PELHAM – Area residents are invited to join Scuba Ventures and Blue Water Park as they host the second PADI Women’s Dive Day event on Saturday, July 21, at Blue Water Park from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Shelbie Landry, manager of Blue Water Park, said the event is an effort to get more women interested in scuba diving.

“Less than 30 percent of all recreational divers are female,” Landry said. “We’re trying to encourage women to discover diving.”

On Women’s Dive Day, admission and a Discover Scuba course is free for female divers ages 12 and up. In lieu of admission, guests are welcomed to make a donation to Girls Inc. of Central Alabama.

“Last year, we had a fantastic turn out from the female diving community, gained some new diving girls with our free Discover Scuba event, gave out some amazing prizes and raised over $600 for Girls Inc.,” Landry said. “We hope to make this year’s event even bigger and better than the last. We will again be partnering with Girl’s Inc. of Central Alabama to raise funds to support their vision of empowering strong, smart, bold girls within our community.”

This year, the kids from Girls Inc. will attend the event and get in the water to try out scuba diving, Landry said. The Discover Scuba class is a 30-45-minute course that introduces participants to the world of diving. Participants will learn scuba basics and will go down about 10 feet in the water.

A $1 raffle will also be held and the proceeds will benefit Girls Inc. Winners will be announced at the event. Raffle tickets are available for purchase at Scuba Ventures, 610 Montgomery Highway in Vestavia, and Blue Water Park, 100 Industrial Park Drive in Pelham.

Scuba gear retailer, Scuba Ventures in Vestavia, will also have women’s scuba gear priced at 20 percent off on July 21.

Landry said the Master Taco food truck and a henna artist will also be at the event. Although the event is centered around women, Landry said men are welcomed to participate in the event.

Women’s Dive Day is an international event started by the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI) in 2015 to encourage interest in scuba diving among women. About 900 Women’s Dive Day events will take place in 85 countries throughout July.

For more information, contact Blue Water Park at 663-7428.