Cullman County Water Festival
In 1997 the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) granted the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) seed money to organize Alabama’s First Water Festival. Because the Festival was such a great success, other counties now host water festivals in their communities. In 2003, the First Annual Cullman County Water Festival was hosted by the Cullman County Water Systems. It is a great opportunity to educate children and communities about all aspects of water and other related natural resources and how to protect it and keep it clean for future generations. Through hands-on activities the students learn about the role water plays in the environment. In addition, they learn about their drinking water, where it comes from and how to keep it clean as well as the importance of water to all life and the effects of human actions on the quality of water.
The Festival is offered to fourth grade students and teachers and is a one-day free event. Each class participates in three hands-on water activities and attends an exciting magic show by an environmental magician. A t-shirt design contest is open to all students attending. The winning student’s design appears on the printed t-shirt and they receive a $100 savings bond. The winning student’s teacher receives a gift certificate. Every student, teacher and volunteer receives a free Water Festival t-shirt.
A Festival committee meets monthly to plan the Festival activities. It is comprised of representatives of the water systems in Cullman County and Soil and Water Conservation Districts as well as school systems. The committee raises the money needed for the Festival through local sponsorship. The sponsor who donates $200 or more will have their logo appear on the t-shirt. There are approximately 1100-1200 fourth grade students that attend the Festival. Volunteers are needed to serve in many different capacities to make the Festival a success. As a volunteer or a Gold or Silver level sponsor, you will be provided with a free lunch and most importantly, you will gain the satisfaction of contributing to make this a great day of fun and learning for the Cullman County area children. If you would like more information on how to become a sponsor or volunteer for this Festival, please contact Junior Heaton or Robin Neal at 256-775-7210.