By Evelyn Gutierrez
Save the date: October 15, 16, & 17 from 6-11pm
Fall is here y’all and we are kicking it off by participating in one of Oakland’s most popular annual events: Autumn Lights Festival! Join us at the Gardens at Lake Merritt and discover our light-up installation, All Tentacles on Deck!, featuring Henry the skeleton kayaking through polluted waters and joined by a giant purple octopus ensnared in trash. This whimsical scene highlights the real challenge of pollution in Lake Merritt and invites us to imagine a cleaner home for all its creatures! Tickets are still available and can be purchased here.
This year, we will also have a book-fair style table in the festival’s Art Market featuring merchandise made by local authors and artists, giving you the perfect opportunity to grab early holiday gifts for the Lake Merritt lovers in your life! Come check out our books, hand-carved block prints, buttons, stickers, and other goods.
If you have participated in LMI’s lake cleanups in the past, we are looking for volunteers to offer up two hours of their time on Friday or Saturday to engage festival visitors with our fun installation. Volunteers will describe LMI’s critical work protecting the lake, collect donations via QR code, direct visitors to the Art Market, and encourage them to cast their vote for All Tentacles on Deck! so that LMI has the chance to win during each night’s installation award ceremony.
One of the best parts about volunteering for the event is that you will gain complimentary access to the festival before and after your shift, and we will have enough wristbands that you can bring a friend to volunteer with you! If you are interested in volunteering, please email us at info@lakemerrittinstitute.org with your name, preferred event day (10/16 or 10/17), 2-hour time slot (between 6-11pm), and whether you plan to bring a buddy to volunteer with you.
Autumn Lights Festival kicks off our end-of-year fundraiser, giving LMI a head start towards our goal of $70K and setting us up for success next year. Donations support our year-round lake cleanups, watershed stewardship curriculum, and a thriving Lake Merritt for wildlife and the community. Please consider donating to our new campaign and sharing it with others!
Leave a Reply