The 11th Washington County Children’s Groundwater Festival will be held on May 17 at California University of Pennsylvania, California, PA. This year’s Festival will involve more than 850 sixth-grade students and teachers from six public and three parochial schools in Washington County.

For the 2006 Festival, the feature program will be “Water Water Everywhere,” a hilarious new show created and performed by Jack Golden. The program will cover topics on water composition, conservation, pollution and ground water quality. The feature program is one of the major components of the Festival, attended by all the sixth graders.

The California High School Drum Line, always received with enthusiasm by Festival audiences, will perform as part of the feature program. The Drum Line is directed by Frank Stetar.

All the students will also see and take part in activities at the Exhibit Hall in Hamer Hall. At least 25 exhibits are scheduled. All students will also attend two of the 17 classroom presentations that address a wide range of water-related issues.

The festival is a complicated event that requires the help of many students from California High School—52 this year. Members of the Festival’s Steering Committee and other adult volunteers will also be on hand to see that the Festival runs smoothly.

The festival is the principal project of the Groundwater Coalition Education Committee of the Washington County Watershed Alliance. Festival events will be concentrated in a small area of the campus: the Exhibit Hall in Hamer Hall; the feature program in Natali Performing Arts Center; and the classroom presentations in Keystone, Coover and Hamer Halls.

For more information contact Joan Jessen by sending email to: jjessen@pulsenet.com

5/5/2006