7th Annual Orange County Canstruction® Competition during Festival of Children® at South Coast Plaza
COSTA MESA, CA (AUGUST 29, 2014) – Tonight, nineteen local architectural, engineering, planning, and design teams will gather at South Coast Plaza for the annual Canstruction design-build competition, in partnership with the South Coast Plaza, OC Food Bank, and the Festival of Children.
Starting this Labor Day weekend and continuing through September 28th, Canstruction OC will have nineteen structures present throughout South Coast Plaza in conjunction with the Festival of Children.Teams have just twelve hours to create phenomenal structures built entirely out of canned food, all of which is donated to the OC Food Bank at the completion of the exhibition.
Canstruction is using ‘one can’ as a catalyst for change to support the 400,000 food-insecure Orange County residents. In 2013, the event collected 48,741 pounds of food and along with donations provided more than 120,000 meals to the OC Food Bank, demonstrating that we can win the fight against hunger in Orange County.“In addition to collecting cans of food that will provide meals to thousands of hungry families in Orange County, Canstruction just as importantly raises awareness about the issue of hunger to over a million shoppers who will see the structures while they are on exhibit,” notes Mark Lowry, Director of the OC Food Bank. The star of last year’s build was KGTY’s “Wishing Away Hunger” Genie inspired by Disney’s Aladdin, which won one of only six awards at the 2013 International Canstruction Competition.
While structures are judged by categories such as Best Use of Labels, Structural Ingenuity, and Best Meal, this year, Canstruction viewers can vote on their favorite sculptures for the People’s Choice Award. Awards will be given out at the “Can-Do Celebration” on September 11, 2014 at PIRCH (3303 Hyland Ave, Costa Mesa), one of this year’s major presenting sponsors. The Celebration is a great opportunity for community-minded individuals to network and celebrate Orange County’s progress in the fight to end hunger and poverty. “Many people do not think Orange County is a place with thousands of struggling children, families, and seniors,” said Orange County Canstruction Event Co-Chair, Betsy Nickless, “With the economic challenges that we have been experiencing over the last couple of years, the number of individuals who are food insecure only continues to rise, and Canstruction has a plan to do something about it!”
During each weekend in September, South Coast Plaza visitors will also benefit from the Festival of Children’s events to learn about child-focused charitable groups. Activities include arts and crafts, singing and dance performances, and much more. This September is special as Orange County also celebrates National Child Awareness Month (NCAM). NCAM is an effort led by Festival of Children Foundation to focus the attention of our nation on the most critical issues facing children today.“Canstruction OC is a wonderful complement to Festival of Children. The canned food structures are a creative way to raise awareness about the problem of hunger in Orange County,” added Sandy Segerstrom Daniels, Founder of Festival of Children Foundation.
Canstruction OC starts with just one can to feed the hungry, lift the spirit, and change the world. It combines the fun of a design/build competition with an ingenious way to help feed hungry people. Together with the OC Food Bank, this year’s 7th Annual Canstruction event will put an end to hunger, one can at a time.
Remember to “join the cavalry” by subscribing to Devin’s content here.
