The limbo is a tradition for guests at the annual Caribbean SEA/TennesSEA Beach Party, which is Friday at the Bessie Smith Hall.
Save Water, Drink Rum: Caribbean Beach Party at the Bessie Smith Hall, will be held Friday starting at 7 p.m. The annual Beach Party supports Caribbean SEA (Student Environmental Alliance) programs in developing countries of the Caribbean and its sister organization, TenneSEA Kids 4 Clean Water programs in the Chattanooga area.
Friday’s event will include a Calypso band with steel drum music and Caribbean food, along with a competition for the “Best Rum Cocktail” and a Rum Tasting, courtesy of Athens Distributing.
“Our annual Beach Party is always a blast,” says organizer Mary Beth Sutton, “and this year’s title is a tongue-in-cheek reference to our very real mission – working in both the Caribbean and the southeastern United States to educate children and teachers on how they can impact water quality.”
Environmental scientist and educator Ms. Sutton founded Caribbean SEA 10 years ago to empower young people in the Caribbean countries of St. Lucia, Dominica, Belize, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Curacao and Jamaica to care about and take action to protect their water.
“In small island ecosystems, relatively minor actions can have an incredible impact,” she explains, “so these students and their teachers can lead their countries to better environmental health, which improves their economic health as well. With the right education, these students can be a force of change in their countries. They can give everyone hope for a brighter future.”
Both Caribbean SEA and TenneSEA run camps and educational programs to help children make the connection between everyday actions and water quality, Ms. Sutton says. “We teach them that while no one can do everything, everyone can do something to protect our environment. From disposing of trash properly to planting buffer zones to reduce erosion around rivers to eating more sustainable fish, everyone can do something.”
Tickets to the Beach Party are $40 in advance and $45 at the door, and are available online as well as at the Gear Closet on Cherokee Boulevard. For more information about the organization and its programs, and to purchase tickets, visit www.caribbean-sea.org.