We were looking for a summertime fun night the youth would definitely remember. I had seen the popularity of the Color Run events on Facebook and thought it looked like a lot of fun, so we wondered how we could convert this to a youth ministry event. Then on a twitter search for #youthmin ideas I came across this post from middle school ministry about color wars. We made our own plan and It turned out to be one of our favorite and most talked about events so far. Photos on Flickr.com/wmumcimpact
Here’s how we did it.
1. Order the color run powder.
We contacted hippiepowder.com and placed our order. We ordered 50 one pound bags in 5 different colors. They recommend 1/2 lb per person, we used less than half of ours for 35 people.
2. Dispense the powder into socks.
Use a measuring cup and pour the powder into a sock, tie it off and then cut off any excess. White cotton socks work great!
3. Plan your games –
We decided to go with a few organized games and then the free for all color powder extravaganza.
– Over Under – Divide your group into lines of 10 or 15 (depending on size). The first person in each line starts with a color powder sock. They put it over their shoulder to the person behind them, that person puts it under their legs to the person behind them and so forth. When the last person gets the sock they run to the front of the line, change their sock for a different color and start the process over. When the person who started is back at the front of the line, the game is over.
– Egg Toss – Have everyone pair off with a partner. Partners line up in two lines facing each other. On go, they toss their “egg” color powder sock to their teammate. Then each line takes a step back and you repeat the process. If a team misses the “egg” they are out. Play till you have one pair remaining. You can always have the groups switch socks with someone next to them so they get a variety of colors.
– Free for All – I’ll be honest this was supposed to be capture the flag, but I think we had more fun this way. While the youth were getting instructions on the boundaries and rules, a volunteer placed all of the color powder socks in the field. Then our group lined up, I said GO! and insanity ensued. No teams, no one got out, just color flying everywhere!
Oh… And WeTie Dyed Shirts…
Instead of using the powder to color shirts we decided to go a more permanent route and have the youth tie dye shirts. We ordered white shirts with white printing on the front and back. The youth then had time to tie dye their own shirts however they wanted. When finishd the white print was lighter and showed through the color onto the shirts.
Note about Cleanup –
Clean up was fairly easy. We used a leaf blower to blow off any excess powder from ourselves and clothes. The color washed off easily for the most part from skin and clothing. However I would still suggest wearing clothes that can be messed up. The powder in the grass will wash away with the first rain, but was barely noticeable even when the event was over.
This was a great event we will definitely plan to do again!
How much powder did you put in each sock?
I’d estimate maybe a cup and a half or a little more.. Depending on the sock. Think about the weight of a large water balloon. We just used a funnel and a scoop to put it in. You can always untie the sock and add more if needed.