Many of us have come to see the people around us in a new light during 2020. Maybe you went for more local walks with your family. Maybe you dropped off food or essentials to elderly neighbors. 

COVID-19 has reminded us how essential community is. And as a financial institution, it's now more important than ever to stay connected with your community. It’s good for business, sure, but it’s good for people, too.

Public events bring people closer together and foster community pride. Here are our five favorite ideas for exciting in-person events you can host for your customers and adapt for social distancing. Even the best suggestions paired with perfect planning are no substitute for following up-to-date CDC guidance, so use your discretion as situations change. 

Treasure hunts aren’t only for kids. Adults can have fun poking around their local areas in search of hidden treasures — especially if there’s a prize to be won — either with or without kids in tow. 

Map out an area where you’ll hide your clues, pick a theme, and decide on a day and a time frame for your event. Now find your volunteers who’ll place objects in your chosen outdoor hiding spots. An organized database of volunteers makes it easy to know whose neighborhood this is and who enjoys outdoor adventures. 

Invite your guests to register for the event in advance, and split them into teams of three or four, with one leader. Keeping groups small so everyone can talk with each other while still comfortably keeping distance. 

Have your volunteers attach a piece of paper with a “clue” on it to each item. Look for hiding spots to stash the clues in patches of grass or where you can attach your treasures to tree trunks or telephone poles. You’ll want to stick to public areas unless you have residents’ permission, and stay mindful of traffic. 

After players find the mystery objects and write the clues down on their sheet, they can rearrange them to reveal an elaborate message. The first team to decipher the message and bring it back to base wins a prize! 

Drive-in movies allow for a communal experience while helping people keep their distance. Sharing car space with members of your household is a safe alternative to staying at home. 

You'll need a vacant parking lot — or existing drive-in movie theatre — and a large screen, a method of projecting, and outdoor speakers that can reach every corner of your venue. 

Try taking an interactive poll on Facebook with some predefined options, so the community can vote on which two or three movies they'd most like to see. (Don’t forget to get permission to show the movies in public!)

Share a program online with your schedule, including which movies you’ll be showing and when. Ask guests to book their parking spot in advance, so you’ll know when your event has reached full capacity. 

Viewers will probably roll down their windows to hear the movie and may end up squeezing past one another if they need to leave their cars. To maintain appropriate distance, map out plots for each car. You can organize your volunteers beforehand, too, to be sure to have enough help on hand to direct people where to park and answer any questions.

Image credit: Михаил Павленко at Unsplash

No matter how different our social lives seem in the midst of a pandemic, nature is dependable. A tree-planting class is a great opportunity to give back to Mother Earth. 

Get in touch with your local conservation association to see if any tree-planting initiatives nearby need volunteers. If your customers are in a city, seek out projects to give rooftops green makeovers. 

Hire a class leader to provide instructions, from a safe distance, on how to prepare and plant the trees into the soil. Encourage your guests to register in advance, and be sure you have enough volunteers to make sure tools, such as gloves, spades, and tree ties, are disinfected before and after the class. 

Set up work stations with all the tools each guest needs before they arrive to minimize items being passed around and clusters of people. Require mandatory mask-wearing, just in case. 

The benefits of physical activity are indisputable. And pushing people out of their comfort zone can offer a welcome change from the regular day-to-day. Thankfully, the gym isn't the only place your customers can try out a new physical activity.

Organize beginner sessions in separate areas of your local park, each with a teacher leading the class. Demarcate clear and well-spaced areas for each participant with a yoga mat and some ropes.

Guests can register in advance, and when they arrive for their activity, volunteers can check names off the pre-booking list. Arrange activities like yoga, Tai Chi, Zumba, or a fitness boot camp. These are all ideal for socially distancing, as customers remain within their own bubble and don’t need to interact closely with others. 

Image credit: Pixabay at Pexels

What better way to bring a community together than with a fair? Of course, a fair with social distancing measures in place will look quite different. 

During colder weather, you may be able to host the fair in a park with heating lamps, or inside large marquees with more than enough room. You’ll have to forego the usual seller stalls where people gather. Instead, try an itinerary of larger live performances to keep visitors safe and entertained for hours. 

Encourage guests to stay with the group they arrived with and to stay well-spaced from others. Promote social distancing by setting up large audience areas with small clusters of fixed chairs. 

Hold a talent competition where a casual hand-raising system and rough guessing determines winners and losers. Set up wine-tasting booths, where each guest brings their own glass and replenishes it from a regularly disinfected selection of bottles available at each table. 

Schedule local live music acts to perform throughout your event. Book artists to collaboratively or individually work on a live art piece in front of an audience. 

Set up pre-booking, limit the maximum number of guests at the fair, and require masks. 

From a purely business perspective, events create networking opportunities and increase the visibility of your brand. But giving people an opportunity to connect with their community during a year of isolation can also be a great way to boost morale.

Your customers' safety is paramount. There are ways to host in-person events and adhere to social distancing too. They just demand greater vigilance, a little creativity, and a lot of planning. 

Learn how Kadince's Event Management Software for financial institutions can help streamline your event-planning and lessen the challenge of keeping your community both safe and engaged.