Coming APRIL 28, 2025, the 32nd Clean Water Celebration!
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Coming APRIL 28, 2025, the 32nd Clean Water Celebration! 〰️
2025 Details coming soon. Want to get a feel for the event? Here’s 2024:
Welcome to Sun Foundation’s
31st Clean Water Celebration!
April 22, 2024 at the Peoria Civic Center
Guide & Information
The following information is very important, please read everything carefully!
BUSES, PASSENGER VANS!
STUDENT DROP OFF AND PICK UP
ARENA ENTRANCE 2
Please have your bus driver pull into the drive off Jefferson for Drop Off and Pick Up at Arena Entrance 2. Students will be picked up at these same locations.
You should have a student leader GREETER to facilitate drop off.
ENTER through the bank of doors and head straight down the glassed walkway to the theater.
You will find CHECK IN STATIONS. right outside the theater lobby. We will have guides stationed to help direct you.
Student leader LUNCH WRANGLERS will collect your lunch bins here, placing them on carts and transporting them to LUNCH storage at Exhibit Hall C windows.
PARKING
Bus or Passenger Van Parking
The Civic Center asks that buses drop students and teachers/chaperones off at Jefferson and proceed to and park in the Peoria Civic Center Fulton Parking Lot. Please tell the driver that the attendee should simply click them in.
Our thanks go to: the American Water Charitable Foundation, Central Region Groundwater Committee, Peoria County Sustainability and Resource Conservation Program, and the Tazewell County Solid Waste Program for funding this cost.
Car Parking
If you are not arriving by bus, please note that the Civic Center graciously is providing free parking for individual vehicles in the Marquee Parking Lot.
LUNCHES
Bring or Buy and Recycle/Compost – Our Goal is Zero Waste!
You may have your students bring their lunches.
BRING
If bringing sack lunches, please collect lunches, box or bin them, and clearly LABEL the boxes or bins with the SCHOOL name and TEACHER name. The boxes or bins of lunches will be collected upon checking in, transported to and stored in the C side office area just outside of Exhibit Hall C. Just give your SCHOOL name and TEACHER name at the window when you need them.
Lunch Tables
LUNCH TABLES are located in EXHIBIT Hall C and just outside EXHIBIT Hall C in the TERRAZZO LOBBY.
There are some stationary tables on the patio outdoors near the SONAR TIDE Sculpture.
Patio has a few stationary tables.
BUY - concessions are open in hall c - CASHLESS payments only
All purchases at concessions are cashless. Last years option of purchasing a voucher is no longer available.
There are working water fountains by the elevator in the Skylight Lobby, by the Business Lounge not far from Hall C, near restrooms in all Exhibit Halls, and near restrooms by Room 203 (see Sessions Map) on the second level.
THINK ZERO WASTE - Make informed choices before you come!
We will have Waste Sorting Stations near each lunch area!
COMPOST, REUSE, RECYCLE, LANDFILL
Reduce your food waste - Leftover food? look for the Green Better Earth Logistic toters and add your food waste. It will be transported to Better Earth compost.
Reuse - Keep your own Bags and containers and Take them back with you!
Recycle - Look for our clear Stream recyclable bins and Blue buckets. simply dump any leftover liquids from your bottles in the buckets then recycle your empty bottle.
You may also recycle paper and cardboards-Get Directions for these!
Hopefully you have very little left for the Landfill
Registered Groups
CHECK -IN Station OUTSIDE THEATER
ARRIVING JUST IN TIME?
GROUPS, If you are attending the keynote session first, 9:30 or 11:00am, please proceed directly to the THEATER and begin seating your students as soon as you arrive, FILLING SEATS FROM FRONT TO BACK.
GROUPS, If you are arriving in time for your first session, please go directly to the session and report to the CHECK IN STATION or INFORMATION/REGISTRATION after your session ends.
Student LUNCH WRANGLERS will be at the CHECK IN STATION near the theater lobby entrances to collect any lunch containers and take them for storage.
ARRIVING WITH PLENTY OF TIME TO SPARE?
GROUPS, If you are not attending a keynote first and you are arriving for exhibits or sessions please check in at the CHECK IN STATION near the theater lobby entrances.
ARRIVING LATE?
GROUPS, If circumstances occur that have you arriving late, please feel free to text 309.231.7451 and we can let your session know. Upon arrival, please take advantage of the exhibits in Hall C until your schedule is on track.
Families & Individuals
CHECK-IN Station OUTSIDE THEATER
Here you can pick up a WALK IN SCHEDULE with the SESSIONS that have seating available.
Please note that both Keynote Sessions 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM have ample seating.
EXHIBITS are open to all 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM.
VIPS
VIP CHECK-IN OUTSIDE THEATER
9:30 am
EXHIBITS
Located in Hall C and open to all, no registration needed
Interactive and Cross Curricular
Meet environmental scientists, engineers, artists, youth leaders, business professionals, conservationists and discover their career paths that led them here. Engage! Explore!
BE MINDFUL! students Bring your own REusable bag for your swag!
SCHEDULES
GROUPS
In order to accommodate everyone attending, we ask that you please you to follow your group’s schedule.
Sessions are booked to fill the space available and some are at capacity! Please have supervision for each group.
Please call/text Karen Zuckerman at 309.231.7451 if you would like to request any changes or if you have questions about your group schedule. We will try to accommodate you to the best of our ability.
FAMILy, Individual
Pick up a WALK IN SCHEDULE with the SESSIONS that have seating available. Please be respectful of groups. A room schedule is posted outside each session.
Remember that both Keynote Sessions 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM have ample seating.
EXHIBITS are open to all 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM.
SENSORY FRIENDLY
There is a Sensory Friendly CALM ROOM in Room 136
on the main floor across from Exhibit Hall B
SESSIONS
Sessions are in meeting rooms on both the first and second floors
Prepare for your sessions! If you are interested in a pdf file of either the maps or the sets of questions simply email cleanwater@sunfoundation.org
STREAMS
STREAMS are an hour long and include a set of three separate 20 minute activities focusing on
Aquatic Species, Watershed Modeling & Sustainability and Conservation
Please begin at the session assigned your group and rotate through in succession.
Red and Yellow Streams are LOCATED in Exhibit Hall A.
Entrance and exit should be from the Skylight Lobby.
Blue Streams are LOCATED in Exhibit Hall B.
Entrance and exit should be from the Skylight Lobby.
PARADE OF WATERS KEYNOTE
You are invited to join the Parade of Waters to learn about watersheds and how all waters are connected.
Simply bring a few ounces of water from your nearby ground or surface water source, or your tap in a small container. Ask one student to volunteer to be the Water Keeper and bring this sample on stage during your KEYNOTE session. This representative should be seated in the reserved aisle seat of your row and will follow the Peoria High Drumline onto the stage.
Be sure to have your Water Keeper know the name of the creek or stream or river or well where you collected your sample! If tap water, be sure to know the source. We will have an interactive watershed map to pin your locations and show the path it actually takes.
On stage Water Keepers will say their school name and the source of their water sample as they pout it into our Collection water vessel representing how All Water is Connected.
Examples of water sources:
I live in Peoria by Bradley University and found that my tap water comes from Illinois American Water who pulls it from their Darst Street well. Other IAW customers' water might come from the Sankoty Aquifer or the Illinois River. I could bring my tap water and use this description.
I also live near Kickapoo Creek and could bring some water from there.
I am not far from the Illinois River and could bring a sample from the river.
If you happen to be in the exhibit hall at 12:15 follow the Peoria High Drumline to the Celebration of Waters Show and then join in on a tribute dance with Eagle Ridge and friends.
LOST AND FOUND STUDENTS AND BELONGINGS
located in the Clean Water office area outside exhibit Hall C.
If students, parents, or teachers become separated from their group or arrive at a different time, they should report to the Clean Water Information/Registration Desk outside exhibit hall C. If you should lose someone from your group, look for them there.
All lost and found materials can be claimed there. All unclaimed materials after the event closes will be turned into Peoria Civic Center Security.