Last Chance for a Photo Safari in Our Backyard!

Time is running out for Asian elephants in the wild… and for you to see the Elephant Parade® in Dana Point!  Today, Saturday, November 16th is the last day they will be on display and tomorrow is the auction for some of the elephants that have not yet been sold.  Click here to get all the information.

I have heard about the elephants for weeks, and seen pictures of my niece and nephew with each one, but I had yet to see them in person.  Yesterday, I finally made it over to Lantern Bay Park in Dana Point to see the herd.  Through the pictures, I had chosen my favorite – Jack.  I was so disappointed not to see him among the herd assembled in the Park.  I mentioned it to one of the volunteers and they directed me into the lobby of the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa and there, I got to meet Jack.  (We also learned something new.  As many times as they had seen Jack, my sister never thought to look inside the windows!  We got a really cute picture of my nephew looking through Jack’s windows at the cargo inside.)  I also got to view in person the evil forces hunting good on the inside of Odysseus. (Be sure to take a flashlight to get the best view.)  We discovered a new blank elephant displayed today that you can sign, so be sure to take a Sharpie with you if you would like to leave your mark on this historical event.

So, just what is the Elephant Parade®?   Father and son duo, Mike and Marc Spits, created the Elephant Parade® in 2006 after being inspired by Mosha, the world’s first elephant with prosthesis.  Started as a grassroots movement with a Parade in Rotterdam in 2007, it has grown to become a worldwide phenomenon as the world’s largest open-air exhibition of life-sized elephant statues decorated by local and international artists and celebrities.  After Parades throughout Europe (and one in Singapore), the elephants have finally arrived in America.  Each Parade is filled with elephants done by a variety of artists and celebrities.  (If you would like to see a tiny selection of selected elephants from the other Parades, there are smaller versions of the full size ones in the Laguna Cliffs just down the hall from Jack.)  The various Parades have not only raised millions to help support the Asian elephants, but they have also brought global awareness to the fact that these animals are rapidly disappearing and in just a couple short decades could be extinct if we do not do something about them now.

If you cannot make it to the Parade in person, you can still view the elephants on line at their website and you can purchase some of them as replicas.  For those of you who are the artistic type, you can purchase blank mini elephants and create your own elephant.  Send pictures in and you might be chosen to paint your own life size elephant for an upcoming Parade!  (Members of my genealogy group created a family tree one for a recent event that I tried in vain to win.  But it did give me some ideas on how to make my own artistic elephant even though I cannot paint!)  To see some of the hundreds of elephants displayed in Parades around the world, visit their official international site here.

John Donne is quoted as saying “Nature's great masterpiece, an elephant - the only harmless great thing.”  I invite all of you to see the Parade in person, but if you cannot make it, be sure to visit their website and support them by purchasing a mini elephant of your own or one of the books with all the elephants listed.  Moreover, I would love to hear which one is your favorite.  After viewing the whole herd, it was hard to make a decision, but I have to say I still liked Dustin Otterbach's Jack the best!

PS - I apologize for the photos.  I did rotate them and save them in a couple different programs, but due to a glitch with the Patch, they still come out sideways.