Join The Whale Culture at Beach Festival

It’s all about being big at the Gulf Coast Whale Festival, Saturday, March 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Gulfside Pavilion. Big fun. Big waves. Big whales. There is no entry fee for the Festival that hosts 15 organizations, dozens of activities, live music and the only Whale Parade on Pensacola Beach.

Festival Coordinator Christian Wagley, who is the Florida-Alabama Coastal Organizer for Healthy Gulf, says there is something for everyone at this third year of the event.

“The Gulf Coast Whale Festival is an educational and fun event that helps us celebrate our Gulf whales as we build a Whale Culture on the Gulf coast,” said Wagley.

He went on to explain what Whale Culture means. “It's a level of awareness and excitement around the marine life that we love,” he said. “We already have this for sea turtles, dolphins and manatees. We are now working to do the same for our amazing Gulf whales.”

Guests can visit nature oriented kiosks around the Gulfside Pavilion. Among them will be Escambia County Natural Resource Management, Audubon Florida, Dolphin Island Sea Lab’s marine mammal research group, Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center and the Finley Mermaid Company. Yes, there will be a mermaid at the Festival along with a life-sized inflatable whale.

If you have ever wondered about the inside of a whale, here is your chance to learn more. This is always a popular “crawl in” feature at the Festival.

Birds of a Feather will have their Whale Puppets and will lead the What Parade. Everyone is invited to join the marching parade, or just watch as the parade with marine life puppets, costumed people and other creations waltz past.

Ocean Hour is hosting a beach clean up in conjunction with the Gulf Coast Whale Festival. Sign in begins at 8:45 a.m. at the Whale Festival site at Casino Beach. The clean up lasts from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

“We supply everything you need,” said Ocean Hour’s Sharon Gincauskas. “Grabbers, buckets, gloves. All you need to bring is your own water and a friend.”

In addition to the kiosks which ring the Gulfside Pavilion, the center stage will have entertainment. The Whale Wonderful Oath, sponsored by Island Times, and administered by Pensacola Beach’s JJ Waters will take place at 10:15 a.m. Guests can step up and make a pledge to learn more about whales and how to be good stewards of the local waters. A marine life charm is awarded to those who take the Whale Wonderful Oath.

The Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center’s Cristen Weaver follows with the Clean Water Game for kids. Festival attendees will be entertained by musicians - The Ukuladies, Bob Teague and Pat Meusel, Madeline Earth, and Love Brynnevere.

Love Brynnevere will headline the performances taking the stage at 1 p.m. Her listeners have described her performances as “exactly what the world needs to hear,” and “her music hugged me.”

There are a few vendors who will have artwork, jewelry, t-shirts and more. For coffee fans, the Tin Can Coffee Cart will be on site.

The Whale Culture is spreading according to Wagley. He noted that the Bear Fruit Bowls, located on Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier, carries “Happy Whales” coffee which is roasted by Amavida, an eco-responsible B-Corp. For each bag sold on the Amavida website, a donation is made to Healthy Gulf.

The Gulf Coast Whale Festival grows to include additional events hosted in support of the awareness effort. Laura Engley will present “The Gulf Whale: Why the Rice's whale story belongs to all of us,” Friday, March 6 at 6 p.m. at Waterboyz, 380 N. Ninth Avenue in Pensacola. Engley is recently retired NOAA Fisheries Marine Mammal Branch Chief, Southeast Region, and now serves as Chair of the Rice’s Whale Collaborative Network Steering Committee. She will share the incredible story of the Rice’s whale — a story of discovery, survival, and the challenges it continues to face, all unfolding in our own backyard.

If the waves cooperate, longboard surfers will compete in Spicy Ricey, a single fin surf contest, immediately west of the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier, March 7. The event already has 19 entries including the Upper Room Church Paster Nathan Pooley. Registration is open until March 2 at https://liveheats.com/events/460001

The Gulf Coast Whale Festival concludes at 3 p.m. with a message of gratitude and farewell from Wagley.

There is no charge to attend and parking is free. For updates, facebook.com/healthygulf/events