Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 17, 2017
For More Information: Marianne Long Education Director (714) 413-549 marianne@atlanticwhiteshark.org
Dr. Greg Skomal to Announce Official 2017 Shark Research Goals at FINomenal Fest CHATHAM, Mass. (May 17, 2017) –– In honor of the 2017 shark research season launch, the Chatham Shark Center is partnering with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary to host its 3rd Annual FINomenal Fest featuring Dr. Greg Skomal. The worldrenowned senior marine fisheries biologist is speaking for all guests in attendance about his goals for the upcoming shark research season and past accomplishments. Everyone is welcome to come clad in their favorite shark outfit or decorate themselves in face paint for this year’s event held on Saturday, June 10, 2017. The day starts with a viewing of the documentary “Great White Sharks,” at 10 a.m. at the at the Chatham Orpheum (637 Main St., Chatham Cape Cod) and then migrates locations to Kate Gould Park (Main St., Chatham Cape Cod) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for a fun afternoon of educational shark-themed activities. Dr. Greg Skomal’s lecture is from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., closing the event. “It is an honor to be supporting the local community and spreading awareness about some of the research I am doing, centered around assessing the physiological impacts of capture stress to help Great White Sharks,” 2017 FINomenal Fest speaker, Dr. Greg Skomal said. “This research is critical for ensuring a biologically diverse marine ecosystem for future generations, however to assure that this is continued in the future and accepted, these future generations must be educated by us, our generation, and the first step to doing so is exactly what the Chatham Shark Center is doing; eliminating fear and educating the public about Great White Sharks and their impact on society.” All festivities at FINomenal Fest are family-friendly and educational for children of all ages to participate in. Activities, set up as learning stations, consist of “Feed the Shark” Cornhole, “Food-Web” Jenga, “Place the Anatomy on Your Shark Costume” speed-rounds and a face painting station. “Feed the Shark” Cornhole consists of cornhole sacks of different colors, each representing a different type of food, and a shark shaped block with a hole in the middle for participants to throw the sacks into. The participants have to get the right food into the shark shaped mouth, the hole, teaching them the diet of Great White Sharks. “Food-Web” Jenga contains different blocks painted as predators in the food web. Participants are asked to take turns removing the different blocks one at a time, teaching them that if you move the blocks and pull out different items of the food web, it ultimately collapses. “Place the Anatomy on Your Shark Costume” speed-rounds allow participants to dress up as sharks and race to tape all the pieces of a shark’s anatomy on themselves. This helps teach participants the anatomy and composition of Great White Sharks in an easy to learn, fun way. -more-
FINomenal Fest is completely free. However, at the event vendors sell T"shirts(and(accept(donations.( All proceeds contribute to sending children to summer camps within the community that couldn't otherwise afford it. FINomenal Fest also notes the beginning of “Sharks in the Park.” For this event, local Chatham merchants sponsor artists’ 5-foot wooden sharks and put them on display in Kate Gould Park until the end of the summer. Then, each shark is auctioned off to buyers to raise money for the Chatham Merchants Association. Guests of FINomenal Fest are invited to browse the park and enjoy the additional shark art by local artists. The Chatham Shark Center™ is the outreach facility for the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting education, awareness, preservation and conservation for Great White Sharks. The Chatham Shark Center first opened in June 2015, and relaunched in May 2016, transforming itself into a one-stop shop for shark research, education and public information. The organization serves as an outreach center where visitors can come to participate in interactive exhibits, videos, displays and virtual reality experiences that highlight some of the groundbreaking research that has been going on with the organization, including the physiological impacts of capture stress on the post-release behavior of sharks.
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