Better Beach Bash Family Fun Day Announced for Holiday Weekend
SHREVEPORT, La., July 1, 2014 – Local group Bayou to Bay Watershed Education Project will host its 2nd Annual Hamel’s Better Beach Bash from 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 5, 2014 with River Rocks Life, the Rainforest Art Foundation and Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center. This family-friendly fundraising event will be free to the public with a suggested $1 or more donation, and will include water and art related activities to improve Hamel’s beach, located at Charles & Marie Hamel Memorial Park, Clyde Fant Pkwy, between Preston Ave. and E. 70th St. (LA 511).
The morning will begin with registration at 9 a.m., followed by a group effort to cleanup litter on the beach at 9:30. Trash that has been collected from past cleanups and cleaned will be used for children to create animal art that will be turned into a themed collage led by Rebekah White of the Rainforest Art Foundation.
The rest of the morning will be filled with water playtime, including standup paddleboarding, canoeing and kayaking. Canoes and kayaks will be provided by Bayou to Bay. Area paddling enthusiasts will provide water safety education and instruction. Courtney Thibault owner of Louisiana Yoga and Paddle in Ruston will be on-site to provide paddleboards and instruction. Water and lavatory services will be provided. Food trucks will be available for lunch on-site.
In addition, a memorial honoring the death of six teens that drowned in the area in 2010 will be held at 9:30 a.m.
The mission of Bayou to Bay (B2B) is to improve the health of children and waterways through education, action, and play. B2B team members work to provide watershed education to community members, reconnect children to the waterways, and raise awareness of and increase positive action in watersheds.
The aim of River Rocks Life (RRL) is to encourage the enjoyment of nature through outdoor skills development. RRL seeks to partner with local and national paddling, conservation, and outdoor groups. RRL is a program of Rainforest Art Foundation to increase appreciation of nature through alpine and aquatic arts, and its current goal is to save the swimming pool at the Rainforest Art Foundation located at 710 Travis Street to be a rock climbing and whitewater training center. The former YWCA building is currently under renovation as the Foundation prepares to open its doors this winter with the mission to increase the appreciation of nature through art.
Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center, voted the 2012 Attraction of the Year by the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association, is a 92,000 square-foot science and entertainment center featuring 290 hands-on exhibits, 70 interactive programs and demonstrations, a Space Center and Space Dome Planetarium, IMAX Dome Theatre, gift shop and café. Sci-Port is a member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers; a LA Space Consortium member and is recognized by Parents magazine as one of the nation’s ten best science centers. The Center is located at 820 Clyde Fant Parkway on the downtown Shreveport riverfront. For information regarding hours, IMAX showings or special programs, call (318) 424-3466, toll free at (877) 724-7678 or visit sciport.org.
To learn more about the Bayou to Bay Watershed Education Project, visit www.bayoutobay.org. To learn more about the Rainforest Art Foundation and River Rocks Life, visit www.rainforestartfoundation.org.
Contact:
Iris MacLean
Public Relations Intern
Rainforest Art Foundation
(318) 840-5213
irisrainforestart@gmail.com
Karen Wissing
Senior PR & Marketing Manager
Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center
(318) 424-8678
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Teaming up to promote reusable water bottles for a better environment!
Left to right-Michele McKee of Sci-Port, Dionne Procell of B2B, Rebekah White of RAF, Dr. Brian Lusk, Stephanie Lusk of RAF, Iris MacLean of RAF, Rafael Doolittle of RAF, and Jon Soul of B2B