Press Release

September 1, 2016 | By Ohio Wesleyan University

Participants in last year’s Earthdance Ohio celebration take part in a universal peace dance. The year’s celebration will be held Sept. 18 at Ohio Wesleyan University. Earthdance Ohio also will take part in the Sept. 21 synchronized Global Prayer for Peace. (Photo by Hannah Wargo ’19)

Earthdance Ohio to Hold 8th Annual Event Sept. 18, 2016

DELAWARE, Ohio – Earthdance, the global peace party, returns to Delaware from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, in the Benes Rooms of Ohio Wesleyan University’s Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware.

Earthdance, the world’s largest and longest-running music and dance event for peace, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Through the years, the annual Earthdance Global Peace Party has presented more than 600 music and dance events in over 60 countries, featuring thousands of DJs and artists.

This year’s local celebration will be familiar to folks who have attended in the past. Several Ohio Wesleyan student groups will be performing: the Introduction to Dance class, OWU Rhythms Tap Club, and Terpsicorps dance club. Don Ewell from OWU’s Health and Human Kinetics Department, Bellydance Columbus, Israeli folk dancers, and Francine Butler from Rutherford B. Hayes High School also will return, and chemistry professor Dave Lever will serve as the DJ.

In addition to the dance celebration, Earthdance Ohio will have a separate event to link up with the synchronized Global Prayer for Peace. This second event will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21.

Earthdance events promote and financially benefit local charities working in the areas of peace, environment, and social justice. In the spirit of this year’s theme, “Global Shift,” Sustainable Delaware Ohio has been chosen as the beneficiary of this event.

Sustainable Delaware Ohio is a nonprofit group of citizens focused on promoting environmental, social, and economic sustainability for the Delaware community through awareness, advocacy, and action. It organizes the local Green Drinks Meetups and has an annual duck race fundraiser at the North Olentangy Watershed Festival. It recently supported the startup of the new Delaware County Solar Co-op.

Give Peace a Dance! People of all ages are invited to see, to learn, and to dance. The Sept. 18 Earthdance Ohio event will be both performance and participation. A suggested donation of $5 per person may be given at the door, and half of all proceeds will benefit Sustainable Delaware Ohio. New this year, there will be food trucks, including the Short North Bagel Deli, for refreshments. Door prizes also will be awarded throughout the event, including gift certificates to Kona Ice and Shema Global Store.

Earthdance Ohio is a project of the Leslie Center for Peace and Justice in Ohio Wesleyan’s Office of the University Chaplain. It is sponsored by the Delaware Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and is made possible by the gifts of many volunteers. For more information, see www.earthdanceohio.org.


Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers nearly 90 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through Ohio Wesleyan’s signature OWU Connection program, students integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.