August 28, 2020
Anyone who’s beachcombed in Southeast Alaska knows about hard plastic fishing buoys. Japanese fishermen use them, and sometimes they escape and wash up on our shores along with beach glass and flocks of rubber ducks that fell off a container ship more than a decade ago and still occasionally wash up, sun bleached white, to be claimed at low tide.
One of Sitka’s most popular annual social events is Brave Heart Bowls, Brave Heart Volunteers annual fundraiser. Artists sell and thrown bowls which are filled with homemade soups and handmade bread to support the volunteers who provide respite for family caregivers, training and help for families caring for elderly members or going through end of life. But this year, because of the pandemic, there is no Brave Heart Bowls event.
So Brave Heart Volunteers collected buoys and delivered them to 21 artists, who applied their art. Now they hang from utility poles along Lincoln Street. On Sunday, August 30, they will be gathered at the Crescent Harbor Shelter for an outdoor event. During the first two weeks of September Brave Hearts will auction the buoys to support the organization. They are trying to raise $35,000 and have not quite half of that pledged to date (Friday, August 28,)
So, enjoy the pictures and the creativity of Sitka’s artists, and if you’re in Sitka take a stroll down Lincoln St. or head to the Crescent Harbor Shelter Sunday. And if you’re not in Sitka you can checkout the buoys at https://www.braveheartvolunteers.org/.
What a great cause! Thanks for the opportunity to contribute.
Those are beautiful. Thanks for posting.