Are we crazy? You might think so! Since I (Marsha) heard about The Balloon Rhino Project and have always been an animal lover, I decided I needed a team to help me with this global fundraiser for rhino preservation. Do I want to build just a little rhino? Of course not! If something’s worth doing, do it right. Right? That’s when the idea of making a life size black rhino took hold in my mind.
Life size? Yikes! That’s big. To be a little more informative, I’ll tell you that a black rhino full grown averages between 12 and 15 feet long and stands 6 feet high. That’s a lot of balloons, but we have the hot air to do it. We’ve teamed up with Deborah Fellman of RVA Balloons in Richmond, Julie Zauzmer of Balloons by Zippy in Washington, D.C. and plan to build 1 rhino at Regency Mall in Richmond on August 5. Next we’ll build one in Fairfax, VA at Old Town Plaza, 10420 North St. Our plan as of now is to build on Aug. 10 and display through Aug. 14. Check our calendar page for hours, which we’re still working on. Anna, Leila, and Noor from Balloon Zoom are a dynamic bunch of teenagers who aren’t able to help us build but are great with social media so we’ve added them to the team too.
I think the website for the global project speaks well for itself, so here’s the link: http://www.theballoonrhinoproject.co.za/#!the-pilanesberg/cnj7y and I hope you’ll join in our conservation efforts. We’re all donating our time and thank the generous Pioneer Balloon Company for sponsoring us by providing our favorite Qualatex Balloons (www.qualatex.com ) to ensure a quality outcome. If you won’t be able to come and see the exhibit, please consider making a donation directly to the project at the website linked above and mention Team Washington D.C. or my name (Marsha Gallagher). Don’t worry about what happens to all of those balloons at the end of the exhibit. We’ll pop them and then compost them. In this heat it won’t take long at all for them to break down into usable finished compost. We do it all the time.
Dennis Price of The Radio Hotline will interview TJ and me at 8:00 p.m. EST on August 2. There are several ways to join us for that. You may tune in by calling 703-560-8255. To listen in right here in Northern Virginia it’s on Cox and Verizon digital cable channel 37 and in Reston, Virginia Comcast channel 27. My global balloon community can here the program (in English) at http://www.radiofairfax.com or on your mobile device at http://tunein.com/radio/Radio-Fairfax-s24818.
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