Arts & Entertainment
Rafael Theater to Host All-Star Benefit Screening of 'The Cove'
Filmmaker Ric O'Barry and the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir to headline.
On June 21, the will dedicate an evening to raising funds for the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign with a performance by Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and a screening of the 2010 Oscar-winning documentary The Cove.
The film chronicles the heroic efforts of marine mammal specialist Ric O'Barry, known for training dolphins for the television series Flipper, as he embarks on a covert mission to expose horrors of dolphin hunting in a hidden cove in Taiji, Japan.
On hand to discuss their movie will be O'Barry and director Louie Psihoyos. Legendary Grateful Dead guitarist and lifelong activist Weir will also join the festivities with a live performance.
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"[The Japanese] government issues 23,000 permits annually to kill and capture dolphins — the largest direct slaughter of dolphins on Earth," explains Mark J. Palmer, the associate director of the International Marine Mammal Project.
Palmer’s organization oversees the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign, which was formed to put an end to the killing of dolphins in Japan and their capture and trade the world over.
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Palmer's hope is that Tuesday's fundraiser will garner much-needed income to continue the fight against sanctioned dolphin cruelty.
"Funds will go to help volunteers and staff travel to Taiji to monitor the annual hunts, to let the Japanese government know the world is watching,” he said. “We seek to end these hunts once and for all."
Tickets for the benefit are $40, and can be purchased through the Rafael's website. Go here for more information on the Save Japan Dolphins organization.
