Cape Coral will again join the millions of people taking part in “Hands Across the Sand”, a worldwide event aimed at raising environmental awareness for America’s oceans.
Last year’s inaugural event was highlighted by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This year’s event will focus on legislation aimed at the oil industry, as organizers hope to let both state and federal law makers know they don’t want drilling off the coast of Florida.
“We’re going to try and get people to sign two petitions,” said organizer and artists Rose Young. “The first is to the state legislature to ban drilling in Florida waters. The second is directed at our federal legislators to focus on clean energy.”
Last year’s event drew hundreds of people to the Cape Coral Yacht Club, where Young hopes the success will be repeated next Saturday.
Many of those people showed up specifically for the event, she said, but others were simply catching some rays when people suddenly started joining hands and shouting protest chants.
“Almost everyone who was there to enjoy the beach got up and joined hands,” she said. “I think a lot of people were there to just enjoy the day but involved, too.”
Similar events will be taking place on Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach, according to Young.
In fact, similar rallies will be held at beach front locations all over Florida, not just Lee County. Ocean front states all over the nation will be getting involved, but so will some landlocked states who feel the cause in important.
“People were meeting everywhere around the country,” Young said. “People up north were meeting around contained lakes, others held hands down their streets.”
“Hands Across the Sand” is scheduled for Saturday, June 25, at the Cape Coral Yacht Club from 11 a.m. to just past noon.
Young said people are expected to join hands from noon – 12:15 p.m., the scheduled time for the same statement worldwide. The event begins at 11 a.m, according to Young, so participants can take their time to sign the petitions, decorate banners and educate themselves on the issues at hand.
For more information contact Young at 540-5836, or bryoung@comcast.net.