Infinite Circles Feature: World Hoop Day 2016
The greatest hoop holiday has finally circled back around- World Hoop Day! The World Hoop Day (WHD) event takes place each year on the first Saturday of October. World Hoop Day 2016 will be happening October 1st. Are you ready to spin with the whole planet? This article will take you through the history of WHD, show you the people who make the magic happen year round, and how to join the celebration yourself!
Contents
- The Story of World Hoop Day
- The People Behind World Hoop Day
- WHD Ambassador and IC Hooper
- Find Your WHD Event
- Extra!
The Story of World Hoop Day
Anne O’Keeffe dreamed of a world hoop day as early as 2005. Because of the amazing support that the hoop community is known for it became a wild success. In 2007, World Hoop Day became an official non-profit charity dedicated to spreading good health and peace through the art of hoop dance. The goals of World Hoop Days annual event are to recruit new hoopers through lessons of hoop making and dance, sharing of music, food, games, laughter, and raising funds to distribute hoops to as many individuals in the world as possible.
The People Behind World Hoop Day
From WorldHoopDay.org:
Ambassadors are the World Hoop Day representatives who transport and donate hand crafted hoops to their fellow humans. Moreover, they deliver the World Hoop Day message that through hooping, a reward of inner contentment and happiness can spiral outwards and create peace for all humanity.
WHD Ambassadors apply for funding if they are traveling to a remote area of the world where access to hoops or hoop making materials is very limited. 75% of Ambassadors are self-supporting and deliver hoops continuously on every trip they make. Some return again and again to certain countries like Haiti or Mexico to give each child, parent, and everyone in between a hoop.
They each have a passion, and a desire to improve the lives of others. Some individuals have planned a trip with organisations such as Engineers Without Borders. Other brave, bright people have been serving with the U.S. Peace Corps and want to build an even stronger, healthier community. Additionally, all Ambassadors start in their own backyard by giving hoops to local schools and organizations that foster recovery, encourage vitality and promote faith.
WHD Ambassador and IC Hooper
Christel Lautel from Marseille, France first applied to be a WHD Ambassador in 2014. This is her 3rd "WHD à Marseille", and she has been the only official Ambassador in France 3 years in a row!
The people she meets every year are always pleasantly surprised to learn about the hula hoop holiday, and love the values of solidarity, sharing, play, and philanthropy that are encompassed by the event. The kids consider her a saint with hoops, passing out the good vibes. This year Christel and her organisation Hoop de Mars have gotten lots of interest from local magazines, blogs, and even radio.
World Hoop Day is the last outdoor event of the season for Hoop de Mars and they spend all year preparing. Raising funds, making hoops, and promoting it to the people begins in late May or the first week of June. This year 65 hoops have been crafted by Christel to donate to local kids.
The first year they donated 35 hoops, the next they managed to make and wrap 45, bringing their WHD donations to a stunning total of 145 hoops. In 2017 they want to add 75 more to that figure.
Hoop de Mars has been so inspired by Annie and her work with WHD, that next year during the first Saturday of June they will be hosting France’s first International Flow Arts Day (Journée Mondial des Flow Arts). In tandem with their sister flow arts communities in the US, Europe, and Latin America. What makes this extra special for our community, is Marseille will be hosting Europe’s Capital of Sports, MPSPORT2017 (Marseille Provence Capitale Européene du Sport), thus making hooping an official European sport!
Les Marseillais have caught the hooping bug this year and Christel is preparing for the biggest turnout to date!
Find Your WHD Event
Celebrating WHD is easy, you just need a hoop! But chances are high that hoopers in your community are taking this opportunity to gather and spread the message of peace, unity, and fundraise for the people who need it most.
Search “World Hoop Day” + your country, state, or city on Facebook or Google to find all related events and groups. Contact the organizer, and find out how to join them. You’ll be able to attend workshops and performances, buy hoops, donate, dance, play, and eat!
Now that you are all informed, be sure to tell Infinite Circles what you are planning to do for World Hoop Day 2016! We love hearing from the community and we love doing follow up articles.