Lolita Update #105
Monthly Protest Saturday, February 28
March 25, 2009

There will be a demo THIS Saturday, March 28th in front of the Miami Seaquarium from 12 Noon until 2 PM to protest against Lolita's horrible living conditions and to promote her retirement to a protected bay pen in Washington. Every last Saturday of the month will be a demo, same time, same place. Please pass the word on to friends and family. And check out the new Lolita website at SaveLolita.com. -Shelby

-Shelby

Please send any ideas or news to tokitae@bellsouth.net. Now for the latest news and coming events in the Lolita campaign.
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 (Webmaster Note: Link removed as page no longer exists)
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.

When you come to the demo park in the FREE parking at the beach on the right hand side of the road before the Seaquarium, do NOT pay the Seaquarium to park. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at 412-983-0994. Thanks and I hope to see you Saturday!

Shelby

Protest for Lolita's retirement in front of the Miami Seaquarium:

4400 Rickenbacker Causeway
Key Biscayne, FL 33149
(305) 361-5705

Directions from North:
Take I-95 South, Exit 1A (Miami Seaquarium), and follow the signs to Key Biscayne and Rickenbacker Causeway.

Directions from South:
Take US1 North, exit to right just before the on-ramp to I-95, and follow the signs to Key Biscayne and Rickenbacker Causeway.
Once on the Causeway you have to pay a toll ($1.50, I believe) so bring quarters. When driving to the Seaquarium on the Causeway you will see beaches on the right hand side of the road and parking is free, you should park at the beach on the right hand side of the road RIGHT BEFORE THE SEAQUARIUM. If you pass it you will see the entrance to the Seaquarium, just make a U-turn and then pull into the beach parking lot.
-If you get there early or need help finding parking, I'll be there just call me 412-983-0994.

Email Shelby Proie - (Note: email no longer exists) - for more information on the demonstration.

Just in case I suggest that you bring a ziplock plastic bag and a garbage bag. This is in case it rains, we learned at the last protest that it sucks if you don't have a waterproof place to keep your cell phones, cameras, etc. The garbage bag would be for if you don't want your signs to get ruined.
-I SUGGEST that when making signs you make them on FOAM BOARD you can find it with the poster board everywhere, it's nice because it does not bend or tear with the wind and/or water, it is a little more expensive though. Trust me you'll thank me when you're done holding up signs for an hour and a half.
WE HAVE A LIMITED AMOUNT OF EXTRA SIGNS but they run out fast, SO IF YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN!
-Bring a water bottle and snacks it takes a lot out of you standing in the sun for an hour and a half, luckily the temperatures seem to be cooling down a bit so that will be nice : )
-Bring sunscreen and a hat if you don't want to get burnt, because you probably will if you don't.
-I also strongly suggest that you read the information about Lolita and her situation on www.orcanetwork.org (Lolita/captivity) if you haven't already. You have to be ready with correct information if the news reporters ask you something.
Let me know if you need any help!
-Please take as many pictures and videos of this as you can, and post them EVERYWHERE! WE need to get the word out.
I look forward to seeing all of you next Saturday, and want to thank you again for coming out and making a difference in such a beautiful animals life, I know that she'd thank you if she could! If you need anything or have any questions feel free to message or call me 412-983-0994.

LET'S GET LOLITA HOME WHERE SHE BELONGS!

Shelby, in collaboration with Orca Network, invites fellow Miami residents and media to come out and support Lolita's retirement. We hope to see Lolita transported to a bay pen in her native Pacific Northwest waters where she will be taken care of for the rest of her life unless she chooses to rejoin her pod that resides in the same waters most months of every year.

From news.com.au:

Shot in Cape Town, the movie fast forwards from 1997's Free Willy 3 and tells the story of a young Australian girl (Kirra) whose mother died when she was four and who is sent to live with her grandfather Gus Grisby (Bridges) in South Africa.
Gus owns a rundown beachside amusement park and when a baby Orca gets washed ashore, there is conflict over whether the little whale should be kept as an attraction or rehabilitated and sent back to his pod.
I'm guessing Kirra wants to see little Willy returned to his pod.
From the Melbourne Herald Sun:

Her performance as an Aussie girl living with her grandfather in South Africa - who comes to care for a baby orca - has drawn acclaim from her human co-star.
Veteran Beau Bridges, 67, said he and his family had been huge Crocodile Hunter fans and then fans of Bindi's Jungle Girl show.
"She's been teaching me a few things," he said. "I hesitate to talk too openly about her skills because she'd get a swollen head - and she's got to wear hats in the movie!"
Filming is set to wind up next week, with the movie due for DVD release next year.

A new animated film, Perchance to Dream, tells Lolita's story in scenes from her world, her memories of home and family and her dreams of returning to them, and her realities in a cramped tank doing circus acts. It's a beautiful idea that could only be animated.

For anyone in South Florida on Friday, March 27th, Perchance To Dream is going to be playing on March 27th at 8:00 p.m. at the South Beach (Florida) Animation Film Festival.

Here's a link from the festival site

Tickets available HERE

Also, Perchance To Dream was accepted into the Blue Ocean Film Festival in Georgia. The date has not been announced yet.

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Lauren Kimball and Solace Skies Productions proudly presents "Perchance To Dream" a 7-minute film that dares to tell the story about a very special soul who's spirit cannot be broken and who's life has defied the odds of all those who've come before. Her name is Lolita, and she is the star performing Killer Whale at the Miami Seaquarium.

She has lived in a tank that is as deep as she is long for a grueling four decades. Since the only other orca to live at the aquarium, Hugo, died tragically from a brain aneurism (he is given a very special cameo appearance in the final climax), the real life Lolita has only had the occasional dolphin to break her solitude.

Day in and day out she performs the same tired routine for the same dead fish in the same, sorry tank. But for the first time, an animated feature invites the audience to see this world behind Lolita's eyes. To take a moment's glance at a captive whale's thoughts and dreams.

"Perchance to Dream" brings the audience behind the scenes in a way that only animation can achieve. What does an orca dream about when the lights go off and the audience leaves? Where do her thoughts lead her when the only sound she hears is the steady beat of her own, broken heart? To live in a world with no boundaries, to rule your domain with strength and grace along side your family and then to have your whole world reduced to a fish bowl, a lonely and small fish bowl. What is that like? The journey begins with where Lolita's life begins.

The audience experiences the endless ocean and the beauty of a sunrise in Washington's Puget sound. For a few precious seconds, Lolita is completely oblivious to anything other then her family and the open sea. Suddenly, a sound is heard, a misplaced whistle from above. Ahead of her, Lolita's family swims out of sight. She tries to catch up with them, but from there we're torn, as Lolita was torn, from her family and brought to the tank where she now lives. The audience cheers and Lolita delivers what they've come to see; a jump and a splash in an impossibly small space. She swims around the platform, preparing for her next trick, when for one sweet moment Lolita's brought back from the tank to the ocean. Swimming beside her, a large bull who pursues Chinook salmon with deadly accuracy. Lolita's instincts take hold and she charges the fish in an ecstatic joy, the legacy of her ancestors seemingly realized, adrenaline flowing. Based on true circumstance, Solace Skies Productions hopes to bring attention to the plight of the real-life Lolita; to try and shed some light on an injustice that's gone un-attended for forty years and bring an end to her captivity and abuse. Even if nothing comes of this film, even if no one is able to save Lolita, at least they now might understand.

Much is going on to help bring Lolita home and to inform and advocate for her and her family Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to help Orca Network continue this work. Thank you!