Celebration Ideas

There is an ocean of opportunities for you to celebrate our ocean. Create your own unique activity or event, or market some of your existing programs to promote World Ocean Day.

Below you'll find a number of creative event and activity ideas for organizations as well as individuals. You'll also find information for coordinating with Ocean Project partners and others in your area to share the workload and resources as well as generate greater media attention and public awareness!

• Ocean festival
  Organize an open-air ocean festival featuring ocean creature touch tanks, and ocean-themed art making, music, mascots, dramatizations and information booths.
   
• Beach party
  Host a beach party, BBQ, or picnic with contests for best sea creature costume, sandcastle, and dance (to ocean themed music of course).
  Hand out ocean-themed prizes such as free kayak tours; tickets to the local aquarium, museum, or zoo ; ocean conservation t-shirts, hats, or other gear; a sustainable seafood dinner for two ; or membership to an ocean conservation organization.
   
• Sand sculpture contest
  Have a sand sculpture contest with ocean-themed prizes. Put a World Ocean Day stamp on the competition by making the sand sculptures in the shape of ocean creatures.
   
• Sea kayaking tours
  Organize a day of sea kayak tours for the local community to learn about and enjoy the ocean’s beauty.
   
• Swimming or sailing race
  Host other athletic events related to the ocean, such as a swimming or sailing race, and donate the proceeds to a conservation program or organization in your area.
   
• Road race or street parade
  Host a road race or street parade (featuring kids and adults dressed as their favorite sea creature) through town. Encourage participants to attach fun facts about their sea creature to their costumes and carry educational banners about World Ocean Day, ocean issues, and ocean conservation.
   

• Educational walk and picnic
  Sponsor a local naturalist to lead a nature walk or cruise along a nearby river, lake, or coastal area. The tour can include identifications and discussions of the aquatic wildlife and features seen and unseen along the way. Give participants lots of time for hands on exploration and include information about our ocean connection and how we can protect our blue backyard.
   
• Public lecture
  Sponsor a public lecture about the ocean by a prominent environmental leader, manager or scientist. Focus the lecture topic around this year’s World Ocean Day theme, “helping our climate – helping our ocean,” or a specific local issue of interest.
   
• Classrooms visits
  Make rounds to local schools with a fun presentation about the ocean leading up to World Ocean Day. Make it as exciting and interactive as possible by using films, music, games such as these about coral reefs or over fishing, and including outdoor activities. Visit the Bridge for additional resources and ideas.
   
• Book reading or signing
  Host a book reading and singing by local authors that have written works about the ocean. Local bookstores and book clubs should be able to give you leads on persons to contact.
   
• World Ocean Day page
  Add a Web page to your organization’s existing website with a brief write up about World Ocean Day and the connection between Climate Change and the ocean. You can include the 7C’s pledge for ocean conservation and point visitors to the Seas the Day initiative where they can get daily tips and other information for protecting the ocean.
   

• Sustainable seafood event
  Sponsor a sustainable seafood event and invite local chefs to give demonstrations and food tastings. Check out the Chiefs Collaborative for a list of "sustainable seafood chefs" in your area.
  Host a fundraising dinner featuring sustainable seafood.
   
• Aquatic cleanup
  Host a beach, river, lake, wetland, or underwater cleanup. Contact local dive and water sport shops to help organize and spread the word.
  Recruit volunteers through the media, community posters, or local youth groups. Follow the cleanup with a celebratory dinner featuring sustainable seafood!
  Get clean up volunteers to "adopt" a local beach, river, lake, wetland, or underwater area to keep clean long after your World Ocean Day clean up. Join forces with local environmental groups to help manage and provide resources to these volunteers.
   
• Tree planting
  Enhance a local river bank or shoreline with some native vegetation. Not only will this beautify the area, but it will help reduce storm water running into rivers, as well as reduce erosion.
   
• Ocean pledge
  Develop an ocean pledge tailored to your area for visitors to sign, and enter "pledgers" in a drawing to win ocean-themed prizes. Pledges can list things individuals can do to lessen their negative impact or increase their positive impact on the ocean. Wherever you are located, you can always use the 7C’s pledge for ocean conservation and contact us to request a batch of Seas the Day bookmarks with the pledge on the back to hand out to each pledger as a reminder.
   
• Raise ocean awareness at the beach
  The beach is the perfect place to raise awareness about ocean issues and conservation.
  Sponsor a World Ocean Day beach banner to raise awareness about the celebration, ocean issues, and easy actions people can take to protect the ocean. Use the World Ocean Day action poster as a guide for content.
  Organize a volunteer booth at the beach entrance with awareness and action materials, a mini aquarium or touch tank, the World Ocean Day petition, and ocean music. Contact us to request Seas the Day bookmarks, seafood wallet guides, and other free materials to distribute.
  Get a group of volunteers to round up beach goers to make large human formations in the shape of ocean creatures, and phrases such as “Protect Our World Ocean.” Invite the local media to photograph the formations or take photographs yourself and submit them along with a story about World Ocean Day and ocean conservation.
   
• Help make World Ocean Day official
  Write a letter on behalf of your organization to national representatives asking that they help support the initiative to make World Ocean Day an official international celebration. Click here for all the information you’ll need to contact your representative. We’ve created a sample letter that you can use.
  Sign your organization’s name to the international petition to the United Nations encouraging them to officially designate World Ocean Day as June 8th of each year!
   
• Raffle to benefit ocean conservation
  Host a raffle to give away ocean prizes including coupons to local sustainable seafood restaurants, a day at the local aquarium, zoo , museum, etc. with proceeds going to a conservation program.
   

• Photo and art exhibit
  Host a photo and art exhibit featuring ocean themed works by local professional artists as well as works by everyday people expressing their connection to the ocean and their concern about ocean issues.
   
• Film showing
  Screen ocean themed movies, cartoons, and documentaries with a discussion following. Check out The Ocean Project’s collection of ocean films.
   
• Writing and poetry contest
  Hold a writing and poetry contest that features stories about the ocean. Pick the winners on World Ocean Day and hold a ceremony where the winners can share their works with a crowd.
   
• Paint-off
  Sponsor a “paint-off” and invite young and old to paint ocean-themed pictures for an on-looking audience. The event can have music and snacks, and the best works (selected by the audience) could be showcased at your organization, at a local zoo , aquarium, museum, library, or other public place. Be sure to use eco -friendly paint.
   

Organize for a group of community artists to paint a mural in a popular public place in honor of the ocean. The mural could feature a few easy actions people could take to protect the ocean.
 

• Kids art contest
  Host a kids art contest with fun prizes, such as a behind-the-scenes tour of your organization (if an aquarium, zoo , or nature museum). Here are some great ideas for kids ocean art projects. Remember to use eco -friendly art supplies, including recycled materials as much as possible.
   
• Sleepover at the aquarium
  Have a special aquarium sleepover so kids can watch the ocean creatures at night.
   
• Ocean stories
  Have a professional storyteller come to your location and tell stories related to the ocean. If you cannot find a professional then have children bring in their favorite ocean stories and have a parent or staff volunteer read them to everyone.
   
• Treasure hunt
  Have an ocean scavenger or treasure hunt with many small ocean themed prizes such as T-shirts, bookmarks, aquarium passes, etc. Consider providing maps that have fun ocean related facts on them.
   

• Take the 7C's Pledge for Ocean Conservation
   
• Commit to making a real difference
  Aim to be carbon neutral by reducing and offsetting your energy consumption.
   
• Conserve in your home
  Upgrade to Energy Star appliances and compact fluorescent light bulbs.
   
• Consume consciously
  Rethink what you need, purchase "green" products, buy locally grown foods, and buy sustainable seafood.
   
• Communicate your interests and concerns
  Let your friends, family, colleagues, and the local media know about the impact of climate change on the ocean.
   
• Challenge yourself daily
  Walk, bike, carpool, and take public transportation to cut down your coral-reef harming carbon emissions.
   
• Connect in your community
  Get active as a volunteer with a local watershed or ocean group.
   
• Celebrate our ocean!
  Take part in a World Ocean Day activity near you or plan your own.
   
• Speak out for the ocean
  Write a letter to your local newspaper editor promoting World Ocean Day. We have provided a sample letter for you.
  Write a letter to your local representative asking them to take action to make World Ocean Day an official celebration in your town or country. We have provided a sample letter for you.
   
• Help clean up the ocean
  Get a friend or family member to join you for a clean up of a nearby river bank, shoreline, or beach. After your cleanup enjoy the day at the river bank or beach.
   
• Sign the World Ocean Day petition
  Join thousands around the world who have already signed the petition to the United Nations to make World Ocean Day an officially recognized international celebration.
   

• Local environmental groups
  Invite local environmental organizations to set up booths at your event.
   
• Schools, universities, and community clubs
  A great source for event participants and volunteers.
   
• State and local officials
  Invite your mayor or other elected official to attend your event and give a speech. This is a great way to attract media and public attention.
   
• Ocean Project Partners in your area
  Many Ocean Project partners will be planning World Ocean Day activities over the coming weeks. Find a partner near you and see if they are willing to merge ideas and resources.
   
• Connect in your watershed with other communities
  The ocean and ocean issues know no boundaries. Feel free to link up with organizations in another community - coastal or inland - nearby or far away - to collaborate on celebrating World Ocean Day with the common or connected awareness activity or conservation action project.
  For example, a coastal community might want to connect with a community up river to organize activities to draw awareness to pollution flowing through the watershed and into the ocean.