By Rob Mead

Debbie and I would like to thank you for all your help and support you've given us for our harp seals public awareness campaign in Southern California. Since July we have had booths at 4 festivals in the LA and Orange County areas and we plan to do more of these events as they become available. Two of the largest events were the Orange International Street Fair over the Labor Day weekend and the Tallships Festival in Dana Point on Sept. 10th-11th. The attendance at the OISF event was estimated at over 400,000 and our booth was in a prime location in the main plaza. The Tallships Festival the following weekend also had a high attendance and both of these events gave us excellent opportunities to get our message out.

These events have been very successful and we couldn't have done it without the support from you and SSCS. Thank you again for all the support material you've provided us. I have attached some photos from these events so you can see that your materials are being put to good use.

Appreciation and kudos go out to all of the volunteers and other organizations who took part in this important day. Part of the battle in ending this horrible slaughter is to shine the international spotlight of shame on Japan, thereby forcing them to end the slaughter of marine mammals in Taiji. Thank you for your generosity of time and efforts, and for your abundant care for dolphins and small whales.