Beach Art Boogie

by Louanne Ralston, Tofino

Beach Art Boogie will be held September 4th at the Long Beach parking lot in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The event is a fun way to clean up the beach, using the collected debris and your imagination to create works of art!

Organized by Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Beach Art Boogie is linked with the annual Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up (Sept.16-24th). During this time, thousands of volunteers clean up over 800 shorelines throughout Canada. It will also be filmed and incorporated into a Parks Canada video. Event footage will be viewed by "virtual visitors" on September 9th at the Hamilton Discovery Centre in Ontario and again on September 10th at the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto.

The video will examine the marine ecosystem within the park, including the impact of litter to this area.

Beach debris may look harmless, but in reality, can cause significant negative impact, such as the release of toxins as it slowly degrades. Debris in the ocean can be ingested by wildlife (as it can be mistaken for prey), or can entangle wildlife (causing stress or disabling them to breathe, eat, or hunt prey).

Keeping our local beaches clean is a simple action we can take in helping to protect the ocean globally.

The event will start at 9 am with the beach clean up. It will then go in all creative directions... You (and a team?) can either work on your own masterpiece, or contribute to a public art installation with Park Warden and local beach artist, Peter Clarkson.

We will Boogie--rain or shine, with refreshments for all, and prizes for the most creative masterpieces.

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Beach Art Boogie

Long Beach Parking Lot
Sep 4 9am

Come on out to the Beach
Art Boogie and take creative action to protect the ocean! For more information contact Louanne Ralston, 726-4705.