Free event to include reefs, a video of Eternal Reefs progress through the years, food trucks, arts and crafts, tours, giveaways, games and marine conservation groups – veterans will be honored and Arlington of the Sea will be introduced
SARASOTA, Fla., Oct. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On Saturday, Nov. 11, Eternal Reefs and Reef Innovations will host a block party from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to mark 25 years of creating living legacies that heal families and the sea. The event will also celebrate the five-year anniversary of the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef, the first and only ocean memorial to the 65 lost United States submarines and more than 4,000 officers and crew who remain forever "on eternal patrol."
"We are elated that we've been building creative memorial reefs for a quarter century and also proud to also mark five years since we dedicated our meaningful project On Eternal Patrol," said George Frankel, Eternal Reefs CEO. "We thank the more than 3,000 families who have worked with us over these last 25 years and look forward to celebrating the joint anniversary together in November."
Established in 1998, Eternal Reefs is a non-profit that takes a person's cremated remains, mixes them with environmentally friendly concrete and incorporates them into a gigantic Reef Ball which is then lowered to a final resting place on the ocean floor, replenishing the diminishing coral reefs and creating an underwater memorial. Significant marine growth appears in as little as a few weeks thus an Eternals Reef is at once healing for the sea and for families — many loved ones choose to physically mix the cremains and go out on the boat to see reefs deployed. There are no cremated remains in the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef project.
The anniversary block party will be held at the Eternal Reefs/Reef Innovations headquarters at 1126 Central Ave. in Sarasota. Guests can enjoy food trucks, arts and crafts, giveaways, games, a video showing Eternal Reefs progress through the years, and more. Guests will have the opportunity to sign gigantic reef balls which will be deployed to the ocean at a later date. For each signature garnered, Eternal Reefs will make a donation to the United States Submarine Veterans Inc. (USSVI), a Tolling of the Boats ceremony (where each lost submarine is recognized) will be playing, and veterans from all branches of service will be acknowledged.
The event will also feature state gubernatorial proclamations, certificates, and U.S. flags from the launch of the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef in 2018. After the block party, flags recognizing the lost submarines will be distributed to governors to thank them for their proclamations and to commemorate the submarine that each respective state has adopted and continues to honor. A listing of submarines and the states which honor them can be found here.
Since 1998, Eternal Reefs has provided military funeral honors and created memorial reefs for more than 100 veterans. One question was constantly asked: is there a memorial reef site for veterans who prefer a reef memorial who also want to be recognized in a national cemetery? The On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef is the demonstration project to show the U.S. Veterans Administration the value of creating a national veteran's memorial reef site as part of the national veterans cemetery network.
At the Nov. 11 block party Eternal Reefs will introduce Arlington of the Sea, a proposed memorial alternative for veterans that replenishes ocean resources and relieves pressure on dwindling space at our nation's revered burial sites. The Arlington of the Sea concept memorial reef is a memorial choice for those veterans who wish to continue their service with a green memorial that will help to preserve, protect and enhance the marine environment for future generations. Arlington of the Sea is designed to replicate the visual impact of the headstones found in our national veteran cemeteries, with all the memorial reefs arranged in organized rows and columns on the ocean floor, all facing out to sea.
Other marine conservation groups will participate at the Eternal Reefs block party on Nov. 11 to share information and educate the public. Confirmed organizations include (alphabetically to date) ACREE (Arndt Animal Center for Rehabilitation and Environmental Education), Keep Manatee Beautiful, Sarasota Bay Parrot Head Club, Sarasota Bay Watch, SeaMonkey Apparel, Suncoast Aqua Ventures, and Suncoast Reef Rovers.
The event is free to attend but there is a fee for food truck refreshments. Veterans are welcome and encouraged to be in uniform. Updates and more information here.
About Eternal Reefs
The Genesis Reef Project dba Eternal Reefs, Inc. is a Sarasota-based non-profit organization that provides a creative, environmentally enhancing way to memorialize the cremated remains of a loved one. Eternal Reefs incorporates cremains into a proprietary concrete mixture used to cast artificial reef formations which are then dedicated as permanent memorials which bolster natural coastal reef formations. Eternal Reefs pioneered the concept of reef memorialization and, since 1998, the organization has placed more than 3,000 Memorial Reefs in 25 locations off the coasts of Florida (Atlantic and Gulf coasts) Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, substantially increasing the ocean's diminishing reef systems. Memorial reefs can only go in properly permitted locations by the U.S. Government. Eternal Reefs has strategic partnerships with the Reef Ball Foundation and Reef Innovations. Learn more at http://www.EternalReefs.com or on the company's Facebook page.
Media Contact
Becky Peterson, Eternal Reefs, 770.367.0321, [email protected], https://www.eternalreefs.com/
SOURCE Eternal Reefs
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