"LOVE WINS": The World Environment Day Luminary Flotilla Concert

World Environment Day Luminary Flotilla Concert from Baby Seal Films on Vimeo.

Katya and I paddled to concert on the water last night, which was held as part of the ongoing protest against the Port of Seattle hosting Royal Dutch Shell's oil drilling rig the Polar Pioneer. The musicians performed on a barge anchored right off of Don Armeni Park in West Seattle. You could hear the music from shore but the audience was encouraged to listen from kayaks on the water. Afterwards, the flotilla of  kayaks, SUPs, and other human-powered boats illuminated with deck lights and lanterns gathered together for a spectacular parade.

I think it might not have been a very well-publicized event because Katya and I had only heard about it four days before. Just like we did during the ShellNo protest, we put in at Alki Beach far away from the park to avoid the crowd and any problems finding parking. We had lights inside our skin on frame kayaks which turned our kayaks into lanterns. Some people were lighting sky lanterns and releasing them over the water. Although breezy at first, after sunset the water calmed down and it turned into an incredibly beautiful evening for paddling. 

The song on the video is Native American flute player and storyteller Paul Cheoketen Wagner.