Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

seattle

Rock Stars and Getaways

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I sat down to write a blog post highlighting Out of the Box 2013 auction items, and quickly became overwhelmed! There are SO many amazing items! I decided to focus on two things – rock stars and getaways.

What auction, I ask you, can you bid on a guitar signed by a chimpanzee??

out of the box round logo

A couple of weeks ago, we sent out an e-newsletter and posted about the Green Day Tickets in our online auction. Those tickets went to the loveliest of families for $5,640. They had an awesome time at the concert in Berkeley on Tuesday – more on that later.

In addition to the tickets, Adrienne and Billie Joe Armstrong also donated a guitar signed by Green Day members.

green day guitar

 

But that’s not the only signed guitar in the auction – Jamie “signed” a mini guitar, and we had it framed in a shadow box along with a photo of the rock star herself. This is an item that will be available at our Seattle gala, so you’d better get your tickets now in order to bid on this one-of-a-kind conversation-starting art piece.

Here’s a photo of the guitar before it was framed:

Jamie guitar before framing

And now, for a couple of getaways –

How about a week on Grand Cayman Island? Jackie and Kevin Downey, friends of Don and Karen Young (as in Young’s Hill), generously donated a week’s stay in their condo on Seven Mile Beach! cayman sunset

Or an adventure in the Amazon? Volunteer Rozsika went to Peru last year to work on her master’s thesis and decided everyone should be able to experience the beauty of the jungle, so she managed to get this amazing trip donated for the auction.

peruvian sloth

Both of the above getaways will be available to our Seattle Out of the Box attendees. Did I mention you should get your tickets to this event asap?

For those who will be bidding online, perhaps you’ll be interested in four nights at the Ritz Carlton in Cancun or, for a more casual tropical retreat, bid on a week at The Beachouse in Fiji!

fiji swing

We even have a combination rock star and getaway item – a Recording Studio Vacation at a beautiful bed and breakfast  studio in Idaho! You can be your own creative genius for three days making an audio OR video project for private or commercial use, or bring your band to work on that first album!

recording studio

And all of that is only a small sampling of the auction items! Remember, online bidding opens May 4th and the Seattle event is that night. You can see which items will be available for bidding online by looking at the items as a full list or by sorting by category – the ones that are highlighted will be online; the ones not highlighted will be at the Seattle event.

All proceeds from the auctions will go towards the care of the chimpanzees and the sanctuary’s advocacy work. You can also donate directly to our very important fund-a-need, the veterinary clinic, right now.

Clinic 4-10-13

 

Negra Love

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A few minutes ago I watched Negra getting a drink of water. She was sitting on the step between rooms three and four and she had her right leg stretched out, with her toes pointed and just touching the floor. The thought went through my mind that I simply love everything she does. The fact that her toes were pointed was a good enough reason to love her in that moment. And then I wondered how many people were thinking about Negra at that very instant. Six years ago, before coming to the sanctuary, the answer probably would have been none. Today, though, Negra has a whole community of people who love her; and that makes me filled with happiness.

Love of Negra is evident in several of the Out of the Box auction items created by supporters this year. Below are three that I have to share, and they are all due to the artistic talents of Margaret H. Parkinson.

 

queen negra

Queen Negra is a 20″ x 16″ oil on stretched canvas. It was inspired by  a photo of Negra with a royal purple blanket covering her head. The artist, Margaret, is a long-time supporter of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest – she and her wife Karen were at the sanctuary for our open house before the chimpanzees arrived. She created this painting especially for the Out of the Box auction, and it will be available in our online auction – anyone can bid on it starting May 4th!

 

here comes the sun darling negra

Here Comes the Sun Darling Negra by Tamela is an amazing necklace. Margaret gave Tamela permission to use an image of Margaret’s Negra in the Sun painting that she painted for our very first auction in 2009. Tamela handcrafted the pendant. The center of the image  is made with a glow in the dark clay and becomes a glowing moon in the dark. The piece that holds the image was also handcrafted by Tamela and is 99.9% pure silver. The necklace strand is made of citrine teardrop beads.

Tamela wrote this about her inspiration to create the necklace:
Margaret’s painting was so beautiful I knew it needed to be wearable art so more people could enjoy it. The high quality translucent citrine teardrop beads were carefully selected because of their meaning and the way they reflect light. Citrines give the owner a feeling of warmth and comfort much like Negra might have in her big fluffy blanket nest. Citrine also raises one’s mood and encourages happiness and laughter. I wanted the necklace to represent the life the chimps now have at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, a life filled with hope, love, warmth, comfort, and happiness, combined with that wonderful feeling of the sun on your face found in the original photo and Margaret’s painting- Negra in the Sun.

I nearly cried when I read that from Tamela.

This next item is a bit of a surprise for Margaret. A few months ago I asked her permission to use one of her watercolor paintings for special magnum bottles of wine that we will have at Out of the Box.

Here is a sneak peak at one of the bottles, which were etched and hand painted, thanks to the help of chimp friend Lynne Anderson:

magnum bottle negra

Inside the bottles is Ellensburg Vista Winery‘s latest release. I like reading tasting notes of wine – lots of “oaky finishes” and “fruit forward” type of language. I’ve tasted this new Rosé and would just like to simplify things and say that it is delicious. Here’s the proper description from the vigneron, Gary Cox: This Rosé is a 2008 Cox Canyon Vineyards Cabernet Franc with just a touch of Viognier to give the wine a Cote Rotié French Flair/Finish. Raspberry is prominent in the nose of this wine, as raspberries are planted in the rows of the wine grapes to allow cross pollination and a direct effect of pollen on the seed of the wine grape, which carries thru to the must as it ferments to wine. Seattle Dining Magazine named it one of the ten best wines at Taste Washington earlier this year.

There will only be twelve bottles available at the May 4th Seattle Out of the Box event! We’ll have a special table for the magnums during the silent auction. Don’t miss out! Get your tickets to the Seattle event now. It’s just three weeks away!

The Veterinary Clinic

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It’s hard to believe, but the 2013 Out of the Box Gala Auction is just around the corner. These auctions have always played such an important role in funding the everyday needs of the sanctuary, but they have also been the starting point for some exciting projects through our Fund-a-Need program. Proceeds from the 2009 Fund-a-Need enabled us to build the greenhouse, which quickly became the chimps’ favorite spot year-round. And in 2010, we raised funds for Young’s Hill, providing the chimps with two acres of grass, sun, and sky.

The 2011 Fund-a-Need was the start of a different but equally important kind of project: an on-site veterinary clinic. Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest has always been fortunate to work with a large team of veterinarians to support to health and well-being of the Cle Elum Seven. Whatever happens, we know that we can rely on the expertise of Dr. Richardson, Dr. Nutter, Dr. Newschwander, and Dr. Zamzow, as well as Dr. Mensching, who is the newest member of our team. We are also grateful for the assistance of Mt. Stuart Animal Hospital, which provides us with diagnostic and pharmacy services. But to provide the chimps with the best care possible, we want to have the ability to perform surgical and diagnostic services on-site, and that is why we have begun building a mobile veterinary clinic – a simple, functional, and timely way to meet the veterinary needs of the Cle Elum Seven.

With the money raised in 2011, we have purchased a 38-foot trailer and have begun turning what was once a garage in the back of the trailer into a surgical and exam room.

Clinic trailer 4-10-13

Clinic 4-10-13

Project V.E.T.S. generously donated a dual surgical lamp, a microscope, and a wide variety of supplies. If you aren’t familiar with Project V.E.T.S., I encourage you to check out their great work through their website or Facebook page.

Now it’s time to finish what we started. With your help, we will install a shelter and hook-ups for the trailer and outfit the clinic with a full range of equipment, from autoclave and anesthesia machines to portable x-ray and ultrasound.

You can contribute to this project by attending the Out of the Box auction on May 4th in Seattle or by donating to the Fund-a-Need portion of the online auction. And if you have equipment that you would like to donate to our project, we’d love to hear from you.

 

Happy St. Patty’s!

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Top o’ the afternoon to ya’, laddy! Happy St. Patty’s Day! We set up a big party forage in the Playroom this morning. Last week, volunteer Stephanie brought us some non-toxic window paint, and since she couldn’t be here today, I thought I would try to get creative and decorate the windows instead (that would normally be a Stephanie-type job). Okay- so I’m no artist like Stephanie, but at least I gave it a try!!

And so what if there is something terribly wrong with my troll doll’s belly, head, hands, eyes, nose and feet! His hair looks good and the rest just adds character!
web Window decorations troll doll st patrick's day party PR IMG_4847

web Window decorations clover st patrick's day party PR IMG_4848

But, thankfully, to make up for my pitiful excuse for art, volunteer Patti brought lots of decorations, making it a true party. She made these cute little boxes with clovers on them and we stuffed them with chow and grapes. The chimps loved them!

Foxie was particularly happy with them!
web Foxie forage boxes made by Patti st patrick's day party PR IMG_4908

Annie:
web Annie cube made by Patti forage party st patrick's day PR IMG_4867

Jamie:
web Jamie cube made by Patti forage party st patrick's day PR IMG_4858

Burrito:
web Burrito cube made by patti forage party st patrick's day PR IMG_4897

We also made “salad plates” consisting of cabbage that Patti brought and a variety of lettuce that volunteer Jennifer brought over yesterday from Seattle’s Metropolitan Market, topped with a few raspberries.

Jamie:
web Jamie forage lettuce cabbage salad plate party st patrick's day PR IMG_4849

I love the look of adoration on Burrito’s face in this one:
web Burrito loves lettuce and cabbage forage party st patrick's day PR IMG_4877

Jody:
web Jody mouthful of lettuce party st patrick's day forage PR IMG_4850

Negra with some cabbage:
web Negra profile eat cabbage forage st patrick's day party PR IMG_4911

Burrito:

web Burrito lettuce forage party sweet face st patrick's day PR IMG_4902

Missy with a mouthful:

web Missy munch on lettuce forage party st patrick's day PR IMG_4898

…and another mouthful…
web Missy munch of lettuce mouthful st patrick's day party PR IMG_4899

…and another mouthful…
web Missy shove lettuce in mouth party st patrick's day party forage PR IMG_4885

Patti also brought some St. Patrick’s Day theme cups that we filled with Gatorade and coconut water.

Missy:
web Missy drink juice look at cup party decorations st. patrick's day hat PR IMG_4922

You regular blog readers may have noticed an odd theme here – lots of photos of Missy!? That’s rare for a party, since Missy usually goes upstairs and is out of sight for much of the party. But today, she stayed right in the middle of it and enjoyed tons of goodies. I was able to get some good photos, but I have to be honest about this next one: Missy wasn’t actually smiling, she was actually just using her tongue to pick some cabbage out of her teeth and this is how I caught her, but it’s so funny, I had to share! It was a happy day!
web Missy (not real) playface cup juice party st. patrick's day PR IMG_4921

Thanks so much to Patti, Stephanie, and Jennifer and the Metropolitan Market for their generous donations! It was an awesome party!

In depth story from KOMO

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KOMO News (ABC Channel 4 in Seattle) has shared a longer, in depth video and interviews about the Taylor Bridge Fire at the sanctuary. They put the video on their website here.

You can watch it below and you can email KOMO to thank them for sharing the original story at this address: [email protected]

KOMO 4 News Story

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Here’s the link to the Seattle KOMO 4 News story that aired tonight: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Chimpanzees-survive-close-call-with-Cle-Elum-wildfire-168549526.html

Eric Johnson and videographer Eric Jensen did a great job with this story and we were so glad to have them out again today.

I should admit that J.B. dreamed up and built Young’s Hill. I did encourage him… and I helped by setting a few fence posts, along with dozens of volunteers. And the sanctuary itself was started by Keith LaChappelle and a team of people who came together to make it possible.

Thanks to everyone for continuing to support the journey of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees. Everyone who has supported us over the years is part of the sanctuary – we are thankful to you all and now also to the firefighters who did, indeed, protect the dream.

Foxie hug Dora on climbing structure

We were thrilled to see Foxie scale that post today and even more thrilled that her accomplishment made it on TV! Every day there’s some new step that the chimps take or new discovery that they make – that’s what sanctuary is all about.

Chimps back on Young’s Hill

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We opened the door to let the chimps back onto Young’s Hill for the first time since the Taylor Bridge Fire hit the sanctuary property on August 13th. Gary Chittim and Ken Jones from King 5 were here to do a story today. You can see footage of the chimps’ excitement and steps out on the hill on King 5 News at 6:30pm in Seattle and online after the story airs (we’ll be sure to share the link once it’s on the web).

The chimpanzees  haven’t been asking to go out much since the fire, which is a surprise, since they generally “remind us” in the mornings to open the door by standing by it and getting our attention or luring us over and sticking their fingers through the caging where the door opens.

J.B. and volunteers Brian and John have worked to clean up the hill by removing burned logs, reinforcing a damaged fence post, and dragging (tilling, in effect) the charred ground that covered half of the enclosure. J.B. found a sad relic on the hill that Gary Chittim will show on the King 5 broadcast tonight.

All of the staff joined in a final check of the hill yesterday afternoon so we were ready and anxious to give the chimps access after setting up a breakfast forage.

The chimps mostly stuck to the unburned areas.

Below is a photo of Jamie bringing a wrench out with her on to the hill. Maybe J.B. forgot to fix something?

Jamie with wrench

 

And here she is with the burned ground in the background:

jamie yh burned ground background

 

Annie did inspect the burned grass a bit:

annie exploring burned grass

 

And Missy ventured into the starkness of the top of the hill that was charred in the fire. You can see a ring of green grass coming up – that’s where the underground irrigation lines run to water the bamboo. We lost about half of the smaller bamboo in the fire:

missy on burned ground