Center. Yes. And today we’re learning all about these little beauties over here. And we are joined by Debbie Goodrich and Ron Jellum with a flight club Foundation, not Fight Club, but flight. So we can talk about this one. Yes, we definitely can. I encourage it. So tell us a
Little bit about the theme this year and what people can expect. Oh, Seattle Parrot Expo theme this year is Go Green. So she’s wearing green this today, which is very good green in any way. So green in many ways. So the first way to go green is that you’re going
To get a rainforest immersive experience. Yes, we actually have a floral company coming in and we’re actually decking out the entire place as much into a rainforest as we can. So you get that we have lots of plants for sale, too, including plants that are safe for parrots, plants
That you should have in your home. So it helps increase your airflow and things like that in your home. So you can also maximize your oxygen. So there’s that kind of green. And then of course, we also have you guys trying to learn how to do more green things like
The water refill station or recycling. Very nice. That’s wonderful. I love that theme. And people are going to get to learn about more than 50 different parrots and even help raise funds to protect them. So kind of tell us about how this is going to benefit Flight Club Foundation. Hey so the way
Seattle Parrot Expo benefits Flight Club Foundation is actually our primary fundraiser for the year, we actually have several fundraisers all year long, but this one’s the big one. So this is where we try to encourage as many people to come and see what it’s like to basically be in a
Rainforest and see all these different pairs that are found around the world. Parrots are found on every continent of the planet. The way it benefits them? Well, pretty much every five of them, anyway. Out of the seven is where they originally came from. So the way it benefits Flight Club
Foundation is that all these people are going to come in and see these guys and the seeing the aviary of the 50 birds is a free thing that we try to offer for the community to learn about so they can feel enriched and empowered about helping the environment. Then in return
We have raffles and auctions and everything else that we’re doing for fund raising . So. So basically we get the grants and the sponsors . Thank you. Sponsors Without them we wouldn’t be anywhere. So it’s them that really help the funding for Flight Club itself? Oh, of course. So the event is
Actually going to feature some special guests, including international Parrot experts from all over the world. So tell us a little bit about the kind of topics they’re going to be sharing. Oh, yeah. So some of the people that are coming in, one is Hila. She’s coming in from
Germany. Wow. And she is a parrot behavior specialist like myself. I’m a parrot behavior specialist as well . And so she’s coming in from Germany. We’re flying in Dr. Brian Speer from California. He is the only certified veterinary behaviorist that specializes in birds in the United States. And he is coming to
Seattle Parrot Expo. Oh, that’s wonderful. So it’s really amazing. And so those are the talks that actually are helping fund Flight Club Foundation as well. And you’ve got a fund helping parrots. Yes, lovely. And you’ve got fun activities, food trucks. You know, artists. And at the end of each day, you’ve got a
Parrot performance for people to catch. Yeah. Tell us about that fun. Yeah. So this is Jesse, my primary performing parrot. And as you can tell, she’s already ready to go. Yep Wow. So one of the things that this lovely lady likes to do is she likes to show you guys
How her feet are. So if you take a look at her feet, her feet are just as long as her legs. So it makes it rather impossible to do scooting behavior. And so a lot of people go like, why do you teach your parrot to roller skate? Well because these
Guys are no longer rainforest birds. They’re sitting birds. So this silly bird has learned to roller skate, not just for me, but for a lot of other people too, like our host. Oh, so you can actually just hold your hand out like that. She’ll come over and take a
Treat just like that. And you guys can demonstrate exactly how you guys get to see and demonstrate how even though these guys have a really amazing, powerful mouth, they really don’t like to hurt you. Yeah, well, that’s very cool, isn’t it? So the roller skating piece is that she’s doing something beyond her
Physical ability. So humans are the only other ones known for that. Interesting. Parrots can do it too. Surprise. Wow. So we try to show that. And because she’s a city parrot, she says she’s got to help her rainforest friends. Oh any trash can. Yeah, right, Exactly. So what we got to
Do is, of course, reuse, reduce and recycle to save that rainforest, right? I mean, we’ve got to keep that around and about you, But we can’t eat air. I mean, we can’t buy air or can’t buy food, can’t buy water. We can’t buy food and water. What am I saying? You can’t
Live without it. That’s what I meant to say. Of course. So she’s actually going to recycle for us. So can you recycle all you got one? She goes, Oh, that’s pretty exciting. Keep going. You got more there, kiddo? Reduce, reuse, recycle. That’s right. And then she’s got some glass here, too.
Apparently the mom in me wants to start singing the clean up song. Clean up, clean up. Everybody everywhere. And if you do that, she’ll actually will dance to you. She’ll do some dancing. If you sing something Pe Dance all the way. Dance Look at that swagger. Dancing. She’s like, Well, I’m kind of
Jiving. There we go. There she goes. Some dancing there. And then obviously, in her case, her biggest thing that she really likes doing is showcasing how these guys really do find things and bring things back. So these guys are very good retrievers. So if you ever want a retriever in
Your house, just get a parrot just kidding. Look at that. Yeah So these guys are a lot of work to take care of and that’s what we have. That’s why we have this whole expo for is. So you can learn everything about parrots, anything about in the wild, anything about
What it takes to take care of them. Here with us. And of course, Flight Club does help a lot of parents get into homes who need homes. We do a lot of triage, adoption and things like that, too. So you guys are helping pay for all that beautiful. So definitely
Still possible for these guys to prepare its to be pets. You just have to kind of know what you’re getting into. Absolutely need to know what you’re getting into. Yeah. And yes they are still legal to own as pets. There’s no rules and stuff coming up about keeping them, which is great. We
Want those rules in place to help protect them, but they are really remarkable to have. I mean, they’re like our inspiration. That’s what keeps us going. Yeah. And when these guys are seen by audiences that they see and everybody says they come up to me and they say, this is
The best day I’ve ever had in my life. When we do shows with them, they’re like, Wow, I had no idea. And I’m like, There you go. That’s why we do it. It gives me goosebumps every time. That’s so sweet. What better compliment is there than that, really? I mean, you
Talked about it a little bit. What are some of the other reasons that you know, events like this are so important in the world of just exotic animals in general? Well, what’s really important is that we got to see all these different animals in person. A lot of people. Exactly. If we don’t
See them in person, we’re not going to know what they really are, what they smell like, what they feel like, their actual size in comparison to your size, a documentary can’t do that. They can’t replicate. Seeing them in person. We need more advocates either for having all these animals with us or
Even not without advocates. We might not have a future with animals. That would be bad. Yeah, so that’s why we really need to see these guys up personal and up front. Having them in person, a lovely opportunity, but in case people can’t make it, they can watch part of the
Programs online. Tell us. Absolutely. So the cool thing about Seattle Parrot Expo is that we have some geniuses that help us out. And so those geniuses help us broadcast past the entire thing online. So there’s going to be a whole bunch of free portions to Seattle Parrot Expo that you guys
Get to experience on our Facebook page and on our website. In addition to those paid speaker things. So we’ll be doing like a tour of Seattle Parrot Expo Live. So we’ll be broadcasting that to our Facebook page and stuff like that. So it’s broadcast across the world. Last time
We did our broadcast in 2020, we did a major broadcast. Then so we still have the expo. Back then we saw a 37 languages at 42 countries and 5000 people tuned in. Wow, beautiful. So pretty that I’m just like getting hypnotized. Looking at what she actually will actually say some words to
You if you want it to. Oh yeah. Really quickly you say hi, they say hi. Hi So we think Jesse, can you say hi back? Hi Hello. Hi. Hi. Hi And she really does care about you guys. She also will say, How are you? Okay. Okay. We think Jesse, can
You say how are you, Casey, How are you, baby? How are you? How are you? They said it. Can you say it? No. How are you? Oh, there it is. Wow. Debbie So. So when it comes to. Thank you so much for coming in. Just. Oh, just for fast. When it comes
To talking, it’s up to them. So if they find it interesting, they say it. Don’t expect it when you own a bird. Oh, very nice. Okay, now we can.
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