standfests were the big finale of the statewide music tour that introduced stand to kids all over Ohio. standfest 2003 gave teens an empowering, fun and hands-on way to get directly involved with the campaign, learn about tobacco prevention and, ultimately, take a stand against tobacco. Youth from all corners of Ohio had a chance to participate with festivals held in Athens, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo.

Youth learned all about the movement by taking part in a stand TV commercial, applying to participate in the stand Summit, leaving their handprints on a Wall of stand and talking to current leaders of the movement. Aside from educating teens about tobacco and its impact on the state of Ohio, stand offered up fun games, a drum-off band competition and performances by the Cincinnati Bucket Boyz and MTV's Yes Duffy.

The standfests were also the sites for the regional finals of the "stand up, sound off" music tour and contest, which touched all corners of Ohio and reached more than 30,000 youth. Two hundred solo and group finalists were selected from more than 3,000 lip-sync videos entered in the contest. The finalists competed at one of the standfests and won great prizes, while experiencing stand's empowerment message.