We’re outside Alki Bathhouse, where chairs and a mini-stage are set up in advance of the 1:30 pm dedication ceremony for the “Sentinels of the Sound” sculpture by Georgia Gerber – a highlight of Seal Sitters‘ Harbor Seal Day festivities, under way here until 4 pm. If you’re not here yet, get yourself to the beach! Even if you don’t make it for the ceremony, there’s plenty more to see and do. Here’s the order of events for the rest of the day:

2 pm ribbon cutting (following speeches)
2:15-2:45 pm jazz quintet on the east side of the Bathhouse
2:15-3:45 pm face-painting with Lashanna on the east side of the Bathhouse
2:30 pm cake/refreshments inside the Bathhouse
3:45 pm raffle winners drawn/announced (don’t have to be here to win)
4 pm festivities conclude

The organizations inside the Bathhouse there to meet you, answer questions, etc., include not just the Seal Sitters, but also The Whale Trail, Killer Whale Tales, NOAA, Puget SoundKeeper Alliance, PAWS, Tox-Ick, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

2:15 PM UPDATE: The ceremony and speeches just ended; fun continues inside and outside the Bathhouse. We have it all on video and will publish that later.

3:27 PM UPDATE: The event photos and video will be in a separate report, but we’ve added one image here – Seal Sitters kids who joined founder Brenda Peterson onstage to tell their stories, after she told three – the story of Spud, the pup who inspired the creation of Seal Sitters; Leopard and Silkie, who became the subject of a book by Peterson and SS’s first responder (and much more) Robin Lindsey; and Sandy, the pup who was rehabilitated, then tracked, then died because of abandoned fishing gear. You’ll hear it all on our forthcoming video. The event’s on till 4; really big crowd!