Susan Berta's story (and she's sticking with it): The Mother's Day Demonstration at the Miami Seaquarium was a resounding success & a landmark event in the Free Lolita campaign. 150 - 200 people of all ages & backgrounds turned out to help let the world know that it's time for Lolita to retire & return to the wild. Amongst the protesters were folks from around the country - from California to Missouri to Washington to Virginia, & including Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro & his family. The protesters peacefully marched in front of the Seaquarium entrance, carrying banners, flags & signs asking for Lolita's release. The marchers were greeted with friendly & supportive honks, waves & cheers from cars passing by, & the event was covered by three Miami TV stations, the New Times & El Nuevo Herald.
I arrived in Miami the morning of the event, travelling from Coupeville Washington, where Lolita was captured in 1970. Though this event took place in Miami, there were also hundreds of folks in Washington who were here in heart & spirit, & I came bearing best wishes & thoughts from Toki's extended human "family" back home. And earlier in the week, Toki's orca family even showed their support by coming into Penn Cove not once, but twice - a very, very rare & special occurrence since the Penn Cove orca captures of 1970-71.
The Seaquarium's response to the event & to the media was to spout their usual lines about how unethical & inhumane it would be to release Lolita. And they cancelled Lolita's 12:30 performance out of fear that it would be disrupted, though that was never in our plans.
HG's version: The same. I only want to add that we played a tape of Lynn Wedekind's beautiful musical prayer for Tokitae, and we played the calls of Toki's family, the Southern Residents, amplified with a bullhorn. It was enthralling to see the crowd grow and grow and grow until we ran out of banners and pennants and still they kept coming. There were a lot of home-made signs as well, and yes, every few seconds a passing car honked in support, adding to our confidence.
Miami-Dade County police officers were on hand and were completely helpful and friendly. They very smartly put up barricades to keep us off the main entrance roadway or there would have been traffic problems. Nary a harsh word was spoken. The gathering afterward at Jimbo's was a little compressed, since a music video for Sugar Ray was being shot on the site where we had planned to have music, but we rolled with that and enjoyed the great food provided by Breen's Catering of Ft. Lauderdale and the afternoon coming down from the demo.
We're still digesting the implications of the event, but my sense was that we raised our credibility and respectibility levels 1,000%. The buzz around county hall and throughout Miami must now be that the campaign for Lolita is a coherent voice with a clear message that is positive, non-threatening and growing in political strength. We now have a long list of supporters and a record of a peaceful and effective demonstration. We made some history. We're busy planning our next move now. Many thanks to all of you for your supportive wishes.
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Lolita Update #9
May 3, 1999
MOTHER'S DAY DEMO COMING UP SUNDAY, MAY 9TH AT THE MIAMI SEAQUARIUM!
The press release below was sent on Thursday, April 29. Since then additional news has occurred, calling for another round of releases.
• Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro will join his wife and son on Mother's Day, May 9th at Noon at the Seaquarium, to express their wish that Lolita be returned to her home waters.
• Singer/songwriter Elton John has announced that he "is most concerned with Lolita's situation" and is "willing to be of assistance."
• A full-page ad for the Mother's Day demonstration appears in the May issue of Ocean Drive Magazine.
• The Seaquarium has abandoned its attempt to gain a legislative exemption from zoning laws to allow its planned $70 million expansion.
The Mother's Day demonstration is sponsored by Mango's Tropical Cafe in South Beach, Breen Catering of Fort Lauderdale, Ocean Drive Magazine, David Rubinstein and Video Imagineering, Universal Cetacean Institute and Cetacean Society International.
MOTHER'S DAY PROTEST AT SEAQUARIUM SEEKS TO REUNITE LOLITA WITH HER MOTHER
Mother's Day, Sunday May 9th, will be a just another day for Lolita, the orca whale who has spent the last 28 years of her life in a display tank at the Miami Seaquarium on Key Biscayne. Despite the long separation, recent scientific evidence shows that Lolita is very capable of reuniting with her family still living in Puget Sound, but there is a great potential for harm by continuing to keep her captive in the smallest orca tank in the country.
Friends of Lolita are asking the Seaquarium to allow Lolita to return to her native habitat and live out the remainder of her life as it should be; not as a performer living in a tank. Backers of the proposal to transport Lolita back to her home waters are coming from throughout the country, including Karen Munro, wife of Ralph Munro, Washington Secretary of State. The political, economic and social conditions that have kept Lolita in a display tank in Miami for 28 years are now changing in a direction that is favorable to her chances to go home.
The public is invited to join the peaceful demonstration from noon to 1 PM on Mother's Day in front of the Seaquarium. Following the demonstration there will be a picnic lunch at Jimbo's Village on Virginia Key, where David Wallack will perform his original song, Endangered Species, and Papaloko and Loray Mystic will provide lively Caribbean music.
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Lolita Update #8
April 25, 1999
Some good questions have been asked about the Mother's Day demo at the Seaquarium. Here are some answers, but if anyone has any more questions please just ask.
>Just touching base to determine what the logistics will be on the mom's day rally. I.E., where do I park (is there a cost), what area are we allowed physical access to for protest?
The demo will take place on the grassy public thoroughfare within 10 feet from the road in front of the Seaquarium. A low fence and row of small trees mark the line between public land and Seaquarium property. The public land extends about 100 yards on each side of the main entrance to the Seaquarium.
There is a free parking lot in front of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) directly adjacent to the public land on which we will express ourselves. There is room for about 50-60 cars, and the inner parking lot may or may not be open that day. There is also parking across the street, although it's a 6-lane highway with no pedestrian walkways and I recommend that we not walk across it. The Seaquarium charges $3 to park in its lot, as a last resort.
>Weather will most likely be hot...should we bring our own cooler or will there be sodas available somewhere close by.
Yes, weather will be hot. Bring floppy hats and sunscreen. Shorts and T-shirts are traditional fashion statements here. I recommend bringing something to drink, although there will be liquid refreshment available. The demo is only for one hour, to avoid over-exposure, and afterward we're going across the street and a half mile down the road to Jimbo's, a mostly shady place.
Following the demonstration there will be a picnic lunch at Jimbo's Village on Virginia Key, where David Wallack, owner of Mango's Tropical Café on South Beach will perform his original song, Endangered Species, and Papaloko and Loray Mystic will provide lively Caribbean music.
>What about signage. You providing picket signs?
We will have 200 triangular pennants that say FREE LOLITA, and around 10 banners made by school kids in Washington. Please feel free to make your own banner or sign. I'd like people to either be holding a banner up facing the road or walking in a slow oval holding signs and pennants along the length of the public land on both sides of the Seaquarium entrance. There will be a limited number of FREE LOLITA T-shirts for sale.
>Expected participation numbers?
100? 200? 500? 1,000? I just don't know. That may become more clear as the day approaches.
>Thanks,
>Cynthia
Thanks for asking.
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Lolita Update #7
April 24, 1999
National Enquirer article on Lolita
Dear friends of Lolita,
18 million readers are about to find out about Lolita!!!
The May 4 National Enquirer, in front of grocery shoppers across the country for the next week, is running a story titled: HELP FREE LOLITA THE KILLER WHALE. It's a no-holds-barred statement that Lolita needs to go home, but the Seaquarium "refuses to let Lolita go."
Included is a coupon to send to Senator Bob Graham to put pressure on the USDA to enforce the Animal Welfare Act regarding the unlawful size of the Lolita's tank.
We'll see where it goes...
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Lolita Update #6
April 22, 1999
On-line article in Get Lost Magazine
Dear Friends of Lolita,
Just a note to mention that plans for the Mother's Day demo are building up to a momentous event. Posters are up all over Miami and 4,000 postcards have been distributed so far. The Miami Herald ran a story on April 11, and the first round of press releases will go out in the next few days, including to this list.
For an interview and lively article about Lolita, see: Get Lost On-line Magazine
There will be more announcements as the Mother's Day demo approaches.
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Lolita Update #5
March 30, 1999
NEW WEB SITE COMPLETED!
Take a look at the newly rebuilt Lolita Come Home Page (http://www.rockisland.com/~tokitae/), completely redesigned by a web site design team at Microsoft, working late and on weekends to build the new site. Big, big thanks go to Annaliza, Brian and Ryan, among others, who saw what they could do and did it. They've added some great new features, like an automatic email button to send a message to Mr. Hertz, owner of the Miami Seaquarium, or compose your own message to Mr. Hertz and to the Seaquarium's head public relations executive. A different message can also be sent to Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas, asking him to use his influence to help Lolita. Pre-written letters are also available.
And a press release describing the new web site and announcing the Mother's Day demonstration can now be found at: Press releases
We are also happy to report that the Seaquarium has finally complied with the request by Kodak to remove their logo from the whale stadium at the Seaquarium. Where it once was displayed prominently on both sides of the Seaquarium logo, now there are only big blank red squares. Your messages to Kodak just may have done the convincing for Kodak. Thanks and well done.
Lolita looked as well as can be hoped, performing her routines on cue but without great enthusiasm. She's holding on, defying the odds. There seems to be a groundswell rising for Lolita. There have been some interesting calls from national media recently, but no dates have been set. You'll hear it on this list as soon as dates are certain. And there has been a steady stream of emails from people who have seen Lolita - Spirit in the Water, offering to help in any way possible. People are calling media sources, as well as celebrities and political officials to ask for help for Lolita, and it's beginning to bring results. Calls, letters, faxes and emails from dedicated people can sometimes be more persuasive than calls directly from the campaign, so we encourage you to think of people or media to contact and go right ahead.
Till the next update...
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Lolita Update #4
March 29, 1999
On Sunday, March 28, The Lolita editorial is again appearing on the Microsoft high-volume site: http://insider.msn.com .
By the way, webstats for the March 15th appearance on the Insider site are in: 69,674 unique visitors who potentially read the Lolita editorial.
More very soon.
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Lolita Update #3
March 22, 1999
1) MOTHER'S DAY DEMO picking up steam
2) Lolita still on TV across the US - contact your local station to play it again
3) Completely new Lolita Come Home web site set to debut
4) Jean Michel Cousteau announces Ocean Futures Society
5) Things you can do to help Lolita
1) The Mother's Day demonstration, Sunday, May 9th, from Noon to 1 PM, in front of the Seaquarium, is gathering strength. A generous donation from the owners of a Miami Beach tropical cafe has allowed the printing of 2500 postcards and 500 posters, plus banners and bumper stickers, plus a mass
mailing, to alert people in South Florida and elsewhere to please attend this important demonstration. The event will be peaceful and lawful, on public property, and will be followed by a picnic and music. Please spread the word, and keep in mind that the campaign still needs financial help to make it a resounding success. The Tokitae Foundation is a 501 c 3 non-profit organization, and you can now go to a web site and help directly, at: (off-line) FreeLolita.net.
2)The powerful one-hour documentary Lolita - Spirit in the Water is still playing all over the US, in 130 markets. Each city has the option to show the video twice, so a little public pressure can probably accomplish that. If you know what station in your area played it, call or write and ask them to please play it again.
3)A team of web site technicians and designers at Microsoft is now redesigning the Lolita Come Home Page web site (www.rockisland.com/~tokitae). Watch this space for the debut announcement
within two weeks.
4)Ocean Futures Society, the merger of the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation and the Cousteau Institute was announced on March 16. Jean-Michel Cousteau is President, and Craig McCaw is chairman of the board. Ocean Futures Society plans to bring an awareness of ocean life to the world via a stream of
educational events and the beautiful new web site at: www.oceanfutures.com. Keiko symbolizes the world's oceans. Here's the press release:
"March 16, 1999
Free Willy Keiko Foundation and Jean-Michel Cousteau Institute merge, create Ocean Futures Society.
The Free Willy Keiko Foundation, the caretaker of the world's most famous whale, and the Jean-Michel Cousteau Institute announced today that they have reached an agreement to merge the two nonprofit organizations to form a new organization called the Ocean Futures Society that will serve as a "voice for the oceans."
5) Things you can do to help Lolita return home:
1) If you haven't already done this, please write a short (or long) letter to Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas, 111 NW 1st St., Miami FL 33128, and ask him to use his influence to help Lolita get home. Alert him to the fact that Miami's image is at stake.
2) Tell your friends, relatives, co-workers, hairdressers, stock brokers or anyone else about the Lolita campaign, and add their email addresses to the Lolita Update list.
3) Come to the Mother's Day demonstration, May 9th, 12 to 1 PM, at the Seaquarium.
4) Contact any major celebrity or political figure you know and ask them to say some words of encouragement that we can quote or better yet, come to the Mother's Day demo.
5) Last October Kodak Corp. asked the Seaquarium to remove its logo from the whale stadium but the Seaquarium has so far refused to do so. Please contact Kodak at jodonogh@kodak.com to ask Kodak to reinforce their request to the Seaquarium. The whale show narrator still claims Kodak is a
sponsor of this outmoded circus act. The CEO of Kodak is George M.C. Fisher, 343 State St., Building 7, 19th Floor, Rochester, NY 14650-0229; Ph: 716-724-4000, Fax: 716-724-9070. (NOTE: Kodak's logos were removed from the whale stadium in late March.)
Thank you for all your kind messages of encouragement and for helping Lolita. We'll keep you informed of progress.
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Lolita Update #2
March 14, 1999
Dear Friends of Lolita,
On Monday, March 15, the folks at Microsoft are posting a LIVE message about Lolita all day on the mega-traffic web site:
MSN Insider
This site gets an average of 65,000 unique visitors a day, and the more visitors the better!
If these sorts of environmental and animal rights editorials bring more traffic, they may add more content with a conscience to this extremely high traffic site, so please spread the word.
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Lolita Update #1
March 1, 1999
Please send any ideas or news to tokitae@bellsouth.net.
Now for the latest news and coming events in the Lolita campaign.
1) MOTHER'S DAY DEMO
2) Lolita on TV in Seattle TONIGHT - Monday, 3/1 on Channel 13 @ 10pm.
3) Lolita on TV across the US (Miami 3/6, 3 pm WSVN-7; Seattle 3/13, 4 pm KOMO-4)
4) Lolita benefit in Coupeville
5) Wild orcas approach Keiko
6) Vet says Keiko is just fine, thanks
7) Some notable quotes
1) On Mother's Day, Sunday, May 9th, from Noon to 1 PM, you are all invited to join the MOTHER'S DAY DEMO in front of the Seaquarium. We need a strong turnout to let the world know that Lolita needs and deserves to return to her home waters, that her family will in all likelihood recognize her and welcome her back, and that Lolita herself could have a calf or two in the next few years, if returned home.
The demo will be a non-disruptive, completely legal assembly of people on the lawn beside the road. There will be signs, banners, kids in orca costumes, music, poetry, and who knows what will be added by Mother's Day. We are appealing especially to mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and kids. Karen Munro (wife of Washington Sec. of State Ralph Munro), who has never before joined a public demonstration, has confirmed that she will be there. We will gather before the event about a half mile from the Seaquarium at a bayside site, and have a picnic with music afterwards. Please spread the word.
At this point the Lolita campaign is not financially supported by any large organizations or funding sources. We are appealing for your help to provide printing and mailing costs and to purchase newspaper ads to publicize this event. The timing of this Mother's Day Demo is critical, and the campaign needs financial help to make it a resounding success. The Tokitae Foundation is a 501 c 3 non-profit organization. The address is 920 Meridian Ave. #2, Miami Beach, FL 33139.
2) For those in the Seattle area, there will be a special segment on "Q13" TV news tonight at 10 pm Monday, March 1, about the Lolita campaign. This has been in the works for several months and they've gotten some great footage and interviews for it.
3) The powerful one-hour documentary "Lolita - Spirit in the Water" is now playing all over the US, and is scheduled to appear in 130 markets. It will play in Seattle 3/13, 4 pm KOMO-4; Miami 3/6, 3 pm WSVN-7. For a partial list of other cities where "Spirit" will be shown, email tokitae@bellsouth.net. Each city has the option to show the video twice, so a little public pressure can probably accomplish that.
4) Many thanks to all who joined in and helped with the Lolita benefit events at the Captain Whidbey Inn in Coupeville on January 31. Sec. of State and Mrs. Munro were there along with fellow Tokitae board member Kelley Balcomb-Bartok and a room full of friends of Lolita. Special thanks to Jan, Lynn and Sea Raven from Port Townsend, who performed Lynn's song for Tokitae at the benefit.
5) On 2/24/99 a pod of killer whales was reported approaching Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, where Keiko is in a bay pen,. The big question is: What will Keiko do when he hears wild whales for the first time since 1979?
6) On January 24th Dr. Lanny Cornell, Keiko's veterinarian, told the Whales Alive conference in Maui that Keiko was perfectly healthy and physically ready to rejoin his wild counterparts.
7) Here are some relevant quotes:
"The eyes of the world are on this community, we must rise to the occasion and do the right thing"....Miami-Dade County Executive Mayor Alex Penelas (about saving the Tequesta Circle, a mysterious recent archeological discovery threatened with destruction to build a condo).
"I've heard people say saving the circle is like another Free Willy campaign"....Miami City Mayor Joe Carollo.
"Aquariums, particulary marine mammal circus acts, are bound to disappear as the public is educated and revolts against it."...Jean-Michel Cousteau.
And finally, from today's (March 1, 1999) Portland Oregonian: "This entire Icelandic adventure -- the one critics said could harm or even kill the 21- or 22-year-old whale -- seems, instead, to agree
with him."... "The [Free Willy/Keiko] foundation's mission, particularly as it anticipates merging with Jean-Michel Cousteau's environmental foundation this year, evolves at a rapid rate. Still, Keiko and the possibility of release this summer or next come first."
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Opening Message
March 1, 1999
Welcome to the new FreeLolita Update list.
Most of you are on this list because you asked to receive news of the campaign to return the orca called Lolita, also known as Tokitae, to her home waters in Washington State.
Lolita deserves the chance to rejoin her family still living there. The political, economic and social conditions that have kept Lolita in a display tank in Miami for 28 years are now changing in a direction that is favorable to her chances to go home.
Recent scientific knowledge and the example of Keiko tell us that there is no real risk involved in returning Lolita to her home waters, but there is huge risk in keeping her captive. Lolita shows incredible strength and courage and remains in good health and fully capable of making the transition to her native habitat. There is much you can do to help make that trip home a reality for Lolita.
To unsubscribe to this list, please send an email to:
majordomo@rockisland.com
And in the body of the message enter:
unsubscribe freelolita
If you encounter any trouble with this list please contact:
Howard Garrett
Tokitae Foundation
Lolita Campaign Coordinator
(305) 672-4039
tokitae@bellsouth.net
For more on Lolita, and to hear her family and see a video of Lolita in her tank, check out NEW Free Lolita web site.
and for a campaign overview, see the Lolita Come Home Page.
See A Review of the Releasability of Long Term Captive Orcas
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