🍿 Monday Special: Otter 501 at the Bay Theatre

Otter 501 at the Bay Theatre in Morro Bay

The Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast present a one-night fundraiser screening of Otter 501 at the Bay Theatre in downtown Morro Bay on Monday, September 7. Doors open at 5:00 PM, the film starts at 5:30 PM, and general admission is $10, with tickets available through my805tix.

Bob Talbot’s 2012 documentary opens in a storm, when a days-old sea otter pup is separated from her mother off the Monterey Bay coastline. Rescued and numbered 501, she gets a rare second chance at life in the wild, and the film follows that long shot through the eyes of Katie, a young volunteer drawn into the effort to pull southern sea otters back from the edge. Rated G and running 85 minutes, it works for scouts, kids, and anyone who has ever watched an otter crack a crab open on its chest.

Around here, that describes most of us. Morro Bay’s resident otters raft in the harbor year-round, often within easy view of the T-piers and the Embarcadero, so the natural double feature is the movie followed by the real thing a few blocks away. The Monday Specials series pairs a film with a local nonprofit each week, and this one sends admission dollars to Girl Scouts programming across the Central Coast. September 7 is Labor Day, a fitting close to the holiday weekend.

For everything happening after Otter 501 leaves the screen, the HelloMorroBay event calendar carries the rest of the month.