How to plan a class or family reunion in Hutchinson on a volunteer budget.

A reunion venue in Hutchinson, KS does not have to eat the whole budget. Our main hall at SandHills Event Center rents by the day, $595 on a weekday or $999 on a Saturday, and seats up to 300. Split that across a class of paying guests and the room costs less than a sandwich per person.

Most reunions are run by a volunteer committee with a group text and a spreadsheet. This guide is for that committee.

The committee timeline, 6 to 9 months out

• 9 months: Pick three to five people. Agree on the weekend. Start the classmate list from the yearbook and social media. Book the venue. If you want State Fair week, do this step first.
• 6 months: Set the ticket price (math below). Open a way to collect money. Send the first announcement.
• 4 months: Decide on food. Ask classmates for slideshow photos. Decide on the A/V package and the dance floor.
• 2 months: Second push for ticket sales. Order name tags. Start the memory table list.
• 14 days: Rental balance is due. Give the caterer or restaurant a final count.
• Week of: Print the run sheet. Watch for the door code email.

Why State Fair week works for a class reunion in Hutchinson, Kansas

Hutchinson hosts the Kansas State Fair every September. Classmates who moved away often come home for it anyway, so a Friday or Saturday that week saves them a second trip.

The trade-off is that the town is busy that week. Book the venue before anything else on the list above. Our booking page shows live availability, and a $150 refundable deposit holds the date. If State Fair week is gone, the weekends on either side work well too.

How to size the room

Our main hall is 50′ × 70′, about 3,500 square feet, with a max occupancy of 300. Every rental includes 22 round tables that seat 8, 22 six-foot banquet tables, 250 black chairs and the 25′ × 16′ built-in stage.

• Seated dinner, up to 176: Rounds of 8. People can see each other, and tables mix on their own. 22 rounds seat 176.
• Casual night, any size: Set 10 to 12 rounds around the edges, leave the middle open and put food on banquet tables along one wall. Guests move around.
• Near 300: Use the banquet tables too, and tell us your count when you book. Our floor plan post has layouts drawn to scale.

Budget math per person

Rentals are by the day, so the venue is a fixed number you divide by heads. Kansas sales tax of 8.25% is added to the invoice.

The A/V package is $149 for the sound system, wireless mics and a drop-down screen. For a reunion that is the slideshow and the toasts. The 20′ × 20′ dance floor is $395; skip it if your class would rather talk. Set-up and tear-down by our team is $249, or the committee can do it for free. Full rates are on our rental page.

Setting the ticket price: Saturday with A/V and the dance floor is $1,543, about $1,670 with tax. At 120 paying guests, that is $14 a head for the room. Add the per-person food cost, a few dollars for name tags and no-shows, and round up. Set a sales deadline two weeks before the rental balance is due, which is 14 days before the event.

Food without a big bill

We have no vendor restrictions, so the committee picks the level of effort.

• Potluck: Cheapest. The prep kitchen has a fridge and freezer, a stove, a microwave and two commercial coffee pots, so dishes stay cold or get warmed on site.
• Restaurant trays: Pick them up in the afternoon and serve on the banquet tables. Easy to budget per head.
• A caterer: Least work on the day. Sunflower Supper Club in Hutchinson is our preferred caterer, never required. More in our caterer post.

You can bring your own bar, within Kansas law and our rental terms.

Name tags and the memory table

Name tags are not optional. Print the senior photo large, the first name larger, and the maiden name under it. Hand them out at a table by the door with a sign-in sheet.

A memory table for classmates who have passed goes near the entrance, not beside the dance floor. Use framed photos and enclosed candles only; no open flames. Hang the class banner from stands, since nails, screws, staples and damaging tape are not allowed.

A simple day-of run sheet

Setup and clean-up happen inside your rental day. A Saturday might look like this.

• 10:00 Committee arrives with the door code. Tables and chairs go out.
• 12:00 Linens, memory table, banner. Test the slideshow and the mics.
• 3:00 Food arrives or goes in the fridge. Check the thermostat and Wi-Fi against the Event Day Guide.
• 5:30 Name tag table staffed. Music on low.
• 6:30 Eat. Keep the welcome to two minutes.
• 8:00 Slideshow, a few words, class photo on the stage. Then dancing or visiting until you call it.
• Last hour Trash out, kitchen wiped, tables stacked, clean-up list done, lock up.

The family reunion version

A family reunion venue in Hutchinson usually needs more than one evening. Our weekend package is $1,899 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Set up Friday afternoon, hold the big meal and the photo Saturday, and use Sunday morning for breakfast and clean-up. Split across 80 relatives, that is $23.74 a person for three days in an event center in Hutchinson, KS with a kitchen, free parking and a ground-level entrance.

Book your date on our request-a-date page, or call or text (620) 314-4141 with questions. We are glad to talk through table counts before you commit.