Wow! What an incredible Mascoorade Party! We had such a wonderful time flocking with so many amazing people- human and avian! We reunited with friends from the past, we met our social media friends IRL, we snorgled and loved and appreciated each other and it was really awesome to spend a few rare, precious hours with so many Palomacitas all in the same room! Without a sanctuary or facility, and rescuing across not just all of Northern CA but virtually nationwide, our work is mostly done apart. We communicate constantly and local volunteers get to connect at outreach and adoption events in the SF Bay Area but for the most part, we don’t get the luxury of time spent together. It was a joy to be surrounded by so many compassionate, dedicated, birdy people! And to our many friends, both near and far, that weren’t able to attend, you were with us in our hearts. We had a wonderful party and raised $4,233 to help birds. We’re already thinking about next year’s party- on 10/17/20 – and we would love your help! Email Elizabeth@PigeonRescue.org to join our party crew!

Huge grateful thanks to The Oakland Zoo for so generously supporting our party and donating their big, beautiful perfect Zimmer Auditorium for our amazing venue! Everybody raved about it! What a wonderful setting for our Mascoorade! Extra special thanks to Conservation Specialist Adrienne Mrsny and Director Amy Gotliffe for their patient help all the way through months of planning and till the last box was packed out (& found).

Palomacy is a small team with a huge job- rescuing & rehoming pigeons & doves- depending on one paid staff person (me) and about 100 volunteers who help out in all the ways they can. And rescue never stops. There’s no break in the work to party plan. We don’t have a fund development department, an event coordinator, or any budget to host an annual celebration. It is all done through volunteers & donations. It is a big labor of love! (Someday we’ll have a party honoring our volunteers rather than working them silly!)

Sending love and get well wishes to our much missed photographer volunteer Ryan Reed (so please forgive our non-pro photos) and to our beloved celebrity and guest presenter Cynthia Zhou (of Miu fame), who were not well enough to join us.

Everybirdy that came (and many who didn’t) contributed in some way (thank you!) including several super above and beyond volunteers upon whom the whole effort depended! Our incredibly delicious and plentiful plant-based feast was mostly home cooked and all donated with many to thank including Ranjini Subramaniam, Jill McMurchy, Cheryl Dickinson, Chris Okon, Margie Gear, Ashley and Jenny VanNess, Trina Takahashi, Dyan Collins, Sabina Schechter, Clare Malone Prichard, Cinnaholic plus the extra special contributions from Josette & Luis Maury who donated and served all the beverages throughout plus six cases of delicious Pale Ale emergency donated by Drake’s Brewing Company’s (watch for their special brew War Pigeon!), Chava and Zach Sonnier who fed us all with their delicious homemade, family-secret-recipe jambalaya and bean salad, and Aileen Paterson who heroically stepped, again, into the cornerstone role of food coordinator (for the third year in a row, despite vowing never again, twice now, I think) and also cooked up incredible dishes of ratatouilles and pesto pasta that we are still talking about three days later!

Big, giant special thanks also to our incredibly generous party sponsors Ash O’Connor of FleaCircusDesigns.com who flew all the way in from Massachusetts bringing lots of money and plushies and pins for Palomacy and to artist, cosplayer and game-streamer pigeon evangelist Commander Holly and First Officer Feathers who flew in from Washington special for Palomacy!

Our hard-working Welcome Team was super friendly, organized and, well, welcoming! Special thanks to Nathan Buchar and his Sophia for anchoring the team. (How many representations of Sophia’s perfect little feeties did you spot throughout the party?)

We had so many amazing treasures donated! And we had amazing help setting everything up and helping everybody to buy and win their hearts’ desires, thanks to Shae Irving’s coordination and Kendall and Ian and Emma’s generous support!

Heartfelt gratitude to all who donated treasures to make our Mascoorade so exciting!

A Fulmer Artistry.com by Stassia
Aria Jalali & Julie Ngo PigeonStroller.com
Ash O’Connor FleaCircusDesigns
Ashley Dietrich Olive’s Place
Barna Mink GalambaTech.com
Bev’s Bird Boutique Flypers
BirdDiaper.com
Chava Sonnier
Christiana Reed
Evie’s Crystal Masks
Faeries & Fiends
Heather Hohlowski
Janice Lipsky’s Woot!
Josette Maury
Mayla Collins
Medical Center for Birds
Meg Germundson Puffology
Nancy Chiu
Nathan Buchar
Purgrain Pigeon & Dove Food
Zoe Martell

 

Super Cheryl staffed, for the third year in a row, our full service Bird Care Station, patiently answering questions, weighing, worming, spraying, nail-trimming, egg-advising, pants-sizing and snorgling people and birds alike.

Saska and her daughter Riley, sister Sonya, mother Raven and rescued pigeon Amaya came down from Washington to create a magical Mask Making activity for our guests.

And lots of people brought their own masks!

Of course, no event would be Palomacy without lots of amazing birds and their adopters and fosters and rescuers!

And of course, the whole event was made magic, special and soul-feeding by our amazing, incredible Christiana! Christiana brings all the sparkle to our parties (with eco-friendly cellulose glitter, no less) and gives her limitless joy, creativity and passion to us with unparalleled generosity! Christiana sources and creates all of the beautiful wall coverings, table toppers, wall decor, signs (indoors and outside too)! She created 52 amazing paper flowers for us and brought nearly as many masks, large and small. Signs, saris, special touches too many to list! Christiana- we can never thank you enough for all the joy you bring to Palomacy!

Rock Dove Melne created our Mascoorade soundtrack on Spotify, I posted a live video from the party to Facebook that you’re invited to watch (it’s a little funky, signal strength ebbed and waned) and you can also see an album of lots of fun party photos here.

And of course, don’t forget our clean up crew! No matter how many hours spent, how tired, how many miles the drive home is, they got it done!

PHOTOS by Kathryn Carlson (@cowbellthepij)

EXTRA BONUS PHOTOS for those who got all this way!

Please support the life-saving, culture-changing work Palomacy is doing for pigeons and doves and the people who love them. Please, if you haven’t already, become a monthly donor, in any amount, and take a stand for these amazing birds.

Thank You!

Elizabeth Young, founder & director

P.S. Save the date 10/17/20!