ORCAR

DAYNIGHT

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“What does it mean to transform a car into an orca?”

The Vision

When you step inside the Orcar, standing in the belly of a whale, we want you to feel hope, inspiration and wonder.

Based in Squamish, BC at the edge of the Atl’ka7tsem / Howe Sound, the Orcar carries a message from the endangered Southern Resident orcas in our waters onto the land.

24 ft

long

8 ft

wide

14 ft

tall

people inside

The Orcar's laser-cut tail fluke against a deep blue twilight sky, its carved wave curls edged in warm LED light

The Tail

SOUTHERN RESIDENT RECOVERY

Three levers for orca recovery

The Salish Sea’s Southern Resident orcas face three threats — too little salmon, too much underwater noise, and too much pollution. Each one has something people can do, and something industry can do.

People

Industry

Salmon

Their primary food — wild Chinook — is at historic lows.

People

Choose Ocean Wise–rated seafood, and back salmon-habitat restoration, healthy watersheds, and dam-removal efforts that rebuild wild Chinook runs.

Industry

Manage Chinook fisheries to leave more fish for orcas, improve fish passage and spill at dams, restore spawning habitat, and curb water withdrawals.

Noise

Vessel noise masks the echolocation they hunt with.

People

Keep ~400 m from whales, slow down on the water, and pick whale-watch operators who follow the Be Whale Wise rules.

Industry

Slow ships in key foraging zones (the Salish Sea ECHO model), build and maintain quieter hulls and propellers, and reroute traffic to create acoustic refuge.

Pollution

Toxins build up in their blubber and pass to calves.

People

Cut household toxics and single-use plastics, dispose of chemicals and oils properly, and reduce lawn and driveway runoff into storm drains.

Industry

Upgrade wastewater treatment, control stormwater and agricultural runoff, and phase out persistent pollutants — PCBs, flame retardants, and forever chemicals.

Healthy orcas need healthy salmon and a quiet, clean ocean.

The Orcar fully lit at night in a festival field — rainbow LED ropes tracing every rib, riders standing on its back, glowing market tents behind

After Dark

How It Was Made

Over three months, ~30 community members built it every Friday night at Create Makerspace in Squamish — spanning age, background, and skill level.

They learned MIG welding, electronics, laser cutting, sewing, and sound design — many for the first time — mentored side-by-side by experienced fabricators and artists. Steel armature rings, laser-cut fin panels, and LED wiring came together piece by piece into the finished whale.

A Friday-night workshop at Create Makerspace — community members gathered around the fabric studio

Laser cutter at Create Makerspace cutting Orcar fin panels from plywood

Team pressure-washing the Isuzu flatbed at Create Makerspace — prepping the truck for the Orcar build

A builder holds up a large steel armature ring at Create Makerspace, part of the Orcar's structural skeleton

Finished laser-cut plywood fin and tail panels for the Orcar on the workbench

A builder prototypes LED wiring on a small wooden mock-up of the Orcar truck

Join the Pod

We’re looking for makers, artists, and community members to help bring the Orcar to life. No experience required — just curiosity and willingness to learn.

The Orcar build crew of ~30 community members posing on and inside the finished orca sculpture at a summer festival

Skilled Contributors

Welders (MIG welding, steel forming)
Electricians / electronics (LED lighting, Arduino, sensors)
Sound design (interior ambient soundscape)
Surface finishing / painting

Get Involved

Volunteers & Supporters

Festival setup / teardown crew
Documentation (photo / video)
Community outreach
General support

Get Involved

The Orcar parked at night under a huge fringed canopy, its body and waves outlined in white LED, a lit stage and market stalls glowing behind

Where to Find Us

Sea-to-Sky and beyond — the stops the Orcar is rolling out to.

Wed, Aug 12, 2026
SORCA Bike Social
Create Makerspace · Squamish, BC
7:00–9:00pm · home base — the Orcar hosting the local bike crew
Thu, Sep 10, 2026
Cap U Frosh Week BBQ
Capilano University
11:30am–2:30pm · a few hundred new students meeting an orca
Sat, Sep 12, 2026
Brackendale Fall Fair
Brackendale Farmers Institute Park · Squamish, BC
10:00am–5:00pm · the Farmers Institute's community fair — farm animals, live music, hay rides and 80+ local vendors

Festival-goers climbing the stairs into the Orcar's open steel body, its carved tail raised against an evening sky

In the Media

Twenty-four feet of steel orca on a decommissioned diesel truck: climb the ribs, walk up the stairs into the body, and stand inside with twenty other people while thousands of LEDs trace the whale around you. It drives itself to site, runs all night on a daytime charge, and needs no generator.

Covered by The Squamish Chief, Ocean Wise, Happy Eco News, 604 Now, and Tourism Squamish.

Read the coverage

FOR FESTIVALS & EVENT ORGANIZERS

Bring the Orcar to your event

A crowd-drawing, fully-insured, walk-through light installation that’s genuinely simple to host. Here’s everything you need to know.

$2M insurance — included

General liability, certificate on request

Installs in 1–3 hours

Drives in, or craned & set

~1 kW · runs unattended

A 2-hour charge powers 12 hours of night lights — no generator

Up to 20 inside · climbable

Custom lights; 10+ can climb — restrictable per event

Mobile or grounded

Shuttles on its truck, or craned to the ground as a walk-through

All-weather

Welded steel structure, sealed 12V electronics

AT A GLANCE

Dimensions	24 ft long × 8 ft wide × 14 ft tall
Weight	~2,000 lb
Sited footprint	~24 × 14 ft incl. viewing perimeter
Power	~1 kW · a 2-hour daytime charge powers 12 hrs of night lighting · battery at night, no generator
Capacity	Up to 20 inside at a time · 10+ can climb (restrictable per event)
Crew	1 operator + 2 spotters when moving · unattended when parked
Transport	Self-drives (highway-legal) or craned / flat-decked
Sound	No amplified music needed
Customization	Lighting program, interior theming, and signage adapt per event · climbing enabled or restricted per site

TWO WAYS TO PLACE IT

On the truckmobile · shuttle

Roams at walking pace with spotters — a slow, mythic creature moving through the crowd. Can shuttle standing riders around the site. Ideal for parades and roaming activations.

Groundedsculpture · walk-through

Craned off the chassis to sit on the ground for the event's run — visitors walk through it like a passage, in one side and out the other. Reads as a permanent installation.