Dear Editor: Sitka Sound Science Center and Sitka Conservation Society would like to send a HUGE thank you to the many community members and organizations that made our Parade of the Species memorable this April! This yearly event, usually scheduled on or around Earth Day, gathers community members of all ages to march together in celebration of our planet’s biodiversity. Participants parade as their favorite living being – wearing everything from homemade cardboard costumes to elaborate recycled art masterpieces to animal onesies.
Thank you first and foremost to all the Sitkans who walked in the parade – the fun and creativity that you bring to the Parade of the Species shines as bright as ever! Thank you to the vendors, shoppers, and family members who came out to support our marchers, and thanks to Sitka PD and the City of Sitka for their help with traffic control and permitting.
This year’s parade was headlined by a hand-painted banner created specially for this event by kids from SCS’s Alaska Way of Life 4-H project through the UAF Cooperative Extension and by participants in SSSC’s Fab Friday afterschool program. Thank you to Sitka Rotary Club for your funding support for the banner and thank you to Skookum Canvasworks for helping to source material and cut pieces.
Finally, thank you to Sitka Public Library for displaying the creative handmade costumes that participants marched in – if you missed the parade or didn’t see costumes at the library, find them hanging at Backdoor Café May 24-31!
With admiration and appreciation,
Kari Paustian,
Sitka Sound Science Center
Kolby Sirowich,
Sitka Conservation Society
