This year, the Festival is being held to raise money for Dartmouth's chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The funds raised from a silent auction, T-shirt sales and donations will help the student-organized group build a house in Lebanon, N.H., this summer.
This year, the silent auction includes crafts donated by students and community members, memorabilia from Dartmouth's athletic teams, items donated from local businesses, time-shares, signed memorabilia from Olympic Gold Medalist Ted Ligety (sibling of Charles Ligety '09) and signed Guster paraphernalia.
The Festival raised funds for Team TAKA in 2005 -- a student-run initiative to build an orphanage in Bangladesh, now known as Project Bangaldesh -- and Habitat in 2004.
Matthew Lemberger '06 came up with the idea for the festival in 2003 after biking 4,000 miles across the country with the Bike and Build program to raise money for Habitat. The following summer when funding was still short, he established the Festival of Humanity as a way to make ends meet and bring people together at the same time.
Lemberger said that the goal of the Festival is "to celebrate the spirit of service by creating a focal community-building event for Green Key weekend."
Two stages, one in front of Dartmouth Hall and one on the porch of Collis, will host non-stop performances on the day of the event.
Fusion, Soul Scribes, The Dartmouth Chamber Singers, Vandana, The Powder Kegs and Ceili Irish Dance Troupe represent a selection of the groups that will perform.
"The rush and exhilaration from performing on a giant stage on the landmark Green is unmatched," Shreya Patel '07 said of her performance with Vandana at the Festival in 2004.
"The entire event was a phenomenal showcase of Dartmouth talent ranging from singing to dancing to cultural expressions."
In addition to the entertainment, Jim Merkel, Dartmouth's sustainability director, Don Derrick, a representative form Upper Valley Habitat, and Carolyn Treacy '06, an Olympic athlete, will address the crowd in the afternoon about the importance of the event and of altruism and hard work.
"The Festival of Humanity is a wonderful event," Jan Tarjan, an associate dean at the Tucker Foundation, said. "It adds to the celebratory and community spirit of Green Key weekend in a really positive way."
Families from the Upper Valley are encouraged to come and enjoy the festival as well.
Weather permitting, The Big Green Bus will be parked on the Green alongside supporting arches, which will hopefully be completed by the end of the Festival and will be used during the summer as part of the frame for the Habitat house.
However, all of this wouldn't be possible without the energy and hard work of Dartmouth's students.
Two years after her initial introduction to the Festival as a dancer, Patel has become the festival's chair.
"Think Dartmouth students do nothing but drink on Green Key Weekend?" Patel said. "The power, enthusiasm, dedication and talent of Dartmouth students amazes me every day and to share and showcase it all in one great day-long Festival is our goal."
The Festival's organizers hope that it will become a Dartmouth tradition for years to come.
"In its third year now, the Festival of Humanity has the potential to be an annual community-building event, bringing together college students and our neighbors in collective support for service," Lemberger said.
The festivities will begin at noon and conclude at 8 p.m.
