The University of Alabama Advertising Team is organizing artistic projects to benefit local Tuscaloosa schools Wednesday and Thursday in the Ferg Plaza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

UA AdTeam is currently working on their integrated marketing campaign for their client, Gildden Paint, that they will use to compete in the National Student Advertising Competition in April. The FergFest event Wednesday and Thursday is part of that campaign.

“FergFest is a way for AdTeam to research our company, Glidden, while giving back to the community,” Myreete Wolford, president of UA AdTeam, said.

Wolford said all of the crafts they are doing will not only be fun but will be donated to the Tuscaloosa city schools that were affected by the April 27, 2011 tornado. The projects will include painting classroom items and doing Valentine’s Day themed crafts.

“It will go to schools that may still need a little color in their rooms,” she said.

The painting and crafts are just for fun, but there will also be material that will help the team conduct their research, Daryne Foote, account supervisor for AdTeam, said.

Lis Garcia, PR director for AdTeam, said the event is open to all UA students, and everyone is encouraged to participate, not only to help the team but to give back to the city of Tuscaloosa.

Garcia said they are not able to reveal many of the details of the campaign because they would not want their competitors to take their ideas.

Ad Team competes every year and placed second out of 152 schools at the national advertising competition last year, following a first place win in district competition.

The AdTeam will compete at the 2013 district competition April 19 in Jackson, Miss. Additional information about AdTeam can be found at AdTeam.org.