Corky's Freedom Banner On Display At SJC Park

Saturday, October 7, 2006
SAN JUAN ISLAND, WASHINGTON - Corky's Freedom Banner, made of artwork from 14,000 children from 22 countries, will be on display from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, October 8 at San Juan County Park on West Side Road. It was first presented as a display around Sea World San Diego on Mother's Day 1996, as part of a proposal that Corky, a killer whale, be reunited with her mother, a Northern Resident Orca, after 20 years in captivity.

Since the banner's initial presentation at Sea World, it has toured on display across Europe, and from California to British Columbia. The last display was in Alert Bay, B.C., shortly after the reunification of the wayward orca "Springer" with her family in 2002. Corky and Lollita have continued well past their captive life expectancy as the last two survivors of 67 orcas captured in B.C.and WA waters during the 1970s.

The banner will be unboxed and inspected on Sunday to determine what type of repairs it needs. The banner has flapped in the wind while being held in the hands of a chain of children on the shores of Ireland. It has strung between flotillas of boats in the Broughton Archipelago and rafted across Victoria Harbor. In addition it has spiraled the staircases of the Olympia State Capital and covered the lawn before the Victoria Legislature.It has also spanned the streets of Hamburg.

Each of these events has been supplemented by visits to schools where the banner has continued to grow. These are just a few of the many spectacular displays in which the banner has endured sunshine, rain, salt water and wind. So this particular display is with the view of giving the banner a new lease on life, to evaluate and begin necessary repairs.

The banner has also toured with the racing sailboat Thursdays Child under skipper Michael Reppy. He has made three attempts to beat the solo record for crossing San Fransisco to Japan. Each time he sails he works to draw attention to the plight of whales and dolphins. Reppy is visiting the island and working on a book on the history of the banner.

Source: San Juan Islander