Guy Fawkes fireworks night (stall or full display)
- Outdoor: weather matters
Either run food, drink and glow-stick stalls at an existing display, or, rarely, stage your own ticketed display with a certified pyrotechnician.
Typically raises
$1,000
$300–10,000 per eventest.
About $87 per organiser hour
Based on one stall at someone else's display
Is it right for us?
- Money
- $500–2,000
- Work
- Months
- Helpers
- 40+ people
- Lead time
- 4+ months
- Red tape
- Permits and licences
Fairly common: Guy Fawkes nights are familiar but fewer now
- People
- Stall: 6-10. Own display: 40+ volunteers plus a certified handler crew (estimate)
- Organiser time
- Stall: 8-15 hours. Own display: 150+ hours (estimate)
- Lead time
- Stall: 4-8 weeks to get a spot. Own display: 6+ months (estimate)
- Up-front cost
- $300. Stall route: food stock and glow sticks (estimate). Own display: $15,000+ for the show itself (RNZ), plus fencing, toilets, traffic management and insurance (estimate).
- Risk
- Stall: low. Own display: very high; rain, a fire ban or a pyrotechnician pulling out can cancel it after costs are committed (Tomarata School).
How it works
The money, as an example sum
Sell at $5 a person, keep $5, so 260 people = $1,300, or about $1,000 after about $300 of costs. That’s about the typical result.
Using the figures on this page. Your prices and costs will differ.
Where the money figure comes from
No NZ benchmark for net proceeds found. A stall at someone else's display is the realistic route: $300-1,500 (estimate). Full displays cost a lot: Palmerston North's council budget was $15,000-20,000 (RNZ, 2020). Tomarata School's display drew nearly 5,000 people and funded a van and computers, but was cancelled in 2025 when its pyrotechnics partner withdrew (Tomarata School). High figure is an estimate for a long-running school display.
Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.
Step by step
- Be honest about the reality: most big councils have dropped Guy Fawkes displays (Wellington in 2017, Christchurch in 2020; Auckland does not host one) (RNZ).
- Find who still runs a display near you: a council, Lions club (Kairanga Lions ran Palmerston North's for 30 years, RNZ), a school or a showground.
- Ask the organiser for a stall site: food, hot drinks, glow sticks and light-up toys sell well in the dark (estimate).
- Confirm their stall fee, power, and whether they want a share of takings.
- Buy glow sticks in bulk early; sell at a simple price like $2 or $5 (estimate).
- If you still want your own display: get quotes from a professional display company first; they hold the certificates and licences (WorkSafe).
- Then book a large venue, apply to council and Fire and Emergency, plan traffic management, toilets, fencing and first aid.
- Sell tickets in advance; Hurunui District Council's Waipara display charged $20 per family or $5 per person (Hurunui District Council).
- Set a cancellation plan with the display company for wind, rain or a fire ban.
Getting the word out
Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.
- Ask for help
- Helpers for the day or night, and local businesses for prizes.
- Ask people to buy
- People to book tickets or tables, and turn up.
- When to start
- Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 6–8 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.
Where to put it
- School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
- PostersPosters at the school gate, the clubrooms and shop windows, with the date, place, price and how to pay.
- Local Facebook pages and community groupsPost in your town’s community page and local groups (check their rules), and share from your group’s own page.
- Billboards and roadside signsYour school’s or club’s own sign by the road, a banner on the fence, or a sandwich board on the day for passers-by.
The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.
What you’ll need
- Place
- NeededA public space (park, street, beach)
- Landowner’s permission
- NeededYes, in writing
- Council permit
- NeededYes
- Food rules
- CheckNo registration if you sell food to fundraise for a good cause up to 20 times a calendar year. It must still be safe and suitable, and your council may need a stall permit
- Alcohol
- Not neededNo alcohol sold
- Gambling rules
- Not neededNot gambling
- Traffic management
- NeededA council road-closure application (often 3 months ahead) and a traffic management plan from a qualified traffic management company
- Health and safety
- NeededA written health and safety plan (councils often ask for one)
- First aid
- NeededA first aider and kit on site (recommended)
- Insurance
- NeededPublic liability cover (councils often require it)
A display needs a certified handler, a display compliance certificate and a controlled substance licence (WorkSafe), and Fire and Emergency permission; fire bans can cancel it. Retail fireworks sell only 2-5 November. The realistic route for small groups is a stall at someone else's display (upfront figure is for that route).
Make more from it
Glow sticks and light-up toys
$200-800 a night (estimate)
dark, crowded, kids with pocket money
$300-1,500 (estimate)
long wait before the show starts
Raffle drawn before the fireworks
$200-1,000 (estimate)
large captive crowd
Presenting sponsor
covers part of display cost; New World Mangawhai backed Tomarata (Tomarata School)
big crowd for local brand exposure
Stack it: on its own, about $1,000. With the 3 priced add-ons above, roughly
$3,000est.
What you can get donated
Glow-stick stock at cost; food from sponsors; for a full display, a presenting sponsor (New World Mangawhai backed Tomarata).
Tips
- A stall at an existing display carries almost no risk and needs no fireworks licence.
- Some displays move off 5 November to a Friday or Saturday; ask early (RNZ notes paid events on other November dates).
- SPCA supports controlled, notified public displays over backyard fireworks, which helps with community support (SPCA).
Watch out for
- Your own display is rarely viable for a small group: high fixed cost, strict licensing and weather risk.
- Dependence on one pyrotechnician: Tomarata's 15-year partner withdrew at short notice and the event was cancelled (Tomarata School).
- Fire bans in dry regions can be declared close to the date (Fire and Emergency).
Guy Fawkes fireworks night (stall or full display): checklist
0 of 23 done
Before
On the day
After
A display needs a certified handler, a display compliance certificate and a controlled substance licence (WorkSafe), and Fire and Emergency permission; fire bans can cancel it. Retail fireworks sell only 2-5 November. The realistic route for small groups is a stall at someone else's display (upfront figure is for that route).
* General fundraising information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Money figures are examples and estimates, not promises. Check current official requirements before you commit. About this guide