San Pedro’s Marine Mammal Care Center, an open-air hospital for injured and sick sea lions and seals, will celebrate its pearl anniversary this year.
The facility opened its doors 30 years ago — and it’s still going strong.
The center will celebrate that milestone on Saturday, June 18, during its annual Seal Day event, which will feature food trucks, music and other festivities.
The stars of the show, as always, will be the whiskered marine mammals who bark and splash and otherwise charm just about anyone who stops to watch awhile.
The center, in Angel’s Gate Park, 3601 S. Gaffey St., opened on Oct. 1, 1992, as part of an arrangement that stemmed from Marineland closing.
The new center was a collaboration of the textbook company that purchased the Marineland property, in Rancho Palos Verdes, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The center originally was proposed for RPV, but that city rejected a $750,000 offer from Marineland’s new owners, book publishing company Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, to build a center there.
Ultimately, the center, with buy-in from LAUSD, went to San Pedro to serve as an educational resource for students of all ages, along with a sea lion healing center.
In the years since, the center has become a popular visitor spot in the port town. When it ran into financial difficulties in 2019, board members and the community rallied to raise more than the $1 million needed through donations, fundraisers and grants.
The center’s goal remains the same: rehabilitating and releasing marine mammals back to their ocean home.
It’s the only year-round marine animal hospital in Los Angeles County, admitting more than 350 patients a year.
Seal Day will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, with live music, food and opportunities to see the center’s patients.
An auction will also be conducted online. (Who wants a really cute crocheted seal hat?) Other items include stays at the Terranea Resort, a custom surfboard a trip to Cabo San Lucas, restaurant gift cards and an African safari package for two.
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June 17, 2022 at 07:22AM
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San Pedro’s Marine Mammal Care Center will celebrate Seal Day, 30th anniversary on Saturday - Daily Breeze
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