Zeeland's 1st Annual Global-Local Waterfest!!

On Saturday, September 12, Zeeland will host a new, hopefully ongoing festival celebrating water. Zeeland’s 1st Annual Global-Local Water Festival will serve to invite the public to beautiful downtown Zeeland for a fun day of carnival games, prizes, live music, and education about groups that work to provide safe drinking water to the 884 million people around the world who still lack it.

The details and facts regarding the world's undrinkable water, while becoming more and more publicized in the media today, are still largely lost on most people. Consider the following:

. Over 1.8 million children under the age of 5 die each year from chronic diarrhea. (Source: World Health Organization).
. More than 4 million people die each year from diseases related to lack of good hygiene and clean water.
. In the past 10 years, diarrhea has killed more children than all the people lost to armed conflict since World War II.
. Safe drinking water in an impoverished region can save lives, increase productivity and jump start an economy.
. The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of all diseases worldwide result from contaminated water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene.

This festival, which is a mix of small town carnival fun, concert event, and public rally, will serve to bring the community together and invite them to consider the effects of extreme poverty, and the benefits of providing people with safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

The event is organized by 30perperson.org, a new local non-profit organization, which seeks to educate the public and promote mission groups already in existence. Their name is derived from the oft repeated appeal that as little as $9 billion could provide impoverished peoples with sustainable practices of obtaining safe drinking water using water wells, rain gutters, all natural filtering technologies, and basic sanitation practices. Broken down, that number translates to a donation of just $30 from every man, woman and child living in the US.

The event is hosted and supported by many groups who will be in attendance: 30perperson.org, Aqua Clara International, Living Water International, Community Reformed Church, Ambrose Collective, Zeeland Board of Public Works, Water Missions International, Friends of Children's Village, Safe Water In Ecuador and WaterAid. Each group will have a booth which will feature an event or game for kids and takeaway items for parents. This festival marks the first time these groups are working together to host a fun family-friendly event. There will be representatives from each organization speaking briefly in between 8 musical sets from 9am to 3pm. A community drum circle will follow.

The festival is also looking to promote the local businessman as well. With Michigan's unemployment now over 15%, many families are not thinking about what charities their extra money will go to. Encouraging individuals and communities to promote local businesses, services and products helps keep money in Michigan, thus helping to keep jobs within the state. In between the event's eight different music sets, different business owners from the community will introduce themselves and share their gratitude to local shoppers.

Live bands and musicians include Paucity, Left in Berlin, Acoustic Waves, Big Dudee Roo and the Raptors, Mixmatch, Zachary Graft and more.

The event will be on Saturday, September 12, 9am-3pm, on Elm Street between Main Ave and Cherry St in downtown Zeeland. For more information, please email 30perperson@gmail.com

Readers of this release are invited to visit the websites of the following organizations for more information about global water issues;

Aqua Clara International: aquaclara.org
Water Missions International: watermissions.org
WaterAid: wateraidamerica.org
Living Water International: water.cc
onedollarwater.com
30perperson.org

For more information contact Dennis Nagelkirk 30perperson@gmail.com