Turtle Island Restoration Network and Clay Cup Studios install “Tranquilo Baby,” the latest addition to Turtles About Town, sponsored by Rudy & Paco’s and Vargas Cut & Catch by Paco and designed by artist Kathy VanDewalli. The next installment will take place on Saturday, March 21.
For Media Advisory, March 21, 2020
Contact: Joanie Steinhaus, joanie@seaturtles.org, 512-417-7741
Newest ‘Turtles About Town’ Statues Celebrate Galveston’s Commitment to Sea Turtle Protection and Local Art
GALVESTON, Texas — Galveston Island will welcome several new members to its sea turtle community this month as Turtle Island Restoration Network and Clay Cup Studios install the latest additions to its Turtles About Town community art project.
Created in 2018, Turtles About Town showcases the City of Galveston and the conservation efforts of Turtle Island Restoration Network to protect endangered sea turtles on the upper Texas coast. The next installation will take place at the Sunshine Center on March 21 at 10 AM. The twelve new turtles will be joining 19 statues installed last year around the Island.
Statues are designed by local artists and sponsored by local businesses and individuals, each representing a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, the Texas state sea turtle and the world’s most endangered sea turtle. A map with the location of the first 19 turtles will be available to the public this month in sponsoring businesses and on the websites of Turtle Island Restoration Network and Clay Cup Studios.
“We are so humbled by the positive feedback our Turtles About Town program has received and appreciate our community for stepping up to protect the critically endangered sea turtles we share our home with,” said Joanie Steinhaus, gulf program director of Turtle Island Restoration Network.
“It has been inspiring to see so many talented artists and wonderful business owners come together to provide the public with something that creates joy, as well as brings beauty to our wonderful island,” said Amy Owens, owner of Clay Cup Studios. “I feel very blessed to be a part of it all.”
What: Turtles About Town will reveal one of the 12 newest sea turtle statues on Galveston Island.
When: Saturday, March 21, 10:00AM Central
Where: Sunshine Center, 1726 21st Street, Galveston, TX 77550
Media availability: Turtles About Town representatives and the statue sponsor and artist will be available for interviews before and during the installation.
As sea turtle nesting season on the upper Texas coast starts April 1, Turtle Island Restoration Network asks residents and visitors to call the Texas sea turtle hotline, 1-866-TURTLE-5 (1-866-887-8535) if they see a sea turtle, a nest, or tracks on the beach.
Turtle Island Restoration Network has sponsored the 1-866-TURTLE-5 sea turtle hotline for the Texas coast for more than ten years, and continues to raise awareness of the need to report any nesting, injured or deceased sea turtle to the hotline along the entire Texas coast.
Turtle Island Restoration Network is a nonprofit organization that works to protect and restore populations of endangered sea turtles and marine biodiversity on the Texas coast and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Learn more at www.seaturtles.org/gulf.
Clay Cup Studios is a Galveston Art Studio that offers paint your own pottery, canvas painting, glass fusion and Art’tini. Learn more at www.claycupstudios.com.
