It's festival season! Music lovers everywhere are gearing up to throw on their favorite festival outfits and sing along with their favorite artists. While you're planning for the crowd surge and creating a special playlist for the weekend, you may be wondering what you can do to get in on the action.

As a bar, you might think these festivals are taking some of your customers away. It's actually quite the opposite. Festivals can help increase business in communities and attract tourists. If you own a bar, restaurant, or nightclub in the area, you can capitalize on this entertaining atmosphere and keep the party going at your very own establishment.

Not sure where to start? We're here to help.

Here are five bar party ideas for festival season:

1. Offer festival-inspired menus

The music, food, artists, and atmosphere are just a few reasons people love attending festivals. At every festival, there are usually themes, headliners, and more. As a bar or restaurant, you can capitalize on the theme to create your own festival-inspired menu for the week or weekend.

An advertisment for Beniform Fest tapa festival. The upper text is in Spanish and translates to "from January 27th to February 5th"
In Benidorm, Spain the local restaurants hosted their own tapas festival during a music festival to encourage festival goers to try special festival food offers.

Whether it's cocktails, food, or a limited edition menu - a festival-inspired menu will help you reconnect with festival goers and the individuals that wish they were attending that night. It's also a great way to boost revenue and gain exposure on social media. Every time a festival attendee posts your festival-inspired menu on social media, you'll gain authentic brand exposure. It's like a free advertisement for your establishment!

2. Collaborate with festival organizers

Whether it's a small festival, a food festival, or a big annual event - there's always a way to collaborate. If you connect with the festival organizers in your community, you can likely find a way to collaborate.

Whether it's offering a promotional deal for some extra marketing, you host a raffle or a giveaway, or you run a special social media promotion - these small marketing tactics can yield next-level results for your establishment.

Don't be afraid to reach out to the organizers in your community. You never know what types of opportunities will surface from that one conversation. Plus, it never hurts to ask!

3. Be the festival afterparty or the "other" party

Who says the party has to stop when the festival ends? This year, consider hosting the festival afterparty at your bar. This is a great way to invite festival goers to keep the fun going while ordering some food and drinks with their friends. You can also inspire individuals to keep the music going with an after-party-themed karaoke night. All the songs in the queue can be songs sung by the headliners.

Before the big event, we recommend creating marketing materials to hand out during the week leading up to the event. If you have the time, you can also hand out flyers while people are walking into the festivals. Don't forget to leverage social media, email marketing, and other marketing outlets.

At the end of the night, you'll have a full-fledged festival-themed karaoke night in your bar. This will help you increase revenue and help your bargain for a few new fans.

Festival after-party being hosted at a popular karaoke bar, Apollo Live Club in Helsinki. A man in a glitter suit is singing to a massive crowd.
Karaoke festival after party at Apollo Live Club

Does the music festival go pretty late? There are sure to be a ton of individuals that wish they were at the festival but couldn't make it. You can plan an entire afterparty just for those people!

4. Extend the opening hours

If there's an upcoming festival in your area, consider extending your opening and closing hours. When you open your establishment earlier than usual, you can invite festival attendees to pregame or enjoy brunch before the big festival. This will help you attract a new crowd, increase revenue, and get more eyes on your brand throughout the festival weekend.

If you plan on extending your opening hours for the festival, don't forget to market it! This will help you bring in a crowd and keep the bar top of your mind when festival goers are gearing up to go out before the big event.

Before your big day, don't forget to add signage to the windows, send emails to your loyal customers, and post on social media. This will ensure everyone knows your bar is the go-to place to be before and after the big event.

5. Provide discounts

Discounts can be an invaluable tool that helps you attract a crowd and get your brand noticed. Whether it's discounted for festival goers or catering services for festival events, these promotions can help you gain authentic brand exposure in your community. Once the festival season is over, your bar will be the go-to spot for happy hours, weekend brunch, karaoke nights, and more.

If an upcoming festival is in your area, you can post on social media or create printed promotional flyers to hand out throughout the week. So everyone knows that you're the go-to pregame spot before the fun begins.

If you have a great lineup of food and drinks you'd love to provide, you can also post about your catering services to help individuals get ready for their concert at their homes. Get creative and think outside of the box!

Throw a festival themed karaoke night with Singa

a festival themed karaoke night with Singa

As a business owner, you have a unique opportunity to market your business and bring in a crowd of festival goers with a festival party theme or any of these innovative bar entertainment ideas. Festivals are one of the funniest parts of summer and can be a tool that helps you boost your sales and get your bar noticed by a new crowd.

If you want to join in on the fun and host an afterparty at your establishment, consider Singa as your go-to karaoke resource. Our business solutions are designed to help pump up the party and keep the fun going. With our extensive library of karaoke songs and the user-friendly interface, you can feel confident that festival goers will head to your bar once the party is over.

Ready to try any of these bar party ideas? Explore our Singa Business solutions today to get started.