Social organizations became involved in the Hong Kong Festival in response to invitation by the various Festival committees, and judging from the large number of organizations which did participate, the degree of support was undoubtedly considerable. Local-level support came from kaifong associations, schools and welfare agencies; there were many non locality-based organizations which were even more varied in nature. The majority of them were music or sports groups; youth service organizations such as the YMCA, Federation of Youth, Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs and Associations, Boy Scouts organized activities for young people; hobby groups offered their specialized activities; social welfare agencies took activities to children and old people; uniform groups such as the Civil Aid Service and St. John’s Ambulance helped to keep order during activities and provided first aid where required.

More traditional organizations such as native place associations and the Hong Kong Council of Women also played a part. For example, the Chiuchow associations organized Chiuchow Opera; Chung Shan District Association held Cantonese Opera Night; members of the Council of Women performed Cantonese operatic songs and organized cooking contests. In the rural areas, the rural committee members of each district, village assembly and village mutual aid societies also took part; their activities were more traditional, such as procession of lanterns, or holding variety show and photo exhibitions in schools.

The meaning of the participation of such organizations is two-fold. On one level, they could use the opportunity to let more people know about their activities. On another level, the government also utilized the expertise and resources of these organizations to cater to the wide range of taste and interest of the general population. In fact, the government also exploited the networks these organizations commanded to encourage their members to take part in the Festival.