On the Road for Elephants- AFE
Ah June, start of summer, beloved of brides all over the world.
But here at Arte for Elephants, June invariably causes a throat closing panic as I wake up from my spring stupor and think,
“Holy Moly! The holiday season is approaching and I haven’t done a dang thing!”
To anyone curious as to what goes into being on the road for elephants lets just say there are a whole lotta moving parts. Art show applications need to be filled out, mailed in, paid for, RV spaces have to be booked and budgeted, paintings need to get done, printing needs to be ordered, things need to be organized and prioritized and it’s just a whole bunch of crazy.
But that certainly hasn’t stopped the overarching mission of Arte for Elephants one bit. Here is a little taste at what we’ve been working on for the first half of 2019.
As you may have seen on our social media, this past winter we launched and funded a year of advanced education for two deserving Hill Tribe girls through our partner, Borderless Friendship Foundation of Western Australia. Nakue and Malee are on their way to a brighter future thanks to our wonderful guests and friends who helped us raise the needed funds for not only 1 but 2 deserving girls! AFE is committed to ensuring both girls are able to achieve their dreams and have their entire 3 years funded by Arte for Elephants.
Big Elephant Magic Retreats:
Thailand: We are headed back to Thailand in December to visit Elephant Nature Park and enjoy our life-changing week in Northern Thailand. As of this writing we only have 2 spots open for this retreat.
Kenya: Hot on the heels of our Thailand retreat we are headed out to Kenya for a magnificent 9 day retreat/safari to visit, among other things, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Giraffe Sanctuary and Masai Mara with an option to visit Amboseli at the trips conclusion: Though our January and March 2020 dates are totally sold out, we are now taking bookings for December 2020 (those are going fast as well).
Cambodia: This week we are going to start taking bookings to visit Mystical Cambodia in February 2020- Land of fascinating history, culture, amazing cuisine and of course Elephants! We are going to visit Elephant Nature Park sanctuary near Siem Reap a place with gibbons and elephants as well as, UNESCO World Heritage site Angkor Wat, then down to Phenom Penh to the heart of Khmer culture and the site of dramatic, modern history. It’s a visit that will leave an indelible stamp on your heart. Check our website to see if this is right for you (space is limited to only 10).
To find out more please check out Big Elephant Magic Retreats on our Website
Partnerships. We have been putting a few finishing touches on some new and wonderful partnerships that we will be announcing in the coming weeks. From Kenya to Indonesia AFE is on the move!
WHEW, I get tired just thinking about all of it! Just when I think it’s too much work, I
reflect on the many wild, amazing, wonderful and all around fantastic elephant and animal lovers we meet at our shows around the world, and the sanctuary heroes moving mountains to rescue elephants and change cultures. I also think of the elephants themselves who have suffered so much and who continue on, they are source of never ending inspiration.
We look forward to seeing our old friends and making new ones as we head out to the Harvest Festivals in Nevada and California, VegFests in Portland,Orange County CA, and New Jersey, the Animal Rights Conference in Washington DC and a host of other events! See our FB page for details.
Stop by and say HI! Help rescue an elephant, see ya on the road!!
Thyra Rutter is Artist & Founder of Arte for Elephants, a business which generates funds for captive elephant welfare through the sale of art. Together with her photographer husband, David, Arte for Elephants has raised nearly $40,000 for elephant sanctuaries around the world, and spoken to countless people regarding the plight of elephants and educating young and old on elephant cruelty and exploitation.
