Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 6, 2004 0:27:36 GMT -4
"Free Willy" Memorial Service
>> Keiko service Feb. 20
NEWPORT, Oregon (AP) -- A memorial service for Keiko the killer whale will be held Feb. 20 at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, where the six-ton hero of the "Free Willy" films lived from 1996 to 1998.
Keiko died December 12, likely from pneumonia, in remote Taknes Bay, where he had lived after swimming to Norway from Iceland in 2002.
The orca, about 26, was buried in a pasture a few yards from where he died. The December 15 burial was done at night and kept secret to avoid media attention.
Visitors to the February 20 service can sign a memory book, a chaplain will deliver a eulogy, former keepers will offer remembrances and a retrospective photo exhibit will adorn the walls.
The aquarium also will unveil the sketch of a bronze sculpture it hopes to commission as a permanent tribute.
Keiko gained fame in the "Free Willy" movie about a young boy who befriends a captive killer whale and coaxes him to jump over a sea park wall to freedom. Two sequels followed.
The films captured people's imagination and prompted a $20 million program to free Keiko from a Mexico City amusement park, where he had been found languishing in poor conditions.
He was brought to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in 1996, then to Iceland, near where he was born, for preparation for his return to the wild. When he was released in 2002, he swam 870 miles to the waters near the village of Halsa.
"There are people at the aquarium, in the local community, throughout Oregon, and around the world who loved Keiko very much," said Patrick Helbling, acting aquarium president. "We feel it is important to offer closure for those wishing to say goodbye." <<
Some may recall the parody scene in The Simpsons where in the new director's cut of the movie, Willy's famous jump falls short. . . and the kid is squashed.
>> Keiko service Feb. 20
NEWPORT, Oregon (AP) -- A memorial service for Keiko the killer whale will be held Feb. 20 at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, where the six-ton hero of the "Free Willy" films lived from 1996 to 1998.
Keiko died December 12, likely from pneumonia, in remote Taknes Bay, where he had lived after swimming to Norway from Iceland in 2002.
The orca, about 26, was buried in a pasture a few yards from where he died. The December 15 burial was done at night and kept secret to avoid media attention.
Visitors to the February 20 service can sign a memory book, a chaplain will deliver a eulogy, former keepers will offer remembrances and a retrospective photo exhibit will adorn the walls.
The aquarium also will unveil the sketch of a bronze sculpture it hopes to commission as a permanent tribute.
Keiko gained fame in the "Free Willy" movie about a young boy who befriends a captive killer whale and coaxes him to jump over a sea park wall to freedom. Two sequels followed.
The films captured people's imagination and prompted a $20 million program to free Keiko from a Mexico City amusement park, where he had been found languishing in poor conditions.
He was brought to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in 1996, then to Iceland, near where he was born, for preparation for his return to the wild. When he was released in 2002, he swam 870 miles to the waters near the village of Halsa.
"There are people at the aquarium, in the local community, throughout Oregon, and around the world who loved Keiko very much," said Patrick Helbling, acting aquarium president. "We feel it is important to offer closure for those wishing to say goodbye." <<
Some may recall the parody scene in The Simpsons where in the new director's cut of the movie, Willy's famous jump falls short. . . and the kid is squashed.
