Earth Champs Festivals

One way to experience what Earth Champs is about and to inform the community is to hold an Earth Champs Festival. They can be affiliated with other events such as Earth Day activities.

Purpose: The purpose of an Earth Champs Festival is to introduce parents and children in the community to the Earth Champs experience with hands-on children’s activities that fulfill the Earth Charter’s principles for respect for nature, economic justice, human rights and a culture of peace. It is hoped that the experience will generate participants’ excitement and engagement in Earth Champs either through hosting an Earth Champs group or becoming an Earth Champs Family. It is also a good way for the festival organizer to connect with other Earth Champs minded families in his/her community.

Where can they be held? Earth Champs Festivals can be stand-alone events or held in conjunction with other aligned events such as those for children, the environment or your faith community. In Tampa, Florida, Festivals have been hosted in conjunction with the annual Earth Charter Community Summits as well as a part of a community wide children’s festival known as Kaleidoscope.
Community centers and places of worship often provide free space for the festivals. In Tampa, the festivals, along with the annual Earth Charter Community Summits, have been hosted by the local community college. Local museums especially those that focus on children have also been willing to provide space for an Earth Champs Festival. The museums have also helped market the Earth Champs Festival to their usual group of visitors.

Publicity: Publicity can be self-generated via email lists and flyers distributed to local businesses, schools, and organizations. It is easier to get publicity for the festival when it is part of another event or is being hosted by a larger organization like a school, church, temple or mosque. Local entertainers who already are known and appreciated by children have also been willing to perform at the festivals, and, of course, they attract their own audiences.