Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest. Every year, craziness ensues in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. It is a fantastic time filled with debauchery. A fraternity would be foolish not to tap into this fantastic theme that has become the stuff of legend.
The set-up is quite simple. Buy a crap load of beads and give each brother a share. Sell beads at the event for $1 each. The fraternity should be able to make an easy couple hundred bucks on the party by selling beads. Be sure to give the brothers beads that are nicer and distinctive from the beads the chapter sells. You want it to be very noticeable if a guest has beads from a brother or from somewhere else.
Then, announce to everyone that at midnight that the girl with the most beads will be honored as this year’s bead queen. Explain that beads from a brother count double or triple the other beads. Put together a prize for her. A fantastic prize would be a T-shirt that says your fraternity’s name and then Bead Queen. For example, it would say 2009 Sigma Chi Bead Queen. You can make the prize as elaborate as you want, but it doesn’t really need to be extravagant.
After that, sit back and enjoy the party. Be sure to have a count down every hour to encourage people to gather beads. This will be a great time for everyone.
As always, be sure to keep the event classy. It is possible to have a good time without bringing the trashy side of Mardi Gras to your chapter house.