A Western Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet - Anders Ruff Custom Designs, LLC

Yeehaw! Jen Carver here from Banner Events. In February, Cub Scouts around the country celebrated the birth of scouting with a Blue and Gold Banquet! As a volunteer with my local Cub Scout Pack, I worked with other leaders to design and style a rootin’ tootin’ good time for Cubs and their families. A western style menu was served, followed by fun entertainment (country music performance, line dancing, pie eating contest, skits, pony races + more), awards and dessert! Kick up your cowboy boots and check out the details of our western themed Blue and Gold Banquet captured by photographer, Rochelle Pettingill. You can read more about the event and where we sourced all items for the banquet after the event photos.

Some of my favorite details from this Western Themed Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet are:

– Custom 3-tiered western inspired cake centerpiece by 4 Kids Cakes
– Oversized self-standing jail and stable props from Shindigz.
– Faux jean pocket utensil holder
– Printable western themed signage and party décor by Anders Ruff Custom Designs.
– Blue jeans and bandanas tableware from Partycheap.com

Take a peek at more western party ideas:
– A Western Cowboy and Cowgirl Party
– Yee Haw! A Western Cowboy Party
– A Western Cowboy Party

A Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet is supposed to be loads of fun. We chose a western theme because of all of the boy and family-friendly activities we could do. We began building excitement by sending each Cub Scout a “WANTED” style western themed invitation designed by Anders Ruff Custom Designs and printed by Driftwood Printing. This set the tone for our event. Guests were encouraged to giddy up on over dressed up in their favorite cowboy/western wear!

Prior to the event, the boys were outfitted in cowboy hats and bandanas and had WANTED style photos taken. We had the pictures printed (Driftwood Printing) and attached them to authentic looking WANTED posters from Party Cheap. Along with a bandana print inspired “Happy Birthday” sign (remember, we were celebrating the birthday of Cub Scouting), the posters made an impressive backdrop for the podium where our Cubmaster emcee would be conducting this hoe down. The podium area was also decorated with stuffed money bags and gold bars, all from Party Cheap. The money bags were filled with various crowd participation activity cards that our Cubmaster pulled out all evening long to keep our audience engaged and the whoopin’ and hollerin’ game strong. Boot trophies (Oriental Trading Company) were proudly displayed. These were awarded to the top winners of our pie eating contest and pony races!

Upon arrival, Cub Scouts were invited to don cowboy hats and bandanas from Oriental Trading Company. Their horses–paper bag ponies they had made in a previous Pack activity– were saddled up next to a makeshift pallet fence. While everyone was arriving, guests enjoyed a country music performance by a friend of the Pack, Amy Daves, and got their photos taken with our WANTED poster photo op (Party Cheap).

Our event was hosted in a church gym, which is a big space to decorate. We were thrilled to have amazing life-sized props from Shindigz to help create the western environment we wanted to provide. Their 3-D jail, stable arch and split rail fence posts were perfect! The jail added a comic relief element to the night as various attendees were called up to perform a challenge or “go to jail”. Each attendee was given a raffle ticket which entered them in the running for these fun challenges.

We added a variety of western props as decorations–bales of hay, lanterns (Shindigz), longhorn skulls, pennant flags (Party Cheap), ripped bandana (Oriental Trading) garlands, and even a real saddle.

Dining tables were set in a country-loving blue jeans and bandanas style. Tablecloths from Wholesale Event Solutions provided a clean foundation. To them, we added burlap table runners from Koyal Wholesale and a combination of Mason jar or lantern centerpieces. Mason jars were filled with artificial flowers and wrapped up in a bandana. Both centerpiece versions had cow print helium balloons (Shindigz) attached to them. Mini hay bales, cowboy hats and faux barbed wire Oriental Trading Company, were paired with tin buckets filled with the raffle tickets for each table. Bandana and blue jeans plates, cups and napkins from Party Cheap really helped tie together the look. We created jean pocket inspired cutlery holders from jean print wrapping paper. The wooden cutlery from Koyal Wholesale looked amazing tucked inside, and really accomplished the rustic look we were shooting for. Cups could be filled with root beer from our rustic watering hole, or attendees could enjoy Wild West “Cub Scouts Water”. (Don’t those printable labels from Anders Ruff just add so much fun to an ordinary bottle of water?)

While not photographed, we served up a delicious menu of bbq pulled pork sandwiches, corn bread muffins and honey butter, chips and homemade salsa.

Cub Scouts love desserts! We set up two different dessert stations to fill their need for sugar. The first area was the potluck pie station. Cub Scout families brought their favorite pies to share with the Pack. We kept the table simple with a ruffle burlap table skirt (Shindigz) and self-serve plates & utensils displayed in metal pails. The table centerpiece included a bouquet of amazing cookies baked and packaged by Creating Awesomenessity! The detailed icing designs were incredible!

Our main dessert table was quick and easy to put together using faux wood panel butcher paper from the local craft store. We added a framed printable poster from the Anders Ruff collection and dressed up the backdrop with a ripped fabric garland made from bandanas. We attached another ruffled burlap table skirt to this table to tie it to the pie table. The obvious focal point of the table was the 3 tiered cake by 4 Kids Cakes. Talk about awesome! Each tier is adorable, but I think my favorite element has to be the belt buckle with the “C” for Cub Scouts! Cupcakes with printable toppers were styled on red cake stands. More impressive cookies from Creating Awesomenessity were housed in metal milk cans on each side of the table. Rice Krispy treats were decorated with licorice strings to look like hay bales. Wood rounds and ceramic cows added to the rustic look.

Close by, the watering hole I referred to earlier was ready for thirsty cowboys! Made out of old wood pallets by the Pecheos family, it was the perfect spot to display our root beer barrel–one of my favorite Oriental Trading finds! Guests filled and refilled their cups with root beer throughout the night.

There were a few traditional Cub Scout elements included in our Blue and Gold Banquet, including a flag ceremony, skits performed by each den and rank advancement awards as well as other achievements presented to each boy. Leaders were presented with a small token of appreciation for their volunteer service. Bandana print bags filled with mini candy bars were gifted to each Cub volunteer. It was a really fun night and a fantastic celebration of Cub Scouting. We are so appreciative all the support we received for this amazing leadership and service promoting organization. We can’t wait to saddle up for some more western fun!

Vendor Credits:
– Event Design and Styling: Jennifer Carver of Banner Events
– Photography: Rochelle Pettingill
– Western Invitation & Party Printables: Anders Ruff Custom Designs
– Printing (large & small format): Driftwood Printing
– Custom Cake Centerpiece: 4 Kids Cakes
– Old West Jail Standee, Western Ranch (stable) Standee, Split Rail Fence, Lantern, Cow Print Balloons, Tiered Ruffle Burlap Table Skirts: Shindigz
– 120″ Round Tablecloths: Wholesale Event Solutions
– Burlap Table Runners, Wooden Cutlery: Koyal Wholesale
– Cowboy Hats, Bandanas, Steerhead Wall Decorations, Mini Hay Bales, Barrel Drink Dispenser, Cow Print Straws, Boot trophies, Red Bandana Gift Bags, Rusty Barbwire Cord : Oriental Trading Company
–Red bandana Pennant Banner, Bandana and Blue Jeans Plates, Cups & Napkins, Longhorn Steer Head, Wagon Wheels, Western Wanted Signs, Western Wanted Photo Fun Frame, Money Bags, Gold Bar Favor Boxes, : Party Cheap
– Custom Sugar Cookies: Creating Awesomenessity