Announcing Blogathon 2011!

I take a break in my regularly scheduled safari recap to make a very special announcement. That, and the overwhelming task of sorting through the meat of those 8000 photos we took in Africa is going to take a bit. I want to take the time to share the chimp experience with you all properly, especially considering the insanely dramatic turn of events after we left with the assassination of the alpha male and all.

I am super excited about this year’s Blogathon. I mean, I’m always excited about Blogathons and they are one of my favorite times of the year, and this one is no different. If you’re new to the blog, you can see what the blogathon is all about in the series of posts from previous blogathons. It started on a whim with no more than three days’ planning and turned into, well, pretty much the same thing except now I give myself three weeks or so to stress about it. Blogathon is a 24 hour fundraiser where I stay awake for 24 hours and make one post an hour- fun posts, sad posts, giveaways, guest posts, it’s a party extraordinaire, and we encourage people to give to the cause of the day.

In 2009, the cause was the San Diego SPCA.

In 2010, the cause was Bradyn Fergerson, a little guy who was raising funds for an epilepsy awareness dog;

And in 2011, the cause is one that’s been on my mind a lot this year:

San Diego wildlife refuge Lions, Tigers and Bears! I visited there late last year and fell in love with the work they are doing.

I chose them for a variety of reasons:

• The more time I spend with these wonderful animals in their natural habitat, the more horrified I am at what happens to them in captivity, especially in the hands of the fools who buy one as a pet and then dump them on places like Lions, Tigers and Bears to deal with for the rest of their lives.
• LTB recently rescued two bears from a defunct circus in Oklahoma– they were about to be turned over to a big game ranch for hunting purposes- and in their neglected state, their veterinary bills are mounting.
• LTB was a favorite place of my friend Kevin, and the thought of me pulling off some weird all nighter shenanigans in order to raise funds for a bunch of wild animals is something he would seriously love. Were he still here, I know he’d be first in line for the Catnip Experiment.

Catnip Experiment, you say?

Oh yes. Catnip experiment. As they explore myriad forms of enrichment for their big cats, the LTB founder has given permission for the volunteers to give the kitties some catnip and see what happens. To make it more fun, we’re doing it in conjunction with the blogathon and selling tickets to the general public.

Anyone who is in San Diego on November 12th and would like to visit Lions, Tigers and Bears and see the catnip in action, consider yourself invited! Details are at the link. And if you can’t go, I’ll be there overnight! Me and the lions, doing a little fly camping to the sound of roars and growls.

That’s right, the blogathon will be broadcast live from Lions, Tigers and Bears. And there will be a cooking challenge which may or may not involve catnip. I haven’t decided yet.

General Blogathon Information:

Date: Saturday, November 12, noon PST through Sunday, November 13- 11 am PST.

Location: www.pawcurious.com. Be there or be square.

Interested in participating?

There are lots of ways to participate. The easiest is just to show up here on the blog and join the party. But there are lots and lots of ways to take part:

• offer a guest post
• come to LTB and cheer us on
• provide prizes for giveaways
• Take part in the blogathon itself! Last year there were EIGHT of us who took part in the 24 hour craziness. Some of them were blogging for the same cause as I and some chose their own causes to support. It was amazing. My goal for this year is 25, but I’m not known for realistic goal setting.

I hope to see you here! And if you’re interested in participating in any way, let me know and I will keep you in the loop.