Executive Director of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, Clay Eals was the master of ceremonies at the Earth Cried Out exhibit of luminaria that were originally displayed on the Alki Promenade following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The one night event at the Alki Arts Gallery featured remarks from King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and the creator of the original event, Dean Keppler.
UPDATE: 9/9
if you missed the 'one night' deeply emotional display of the luminaria bags originally placed on Alki Beach following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You will no have a chance to see the exhibit.
Speaking on behalf of Diane Venti, proprietor at Alki Arts, Clay Eals, Exec. Dir. of the SW Seatttle Historical Society said, "We have decided, at Diane Venti's initiative, that the 9/11 display will stay up until 7 p.m. on Wednesday -- the actual 12-year anniversary of 9/11. This will give people who missed last night's program one more day to see the display, from noon to 7 p.m." The gallery is closed on Monday and Tuesday (you can see it clearly through the window) but will be up on Wednesday.
Original Post 9/8
In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks the range of emotions people felt was extreme. But the feeling of needing to do something, was for many hundreds of people in West Seattle undeniable.
Led by the thoughts and actions of Dean Keppler who had gathered near the Alki Statue of Liberty with friends, all in shock over the events of that day, more that 1690 people came down to the beach and poured out their feelings on paper bags, luminaria, to share what was in their hearts.
The bags were later collected and stored, as historic artifacts.
On Sept 8 they were assembled on the walls of the Alki Arts gallery for a one night only presentation called "The Earth Cried Out." The public was invited to hear some thoughts about the luminaria's significance and read the strong emotions preserved on the fragile medium of brown paper.
In attendance and invited to speak by Executive Director of the SW Historical Society Clay Eals, were Keppler, City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and King County Executive Dow Constantine.
Eals said, "This is an example of preserving history but it's also making history. Think of 50 to 100 years from now and we're all gone. People will want to know what we did here tonight. It's a great example of history in our lifetime."
Executive Constantine recalled the day itself. He was in his West Seattle home when he got a call from his brother, early in the morning. "He told me to turn on the television. I watched with everyone else the horror unfold." He came down to see the luminaria when they were displayed on that day. "It was a remarkable moment for us as Americans to appreciate our country and the ideals on which it's founded. And our connection to the larger world and humanity." Speaking about the luminaria he said, "Some of them are about patriotism, some of them are about America but a lot of them are about the human experience, about the universal tragedy that happened that day."
