Annual 2025 Whale Festival

We're Back! We are excited to announce that the Whale Festival in Mendocino will be taking place on Saturday, March 1st. Come walk the village or take a trolley ride through town to visit the shops, inns and galleries who will be hosting our local Anderson Valley wineries and providing tasty appetizers to pair with them. To whet your appetite, a few of the wineries pouring will be Husch, Meyer Family Cellars,  Brutocao, Twomey, Barra, SeaWolf, Seebass and Fathers and Daughters. Keep watching for the full list coming soon!

You can enjoy these wines while perusing some of the local shops and galleries, such as Prentice Gallery, Highlight Gallery,Gallery Bookshop,  Astoria Home Store, and Mendocino Sandpiper . Also the trolley will take you to the tastings at the  Sea Rock Inn, Seagull Inn, Meyer Family Cellars, Century 21, Engle & Volkers Real Estate, and Pamela Hudson Real Estate.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND this year is the CHOWDER TASTING EVENT!  Yes!!   We will be once again, offering the best of the coast restaurants and culinary delights with chowder of all varieties that you can sample and also vote on for a People's Choice Award!  Come early as this event sells out quickly!

In addition, you won't want to miss the history of the Whale Wars, which were the forerunners of the current whale festivals.  More details coming soon.  

 For event information for the Fort Bragg 2025 Whale Festival activities, please keep an eye on our website as well as  https://visitfortbraggca.com/

    mendoparks.org/whale-festival,  https://pointcabrillo.org/self-guided-whale-trail/, t https://noyocenter.org and the Mendocino Land Trust at The whales are still here and many other events are happening with regards to the whale migration, including guided whale walks and talks.  For information go to 

Mendocino Whale Wars Exhibit

March 1st – 31st, 2024 at the Kelley House Museum

 

Few people know that the Mendocino Whale Festival started not as a party, but as a war: the Mendocino Whale War. In 1975, when Greenpeace captured footage of a Russian vessel slaughtering whales off the Mendocino Cape, it became the catalyst for a small group of concerned citizens to take action which included a dramatic anti-whaling campaign off the coast. The first Whale Festival was held that year in March, 1976 to educate the public about the plight of the endangered whales and to raise money for the voyage. Visit the Kelley House Museum during March to view posters, photographs, and news clippings in an exhibit curated by Mendocino High School student Sebastian Allen. The film, “The Boy Who Talks to Whales” will be viewable at the Kelley House Museum during March. Cider and cookies will be served on March 2, 1 PM - 3 PM, during the Mendocino Whale Festival. Museum open Fri - Sun, 11 AM -3 PM, 45007 Albion Street, Mendocino.