Annual school events

How would you call these kind of events organized by schools at the end of the year generally in June where children (6 to 12 years old) sing, dance or act?

In French we say :

"Fête annuelle de l'école"

"Kermesse de l'école"


  • Fête is also used in English to mean approximately the same thing. (England)

  • Summer Fair is also used to mean a celebration or gathering.


My first instinct would be to say "school pageant," but my vocabulary is old-fashioned and I don't really know 21st-century popular culture; "pageant" might be exactly the wrong word at this point in history. "Christmas pageants" used to be a staple of schools, but aren't so common anymore; "beauty pageants" are common and could give connotations to the word "pageant" that are horribly wrong in this context.

"Spring Program" is Kristina Lopez' recommendation for this. The term sounds vague and anodyne to my ear, but it might be a better suggestion than mine; the hearer wouldn't learn much about what the event was, but at least he or she wouldn't come out with an incorrect or embarrassing impression.

In this context, "pageant" refers (or formerly referred) to a theatrical performance or series of performances, not depicting a single story or organized into acts and scenes, probably performed by amateurs, in which the quality of the performance is much less important than the fact of participating in it. (Apparently these evolved from the medieval mystery plays.) If this isn't something exclusively theatrical, or if it has competitive elements, "pageant" is not appropriate no matter how archaic your vocabulary may be.

Note that all this is an answer in the US context; from other answers here, it sounds like "school fête" would be perfectly comprehensible in England. (And Wales, Cornwall, and Scotland? Ireland? All of Great Britain? Everywhere in the world that spells "color" with a "u"?)

(This has been edited to reflect Kristina Lopez' and Choster's comments. Thanks!)


How about "Talent Show" or "Annual Talent Show" to emphasize that it's a recurring event?