50 Cubs at Blue & Gold

[gtscouter 12]

Our pack is busting at the seams! A high class problem I suppose, but I am trying to anticipate how we keep the B&G banquet from lasting 4 hours. I feel it is important to keep the pace of the event moving along, otherwise the boys (and parents) get restless and bored.

 

Any suggestions from those with large packs?

[SctDad 10]

Here is some suggestions

 

Awards

Group the boys together - Meaning all the boys that are getting Tiger come up at once with their parents and give a small statement about the things that it took to earn.

 

Belt loops and Pins the same.

 

And so on and so on.

 

Try to have skits and songs that include all in the dens. Say, all the boys in the Wolf Den can do "The girl Scouts are coming"

 

Have all the tigers sing "If you are a tiger and you know it" (In the tiger Book"

 

Have the Webelos have a flag folding demonstration for the closing. I think that if you have things planned right them you will have no problem getting everyone through in 1 1/2 hours.

[Nike 94]

Skip Dinner!!!

 

Dessert Extravaganza only. (What could 50 boys want more?)

[SctDad 10]

I can agree with Nike on this one. Maybe have some snack trays for those present to munch on before and/or after the presentation.

 

But remember this is a banquet. So I would be careful not to make it too much like a Pack Meeting.

[ScoutNut 147]

Do the Immediate Recognition beads, and small stuff, at the den meetings. Do the big awards like rank and AOL at your B&G.

 

Intersperse short skits, songs, audience participation, run-ons, etc, between award presentations. This will keep everyone involved.

 

Make the award ceremonies short, but special.

 

Start ON TIME.

 

 

[infoscouter 11]

Planning and communications are the key. Have a fully planned agenda, right down to the times particular ceremonies, skits, songs are scheduled to take place. Share the agenda with the den leaders and make them responsible for having their den ready for their cues when the time comes.

 

Seat each den (and parents) together, so they can move up to the front more quickly. Use signs to get each den at a single table or area. Family with two or more kids? Mom goes w/ one, Dad w/ the other, and if you're lucky grandma w/ the third. Otherwise, the oldest one gets to sit w/ his den under the supervision of a friendly parent.

 

Publish the agenda (without the times) as a program. This will help the parents know when things should be happening, so they can help the den leaders prepare the Scouts.

 

Start on time. Do not wait for stragglers or worry they won't get food. You need to keep the program moving for those who get there on time.

 

I have seen many packs do a 2 hour B&G with far more than 50 Cubs (and a full buffet) - it just takes lots of coordination and help. The Cubmaster should have nothing to do with the food or the decorations or the entertainment (if you have it) except for introductions. Plan and execute the program just as if it were a pack meeting and let the B&G committee handle all those details.

[Bob White 20]

be of good cheer gtsscouter, 50 boys is not busting at the seams. Many packs have over 100 cubs. What you might want to do if you don't want the event to last 4 hours is to decide what you want the program to be and then plan how much time each element will take.

 

One pitfall you can avoid that will help you avoid a prolonged meeting is focus on what a Blue and Gold is supposed to be. A birthday celebration for Cub Scouting. Nothing says that you have to do all the same things that you do at other pack meetings. Have a birthday party.

 

Different packs do different things at Blue and Golds. Some do Webelos crossovers and some do not. Some do Leader recognitions and thank yous and some don't. Some do rank advancements and some don't.

 

The main thing is that it celebrate the Cub Program's anniversary how you do that is up to you. If you want a 90 minute program then plan a 90 minute program.

 

The only way it can go 4 hours is if you have a plan to go 4 hours or if you have a plan to do something else but you do not follow it.(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[Novice_Cubmaster 10]

We shifted from doing a dinner to doing a dessert potluck - not sure who's likes this better, the kids or the moms who don't have to come up with a covered dish that feeds 6+. Setup & cleanup are also greatly simplified.

 

We've also gotten away from doing any advancements and awards at the B&G - it's a party, not a pack meeting; so we do something fun. We've had naturalists come in and do an hour long presentation on some local animals & birds - including touchable critters. Huge hit with the kids. We do skits & goofy songs to transition between parts of the evening's agenda.

 

But Bob White is dead on - packs do/don't do all the same things. Feel free to define your own pack traditions (and let them evolve as needed to stay current and workable).

 

NC

[Karen_216 10]

We have that many plus. We fill whole Middle school cafeteria. We do Fos during dinner as well as outside entertainer.

This year only ranks we are doing is AOL and crossover. That should bring the close to 3 hours down to 2.

Also if you do outside entertainer keep at 20 mins tops!! After that the kids get lost !! We had one year that was just TOO boring and kids were running amuck and most people left before AOL and crossover which I think should be most important part!!

[mikecummings157 10]

When our pack had this issue, we split the B&G into an early afternoon and late afternoon banquet, splitting the pack roughly in half by dens. The only thing that got a little dicey was keeping siblings at the same session so the parents didn't have to go twice.

 

Of course, the Cubmaster (me) had a long day, but it was worth it.

[Buffalo Skipper 13]

When I slipped into the cubmaster role several years ago, our B&Gs were long winded and boring. I worked to streamline the process and ended up with an event which was talked about as the best B&G in the district, and we kept it to 75-90 minutes, including dinner (2 years ago, we sat 250 for the meal)!

 

We open with a greeting, a welcoming of guests, and follow up with the FOS presentation. The pack usually donates $500, and with 50-60 boys, we often top the $4000 mark. We do a raffle, as scouts bring up pledge cards, and it is a fun time for all.

 

Then is dinner, which we usually have catered. Sometimes we have a buffet, others it is brought to tables (Web 1 dens plans B&G at the direction of the Web 2 dens). The troops who are recieving our Webs serve and clean up the meals. During the meal, we have a slide show of the photos from the pack for the past year (always a hit!). As soon as the meal is done, we cut the birthday cake (we celebrate it with the pack's b-day on it as well as cub scouting...this year it is pack-46 and cs-78).

 

While we are eating desert, we begin our presentations (we are now 45 or so minutes into the program). All Tigers come up (and their parents) to be recognized. We focus on their ranks and other special awards, not on BLs. Then comes the Wolves, Bears, and finally the Webelos (both 1 & 2). We then move on to the AoL presentations, and we have the OA do our crossover, which is a marvelous ceremony, certainly the climax of the night. Then, we wrap it up with a recognition of all den leaders (including a small token--last year it laser engraved cubs scout name tags on cherry), and then special presentations to the departing den leader(s), followed by closing.

 

We always invite the CoR, IH, UC, and DEs. As the Council Commissioner has ties to the pack, she is always invited as well. Our plans for 2012 (pack 50th anniversery) include inviting all the past cubmasters we can locate.

 

Feel free to PM me to get a copy of our program, and ceremonies. I will be glad to share this with you.

[gtscouter 12]

I forgot to add that we are chartered by a Catholic Church. So B&G is preceded by a Mass -- adds a hour before you even get dinner started. And I completely forgot FOS is thrown in their too. Last year we probably sat 200 or more and this year's roster is probably a good 25% larger than last year. We could have 250+. We added a second buffet line last year and plan to do that again to speed up serving.

 

I think the planning recommendations are very valuable. Our cubmaster is new, but well organized. This year we will get the den leaders to commit to a time schedule, as well. That is where things have gotten off track before. Though we love to give the Webelos time to say their good-byes, but perhaps we'll let them do so at their last pack meeting instead. We also have moved any adult recognition activities to the month prior's den meeting instead of B&G.

 

One year when our church was being renovated, we had to split up the Mass and the Banquet. Sometimes, I think that it might make sense to do it that way again.

 

Thanks everyone. Happy Thanksgiving!!

[FScouter 24]

The more things that get added to a Blue&Gold, the longer the event will be. I'd suggest leaving out ALL advancement and award related things. Do those at the weekly den meetings and monthly pack meeting.

[Stosh 3452]

Gee, the B/G's here are usually 3-4 hours long and no one complains. It must be just local custom. Both the packs are well bigger than 50

Cubs a piece. Both run basically the same type of banquet. 1) Gathering and socializing, 2) potluck dinner, 3) FOS during the dinner, 4) Awards and Webelos Crossover, and finally 5) the program. This program is usually a magician, animal presentation program, something like that that the boys would like.

 

We figure that people can leave at any time they wish. Those that want just a dinner, can leave right afterwards, those that have advancement can stay a bit longer and those that want to stay for the program can stay the whole time. Most of the people stay the whole time.

 

Stosh

 

 

[gtscouter 12]

A few years ago we started inviting siblings, so we have some very young kids there sometimes. I think in general the families have appreciated not having to get a babysitter, but I suppose it adds to te fatigue factor potentially.

 

I don't think I would forgo all the awards, but we'll need to work on how we streamline the process.