Submitted by event organizers

A gathering to mourn the loss of another orca calf and acknowledge the grief of the Southern resident orca is scheduled at 11 a.m., Sunday, Aug 26 at Otis Perkins County Park on Lopez Island. There will also be vigils on San Juan at Lime Kiln, Orcas at Waterfront Park and at the Shaw County Park.

These whales hover on the edge of extinction and have not had a successful birth in over three years. Come to share songs and prayers and send them out across the Salish Sea. Organizers are requesting 17 minutes of silence on the sea by all motorized vessels from noon until 12:17 p.m. to honor the number of days Tahlequah carried her dead baby.