TACOMA, Wash. — This year's annual Tacoma Ocean Fest featured Hawaiian street artist Sean Yoro, who goes by the handle "Hula." From a paddleboard, Yoro created "Malalo," a 15×20 water mural he designed in collaboration with Puyallup elder Connie McCloud.
As festival director Rosemary Ponnekanti described it, the mural explores "themes of indigenous guardianship of land and waters, the fragility of endangered species, and the interconnectedness of all living beings."
"I learned so much about the Puyallup Tribe and just the rich history that has to do with this whole peninsula," Yoro told us. "It's kind of an homage to them and I also found just so many similarities between Hawaiian culture and the Puyallup Tribe and how they lived and survived and sustained the land very responsibly."
Organizers are looking for a permanent place to install the mural.
The festival kicked off Friday night at sunset, with Tacomans creating a magical twilight moment. Some paddled around in boats and on boards all lit up, while onshore others waved brightly lit salmon banners.
Ponnekanti says the twilight event reminds "our world what we need to do to protect them from pollution, climate change, and extinction."
Ocean Fest continues with three nights of ocean-themed movies at the Grand Cinema. There are beach walks with marine biologists this weekend, at 2 p.m. Saturday at Dash Point Park and 3 p.m. Sunday at Titlow Park, and a community clean-up of Swan Creek Park on the 25th and 26th.
"We live on a blue planet," Ponnekanti said. "The ocean makes up 70% of our world, gives 50% of our oxygen, and is essential for clean water and food. It unites cultures and feeds our souls. Tacoma Ocean Fest is a reminder of how precious that is.”
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