How to Plan an Old Home Days Celebration: A Committee’s Guide

Old Home Days is one of the proudest traditions a New England town has, and behind every great celebration is a committee of volunteers who make it happen. If you are stepping into that role, the task can feel enormous. This guide breaks the work into manageable pieces, walking your committee through structure, timelines, sponsorships, vendor coordination, and the insurance basics, so you can plan with confidence.

We will also show you how handling the rental side through a single vendor takes one of the biggest logistical headaches off your plate.

Build Your Committee

A great celebration starts with a well-organized committee. Rather than one or two people carrying everything, divide the work into clear roles and subcommittees:

• Chair or co-chairs to lead and keep everyone on track
• Programming to plan the parade, entertainment, and activities
• Sponsorship and fundraising to secure the budget
• Logistics and site to handle the venue, layout, permits, and vendors
• Marketing to promote the event and build turnout
• Volunteers to recruit and schedule day-of help

Clear ownership means nothing falls through the cracks, and every volunteer knows exactly what they are responsible for.

Set Your Timeline

Old Home Days rewards early planning. Use this timeline as a guide, counting backward from your event date:

• 12 or more months out: Form the committee, set your budget and vision, choose your date, and reserve your venue and permits.
• 9 months out: Lock in your program, book your major vendors and rentals, and begin recruiting sponsors. Popular summer dates fill fast, so reserve attractions early.
• 6 months out: Confirm entertainment, finalize your marketing plan, secure insurance and permits, and grow your volunteer team.
• 3 months out: Promote heavily, confirm all vendors, and finalize your schedule and site layout.
• 1 month out: Lock in logistics, assign volunteer roles, build a run-of-show, and prepare a weather contingency plan.
• Week of and after: Coordinate setup, run final checks, then thank your volunteers and sponsors and debrief while it is fresh.

Line Up Sponsorships

Sponsorships are what turn a modest celebration into a memorable one. Local businesses and your chamber of commerce are often eager to support a beloved community tradition. Build a few tiered sponsorship packages with clear benefits, from banner placement and program ads to stage announcements and booth space. In-kind sponsorships, like a local company donating supplies or services, stretch your budget even further. Recognize every sponsor publicly, because a celebration that makes its supporters look good is one they will back again next year.

Coordinate Your Vendors

Vendor coordination is where many committees feel the strain. A full Old Home Days can involve rentals, food vendors, performers, portable restrooms, and more, each with its own contract, delivery window, and setup needs. Keep a master schedule with every vendor’s arrival time, space requirement, and contact, and build a site map so everyone knows where they belong. The fewer separate vendors you have to manage, the smoother the day runs, which is exactly why the rental side is worth consolidating.

Cover the Insurance Basics

Insurance is not the most exciting part of planning, but it is essential. Most towns require event liability insurance, and your venue may set its own coverage minimums. Just as important, every vendor you hire should carry their own insurance and be able to provide a certificate of insurance, or COI, naming your town or committee as needed. Confirm this early, because chasing paperwork the week of your event is a headache no committee needs. Check with your town offices on permits and any specific requirements for public gatherings.

Simplify with a Single-Vendor Rental Solution

Here is the single easiest way to lighten your committee’s load: handle all your rentals through one vendor. Instead of coordinating separate companies for rides, games, inflatables, concessions, and stage gear, Perfect Parties USA provides all of it from one place. We own more than 300 attractions in-house, from a trackless train and carnival games to inflatables, concessions, and stage equipment, and we deliver, set up, staff, and tear it all down on a single quote and one contract. Our crews are NAARSO-certified, and we provide the certificates of insurance your town requires, which means one less vendor to chase and one less COI to track. We have outfitted community celebrations across the region for years, so your committee gets one experienced partner for the entire rental side.

Ready to get this party started? Contact Perfect Parties USA to talk to one of our Party Pros! Request a Quote

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you plan an Old Home Days celebration?
You plan an Old Home Days celebration by forming a committee with clear roles, setting a timeline and budget, lining up sponsors, coordinating vendors, and handling permits and insurance. Breaking the work into subcommittees keeps it manageable. Consolidating rentals with a single vendor like Perfect Parties USA simplifies a major piece of the planning.

What committee roles are needed for Old Home Days?
Useful committee roles for Old Home Days include a chair or co-chairs, plus subcommittees for programming, sponsorship and fundraising, logistics and site, marketing, and volunteers. Clear ownership keeps the work from falling on one or two people. Each group knows exactly what it is responsible for, which keeps planning on track.

When should an Old Home Days committee start planning?
An Old Home Days committee should ideally start 12 or more months ahead, forming the committee and setting a date and budget, then booking vendors and rentals around 9 months out. Because summer dates fill quickly across New England, reserving attractions early is important. Booking ahead protects your date and your choices.

How do you get sponsors for Old Home Days?
You get sponsors by approaching local businesses and your chamber of commerce with tiered sponsorship packages that offer clear benefits like banner placement, program ads, and stage announcements. In-kind donations of supplies or services help too. Recognizing sponsors publicly makes them likely to support the celebration again.

What insurance does an Old Home Days celebration need?
An Old Home Days celebration typically needs event liability insurance, and the venue may set its own coverage minimums. Every vendor should carry insurance and provide a certificate of insurance naming the town or committee as needed. Confirming coverage and permits early avoids last-minute paperwork problems.

How does a single vendor simplify Old Home Days planning?
A single vendor simplifies planning by handling rides, games, inflatables, concessions, and stage gear from one source, on one quote and one contract. That means fewer deliveries to coordinate, one setup team, and one certificate of insurance to track. Perfect Parties USA provides the entire rental side, so your committee has far less to manage.

Can Perfect Parties USA handle the rentals for Old Home Days?
Yes. Perfect Parties USA owns more than 300 attractions in-house and can outfit your entire Old Home Days, including a trackless train, carnival games, inflatables, concessions, and stage equipment. The team delivers, sets up, staffs, and tears down across New England and provides certificates of insurance. Reach out for a single quote covering the whole rental side.