Hands Across the Sand this Saturday at Wrightsville

This Saturday, May 21, people on Wrightsville Beach and 13 other beaches along North Carolina’s coast will line up by the water’s edge and join hands to stand against offshore seismic testing and for alternate energy sources.

Wrightsville Beach’s Hands Across the Sand event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Crystal Pier. Kevin Piacenza, offshore drilling campaign coordinator for Surfrider Foundation’s Cape Fear Chapter, expects anywhere between 150 and 400 participants.

“It’s a pretty impressive visual,” he said.

He said the unbroken line of protestors represents protecting the coast and “preserving the thriving industries that we enjoy along our coastline: the tourism, fishing, real estate, all of that.”

“It represents the solidarity of citizens who call the coast home.”

Last year’s event protested offshore drilling, but since then, the federal government has announced it won’t allow offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean through 2022. But seismic testing could still occur, Piacenza said, so this year’s protest will focus on that.

“Seismic testing is still an ongoing issue right now,” he said. “We’re trying to gather as many people as we can to send in comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.”

Before joining hands, Surfrider’s Cape Fear Chapter will hold a 30-minute informational session. They will hand out educational materials and speak briefly about the issues this year’s event is protesting.

Then, at noon, people will line up and join hands for a few minutes.

For more details, visit handsacrossthesand.org