World Hoop Day is a global hoop happening which started on 7th July, 2007 - 07-07-07.

All around the world hoop ambassadors distributed hoops to as many people as possible with the shared goal of educating and encouraging children everywhere to adopt an active and healthy lifestyle by providing quality hula hoops and instruction.

World Hoop Day aims to reach out to children of diverse backgrounds and cultures who may be living in poverty, offering opportunities for experimentation and play and a safe arena where they can share ideas and use their imagination.

To celebrate this, the first World Hoop Day event, Hoopswhirled (Diana Defries) assisted Inner Spin (Sharna Rose) and Lighten Up Arts with a South of England World Hoop Day event at Whatman River Park in Maidstone, Kent on 7th July 2007. The event took place around the Riverstage Arena from 2pm to 8pm and was attended by a wide variety of children and adults, many of whom were new to the delights of hooping.

By the end of the day, most of the World Hoop Day hoops had been given away with some going to assist with teaching circus skills and others earmarked for hoop workshops taking place during the rest of the year.

Lighten Up Arts goals for this event were ...

To provide weighted hoops that everyone will be able to hoop with - everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, sexuality, gender.
To provide 150 hand made hoops that will be given away at the end of the day.
To provide instruction so that everybody will be able to hoop - even if they could not do so before.
To provide music so that both adults and children can relax and hoop at the same time.
To provide a memorable and groundbreaking experience for those that attend.

There were workshops for children and adults, with everyone taking away something special to commemorate the day. Workshops were:

a)	AFFIRMING YOUR STAMP A large circular piece of paper was stamped with circles radiating from the center out in a Mandala pattern using different color paint. In the centre of each circle participants wrote something affirming for their life or for another’s.
b)	MAKE HOOPY LOOPY BELTS AND BRACLETS Lots of funky tribal accessories were made from chunky off cuts of waste tubing.

World Hoop Day will be happening around the world every year until December 2012!
Next year's event will be on 8th August - watch this space for further information.

Dates to look out for are:

the vision is to have the Whole World Hooping on December 12, 2012.

Please join our hoop circle by taking part in this event in 2008 - details will be posted here soon!