Area residents can find out for just a night what it's like to be without permanent shelter as Family Promise of Greater Chattanooga hosts its sixth annual Box City Camp Out To Stamp Out Family Homelessness. The event will run from 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, to 7 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, at AT&T Field, 201 Power Alley.
Participants, which include individuals and groups, will build their own cardboard-box living space in Box City (or bring camping equipment). They'll spend the night outdoors in this urban campground and eat at a makeshift soup kitchen, with volunteers serving up sandwiches, coffee, hot chocolate, sodas, popcorn and fruit into the night. A light breakfast will be provided to campers the next morning.
Activities will include the traditional Box City Challenge, in which teams envision and create their living spaces, as well as a new contest to design next year's Camp Out logo. There will also be a scavenger hunt, games, music and crafts. Police security will be present during the entire event.
Prizes will be awarded for the best box cities built by a group or individual and for the most pledges raised by a group.
Tickets cost $10 per person for youth, church, Scout or other groups; $25 for individual campers; $50 for families or groups of up to four people; $10 for each additional camper in a family or group of four.
To register, go to familypromisechattanooga.com/camp-out. For more information, call 423-756-3891.