball rolling again. 

I've been reflecting on this off and on lately for the last several weeks, and one of the thoughts that keeps coming back to me is how the wards that I remember having the most fun in over the years almost always had some sort of signature event.

For example, in my ward growing up, it was the annual Pioneer Day celebration which always involved homemade root beer and an epic water balloon fight. I honestly don't know why Pioneer Day ended up being the thing - we were in Texas and nobody in our ward had any ties to actual pioneers, but it was part of our shared religious heritage and it ended up becoming a valued tradition.

When my wife and I were first married, we ended up moving into a lower income, very transient family ward in Provo - one that was, quite literally, on the other side of the tracks. People moved in and out so often that they didn't even try to have social activities. There was, however, one notable exception: the Harvest Dinner.

Every year, in the Fall, we would pick one day and have....well, there's honestly no better word to describe it than to say we would have a feast. 

I'm not talking about one of those ward activities that happened to have good food if you were lucky enough to get in line early.

No, I'm talking about a straight-up, roast whole pigs, eat until you are stuffed, and still have enough food for pretty much everyone to take entire pans of leftovers back home kind of extravaganza.

It. Was. Awesome. 

It was also a tradition - one that everyone would look forward to and get genuinely excited about every year. 

As I was trying to think of what would be a good, signature event for our ward, it occurred to me that I've got access to a pretty diverse group of Saints (and former Saints), of varying ages, who have lived in multiple places around the world, so why not simply 'ask the audience.' 

So, how about it? Tell me about the best ward traditions you can remember. Any that persist through to today? Please feel free to share.

 

[MustardSeed]

I know I haven’t been to a fun ward activity in about 10 years.  It’s been decades since I recall having regular fun activities associated with church- unfortunately.  

[Tacenda]

1 minute ago, MustardSeed said:

I know I haven’t been to a fun ward activity in about 10 years.  It’s been decades since I recall having regular fun activities associated with church- unfortunately.  

This is a huge problem, IMO. It's been years for me as well. We used to have talent shows that were hilarious and serious. Now, if it's not spiritual then it's usually scrapped. I remember great Christmas dinners/parties such as a hawaiian luau near the Utah lake by the Saratoga resort when it was there, when first married, skits as well throughout the years. Now they all have to be so spiritual. Well, the spirit can speak through these fun things as well, IMO. It's not the same, and recently heard that the YSA program may be scrapped, very hearsay, but a lot of marriages stemmed from the YSA program. 

[Amulek]

34 minutes ago, MustardSeed said:

I know I haven’t been to a fun ward activity in about 10 years.

Well then tell me about the ward activities you remember from 10+ years ago then! Was there an annual event that you would look forward to attending? Or something that you remember being especially fun?

 

[Prof]

Each October, we have a Chili cook off/cinnamon roll competition followed by trunk or treat for the kids. 

It is the most well attended event of the year.

The guys cook Chili.

The women bake cinnamon rolls.

Both are judged and a champion is crowned!

Side note: The guys always make very hot chili. My mom always brings very mild chili (not for the competition). It is always gone by the end of the night!

[smac97]

2 hours ago, Amulek said:

So, my ward has been in a bit of an activity slump lately. The bishopric and ward council have been talking about various ways to start holding more social events to get the ball rolling again. 

I've been reflecting on this off and on lately for the last several weeks, and one of the thoughts that keeps coming back to me is how the wards that I remember having the most fun in over the years almost always had some sort of signature event.

Our ward has had good success with breakfast potlucks during the Spring/Summer, a ward-level campout during the summer, a "Chili Cookoff" in the fall, and a Christmas Dinner in December.

Our ward has had less success with sporting events, but I think that's more a matter of demographics.  Once-a-month game night also did not last long.

2 hours ago, Amulek said:

For example, in my ward growing up, it was the annual Pioneer Day celebration which always involved homemade root beer and an epic water balloon fight. I honestly don't know why Pioneer Day ended up being the thing - we were in Texas and nobody in our ward had any ties to actual pioneers, but it was part of our shared religious heritage and it ended up becoming a valued tradition.

When my wife and I were first married, we ended up moving into a lower income, very transient family ward in Provo - one that was, quite literally, on the other side of the tracks. People moved in and out so often that they didn't even try to have social activities. There was, however, one notable exception: the Harvest Dinner.

Every year, in the Fall, we would pick one day and have....well, there's honestly no better word to describe it than to say we would have a feast. 

I'm not talking about one of those ward activities that happened to have good food if you were lucky enough to get in line early.

No, I'm talking about a straight-up, roast whole pigs, eat until you are stuffed, and still have enough food for pretty much everyone to take entire pans of leftovers back home kind of extravaganza.

It. Was. Awesome. 

Sounds like it.

2 hours ago, Amulek said:

It was also a tradition - one that everyone would look forward to and get genuinely excited about every year. 

As I was trying to think of what would be a good, signature event for our ward, it occurred to me that I've got access to a pretty diverse group of Saints (and former Saints), of varying ages, who have lived in multiple places around the world, so why not simply 'ask the audience.' 

So, how about it? Tell me about the best ward traditions you can remember. Any that persist through to today? Please feel free to share.

See above.  Good luck!

Thanks,

-Smac

[smac97]

11 minutes ago, Prof said:

Each October, we have a Chili cook off/cinnamon roll competition followed by trunk or treat for the kids. 

Oh, forgot about that one.  Trunk or Treat was a big hit.  We sometimes pair it with a potluck dinner early in the evening (5:30 or so), as this gives parents the ability to get their kids fed, circulated through the Trunk or Treat, and still have time to go out and go door-to-door if they want.

We also invited the Japanese ward that shares our building.  Many of them had limited experience with Halloween, so they enjoyed it as well.

Thanks,

-Smac

[The Nehor]

We have at least one luau every year. Coming up this weekend. Elder’s Quorum is usually in charge and they are getting the pig this week.

Christmas pajama breakfast every year.

Granny’s attic service project.

[Amulek]

36 minutes ago, Prof said:

Each October, we have a Chili cook off/cinnamon roll competition followed by trunk or treat for the kids. 

I was in a ward once where we had a similar tradition - only it was chili cook off combined with a pie-making competition.

Cinnamon rolls seem like they would be a good addition though.  

 

Quote

Side note: The guys always make very hot chili. My mom always brings very mild chili (not for the competition). It is always gone by the end of the night!

Not surprising. You can make a hot chili if you are entering a serious / professional cooking competition, but when you are going up against church members or co-workers that's a surefire way to guarantee failure. People almost always - I'm not going to say "lie"...let's go with, "have a tendency to overstate" just how spicy they like their food seasoned. So, instead of going for hot, you want to shoot for a chili with really good flavor that's only just north of mild/medium heat. Do that and you'll win almost every single time. On the downside, you won't have any leftovers.  

 

[Amulek]

47 minutes ago, smac97 said:

Our ward has had good success with breakfast potlucks during the Spring/Summer, a ward-level campout during the summer, a "Chili Cookoff" in the fall, and a Christmas Dinner in December.

I've never attended a breakfast potluck - though it sounds like a great idea! 

Do you actually hold them in the mornings (say, on a Saturday), or is it more of a 'breakfast for dinner' kind of arrangement? 

 

Quote

Our ward has had less success with sporting events, but I think that's more a matter of demographics.  Once-a-month game night also did not last long.

Yeah, I've never been in a ward where game night has been able to last as a standalone activity. I think game night works better as an independently curated special-interest activity, sort of like a book club, than it does as a larger, auxiliary / ward kind of activity. 

That being said, I was in an Elders Quorum once where we had a chess tournament for a quorum activity - timers and all. It was actually pretty fun. 

 

[smac97]

1 minute ago, Amulek said:

I've never attended a breakfast potluck - though it sounds like a great idea! 

Do you actually hold them in the mornings (say, on a Saturday), or is it more of a 'breakfast for dinner' kind of arrangement? 

We had them in the mornings on Saturdays.  Few people have anything scheduled for this time of day, and pretty much everyone loves breakfast.

We also sometimes paired the potluck with short presentations on Provident Living / Emergency Preparedness (water filtration and storage, food storage, etc.).

Thanks,

-Smac

[MustardSeed]

20 years ago , a few karaoke parties!  Super fun and funny. 

Dinners without kids and games.  

Bbq in the park with sports! 

 

[JLHPROF]

Growing up in England I remember lots of ward activities as a child.

We had the annual stake Sports day (you know the deal - egg and spoon, three legged race, sack race, waterballoon toss etc).
We had a bonfire night party on Guy Fawkes day in the chapel parking lot - bonfire, sparklers, tame fireworks and food.
We had a ward Christmas party complete with Father Christmas and a gift for each child and pot luck.  We had an annual "rummage sale", what we would call a yard sale or swap meet here.
We had the road show - my mother in a giant yellow bird suit.  It was at a ward function I got to meet Buzz Aldrin as a child.

There were no shortage of activities in my ward as a child.  Admittedly I don't socialize as much as an adult but there have been lots in my memories.

[Calm]

4 hours ago, Amulek said:

So, my ward has been in a bit of an activity slump lately. The bishopric and ward council have been talking about various ways to start holding more social events to get the ball rolling again. 

I've been reflecting on this off and on lately for the last several weeks, and one of the thoughts that keeps coming back to me is how the wards that I remember having the most fun in over the years almost always had some sort of signature event.

For example, in my ward growing up, it was the annual Pioneer Day celebration which always involved homemade root beer and an epic water balloon fight. I honestly don't know why Pioneer Day ended up being the thing - we were in Texas and nobody in our ward had any ties to actual pioneers, but it was part of our shared religious heritage and it ended up becoming a valued tradition.

When my wife and I were first married, we ended up moving into a lower income, very transient family ward in Provo - one that was, quite literally, on the other side of the tracks. People moved in and out so often that they didn't even try to have social activities. There was, however, one notable exception: the Harvest Dinner.

Every year, in the Fall, we would pick one day and have....well, there's honestly no better word to describe it than to say we would have a feast. 

I'm not talking about one of those ward activities that happened to have good food if you were lucky enough to get in line early.

No, I'm talking about a straight-up, roast whole pigs, eat until you are stuffed, and still have enough food for pretty much everyone to take entire pans of leftovers back home kind of extravaganza.

It. Was. Awesome. 

It was also a tradition - one that everyone would look forward to and get genuinely excited about every year. 

As I was trying to think of what would be a good, signature event for our ward, it occurred to me that I've got access to a pretty diverse group of Saints (and former Saints), of varying ages, who have lived in multiple places around the world, so why not simply 'ask the audience.' 

So, how about it? Tell me about the best ward traditions you can remember. Any that persist through to today? Please feel free to share.

 

There are yearly neighbourhood parties outside of church (pie night, dance day, fireworks, etc), something easily done in small town Utah. We also have a member who has a brick oven in their big backyard and once a year there is a massive pizza church party. 

In Canada, we hit the same campground every year for annovernighter. Had a zip line that was a memorable activity 

Edited September 23, 2019 by Calm

[Calm]

Also yearly ward cleanup day. Great way to get to know neighbours. 

[JAHS]

My ward has started having what they call a "Linger Longer" after church once a month.
People bring some food and snacks and we all meet together after church in the cultural hall and eat and enjoy the company and conversation.
The kids really like the food part.  

 

[bsjkki]

I think activities have really suffered since they did away with activities committees. 

Edited September 23, 2019 by bsjkki

[InCognitus]

In our ward we have (as traditional recurring events) a ward camp out, a 4th of July breakfast, and a ward swimming party (in August).   Of course those are all summer activities, but they work for us.  We also have a Christmas party.

With the elimination of the activities committee, the Bishop puts one of the auxiliary organizations in charge of each ward activity.  The auxiliary organization leadership is supposed to (in theory) delegate the individual tasks required for planning and setting up the event to other members of their group or the ward in general.

[Garden Girl]

Years ago we had the road shows, among other things... what ever happened to them?

Now, we have the annual Thanksgiving dinner... members sign up to roast the turkeys, provided by the bishopric along with dressing and gravy.  Ward members bring side dishes and desserts.  It's very popular... and we have an annual talent show, usually in December with the Christmas party.

Then, we have an annual 4th of July pancake breakfast after the flag ceremony... and we have an annual fish fry at the Church usually in July or August (with fish caught by ward fishermen, mostly ocean fish).  We also have an annual beach party and bonfire at a local state park.  And the annual Halloween party and Trunk or Treat.

During the year, once a month we have Linger Longer after Church for socializing.  Members bring food and desserts... we set up these long tables for the food in the cultural hall for this wonderful buffet, and the round tables for seating...

GG

Edited September 23, 2019 by Garden Girl

[Amulek]

58 minutes ago, MustardSeed said:

20 years ago , a few karaoke parties!  Super fun and funny. 

Sounds like a winner! I'm thinking something like Jimmy Fallon's lip sync karaoke battles would also be a ton of fun.  

 

[Amulek]

40 minutes ago, JAHS said:

My ward has started having what they call a "Linger Longer" after church once a month.
People bring some food and snacks and we all meet together after church in the cultural hall and eat and enjoy the company and conversation.
The kids really like the food part.  

We do Linger Longers from time to time, but with multiple units sharing the building, it usually only works out well when we are the last ones in the building on Sunday's. So, every three years or so. 

 

[Amulek]

30 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

I think activities have really suffered since they got did away with activities committees. 

I think the change was due to the fact that, in many wards, the annual budget ended up really suffering because of the activities committee.  

But I hear what you are saying. Having creative people thinking of ideas can be a real boon, and there should be an easy way for them to communicate those ideas to the bishopric / ward council. 

 

[Hamba Tuhan]

We have a ward BBQ breakfast at the lake each year on Easter Monday. We tend to start about 9:00, and the activity stretches out almost till lunchtime. This includes an Easter egg hunt for the kids, and if the weather is nice, we end up in the lake.

Each year in June, we have our Curry Cook-off. Prizes are awarded for best hot, best mild, best vegetarian, and most exotic. People who can't cook curry just bring the rice. Lately, we've been mixing this up with a bit of 'curry-oke' as well.

Most years we have an overnight ward camp in April and October. (This year we're skipping October because the youth are having a week-long camp.) This is simple: the ward books the campsite, and then people just show up, set up, cook, eat, and enjoy each other's company. At some point, a guitar usually comes out, and we end up singing.

Our ward Christmas party shuttles between a potluck at the lake and something more formal at the chapel.

Then we always have a Christmas Day service at the chapel. This starts at 9:30 and lasts only 45 minutes. Dress is casual, and people often linger afterwards.

[Robert F. Smith]

6 hours ago, Tacenda said:

This is a huge problem, IMO. It's been years for me as well. We used to have talent shows that were hilarious and serious. Now, if it's not spiritual then it's usually scrapped. I remember great Christmas dinners/parties such as a hawaiian luau near the Utah lake by the Saratoga resort when it was there, when first married, skits as well throughout the years. Now they all have to be so spiritual. Well, the spirit can speak through these fun things as well, IMO. It's not the same, and recently heard that the YSA program may be scrapped, very hearsay, but a lot of marriages stemmed from the YSA program. 

I seriously doubt that YSA will be scrapped.  We have a YSA ward that meets in our bldg in Provo, and they seem to be going great guns.  A lot of beautiful young people meeting on Sunday and on Wed nite.  I'm sure the Brethren like the idea immensely.

[Stargazer]

14 hours ago, Amulek said:

So, my ward has been in a bit of an activity slump lately. The bishopric and ward council have been talking about various ways to start holding more social events to get the ball rolling again. 

I've been reflecting on this off and on lately for the last several weeks, and one of the thoughts that keeps coming back to me is how the wards that I remember having the most fun in over the years almost always had some sort of signature event.

For example, in my ward growing up, it was the annual Pioneer Day celebration which always involved homemade root beer and an epic water balloon fight. I honestly don't know why Pioneer Day ended up being the thing - we were in Texas and nobody in our ward had any ties to actual pioneers, but it was part of our shared religious heritage and it ended up becoming a valued tradition.

When my wife and I were first married, we ended up moving into a lower income, very transient family ward in Provo - one that was, quite literally, on the other side of the tracks. People moved in and out so often that they didn't even try to have social activities. There was, however, one notable exception: the Harvest Dinner.

Every year, in the Fall, we would pick one day and have....well, there's honestly no better word to describe it than to say we would have a feast. 

I'm not talking about one of those ward activities that happened to have good food if you were lucky enough to get in line early.

No, I'm talking about a straight-up, roast whole pigs, eat until you are stuffed, and still have enough food for pretty much everyone to take entire pans of leftovers back home kind of extravaganza.

It. Was. Awesome. 

It was also a tradition - one that everyone would look forward to and get genuinely excited about every year. 

As I was trying to think of what would be a good, signature event for our ward, it occurred to me that I've got access to a pretty diverse group of Saints (and former Saints), of varying ages, who have lived in multiple places around the world, so why not simply 'ask the audience.' 

So, how about it? Tell me about the best ward traditions you can remember. Any that persist through to today? Please feel free to share.

 

My old ward in Washington state used to have an "empty-nesters" event once a month, but the wife and I just simply didn't care to hang out with all the old folks -- even though our nest was empty and we ourselves had graduated to "old".  There was an annual Chili Cookoff combined with a Scout fundraising auction, however, that was quite fun and got a lot of attendance. My chili never won a prize, possibly because I prefer my chili hotter than others in that ward did.  We also did a Trunk-or-Treat for Halloween, especially if Halloween occurred on a Sunday.  So, it seemed like we had an adequate social life in the ward. I don't know if it helped towards maintaining activity or not. But the ward was and is very active.

My present ward has a monthly post-Sacrament meeting potluck. I am trying to remember if this is on fast sunday or not.  About as many people are there as are at Sacrament meeting.

The YSA branch that I was finance clerk for had a Fast Sunday "Fast Break" after meetings -- at least partly because the members of the branch came from as far away as 20 miles, and they all had a long way to drive -- and many would be eating alone.  I think it helped the branch to have a good spirit.

ETA: my old ward in Washington used to do an annual Talent Show, too.  It was fun, but they discontinued it at some point, and I don't know why.  Also there was a ward Christmas Dinner every year.  One year, instead of just doing the Christmas Dinner, we did it according to how we imagined the people at the time of Christ had feasts. Members were encouraged to come dressed in what they imagined was "period costume", and to bring blankets to sit on while eating.  Food was beef stew with crusty bread, provided by the ward, and there was a little Christmas playlet on stage (this was in the cultural hall).  It was very memorable!  One brother portrayed a Roman soldier and actually came in armor, a sword and a helmet.  I refrained from telling him that his helmet was more a Medieval knight's helmet than Roman, but it was still a great effort.  He was involved in the playlet as a Roman soldier.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Stargazer