In years past, the guests of honor, too big to fit into Fort Bragg”s Whale Festival, haven”t even been invited.
But this year, whales galore were seen at Town Hall, albeit made of plywood and a tad smaller than the mammoth migratory mammals now swimming by the Mendocino Coast.
The new “Whales on Parade” display, art show and benefit silent auction featured 41 yard-high whale-art creations, ranging from Erin Dertner”s “Whale of a Town” depicting the village of Mendocino to George Reinhardt”s “wWred” which used earthtones to portray a techno whale with computer chips for internal organs.
Joanne Fagerskog and Linda Brown”s “Three Divers,” sponsored by Philbrick Logging, caught the eye of Brad Gardner of Redwood Investments, who was volunteering at the event for the Kiwanis Club. The stained glass creation features two divers riding on a whale.
“The third diver is the whale,” Gardner pointed out.
Gardner is also a fan of Charles Unser, a developmentally disabled artist who created a subdued canvas called “Whales of the Ancient World.”
“He often incorporates pyramids and other themes from the ancient world into his art,” Gardner said.
Last minute scribbling was frenzied as people crowded in to write their bids and the silent auction became noisy, as Gardner counted down the seconds left. Most of the uniformly sized wooden whales sold for more than the starting bid, which ranged from $100 to $500.
Saturday”s Whale Festival brought mobs of tourists and many locals, who were especially thrilled to finally see the sun and clear skies. The caveat was the wind, which ripped off hats, tangled hairdos and battered runners at the Whale Run and Walk. The wind also stirred the ocean to a froth of whitecaps, canceling all Saturday whale watching trips and making the spouts of whales impossible to distinguish from shore.
Sunday morning was calm enough for Kurt Akin, captain of the Rumblefish in Noyo Harbor, to take out two boatloads of 40 whale watchers. The boats had close encounters with adult whales but no babies this time, and only a total of six people got seasick as the waves picked up, Akin said. Sunday afternoon trips were again canceled due to the increasingly choppy conditions.
Fort Bragg”s new Pomo Bluffs city park was a superstar of the whale festival. Hundreds of 5 and 10k walkers and runners were treated to the ocean-front cliff top paved course and then a frigid trip over the Noyo River Bridge and back.
Organizer Joyce Gilbertson thinks there is no race in America with as spectacular a setting. A professional photographer worked the race this year and Gilbertson hopes to hire a crew to document the harbor, beach, bridge, river and ocean views from the race course. She said word is spreading, with 115 people registering online and participants coming from as far away as Georgia and Texas.
The Whale Festival wasn”t all run, fun and art. There were laughs too, with a comedy festival at the Caspar Community Center Friday and Saturday night. There were educational programs at MacKerricher State Park and Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, as well as whale and whaling songs, folklore and storytelling by Adam Miller at the Fort Bragg Library.
On Saturday, a Classic Car Show had more entries than would fit on Laurel Street. Also on Saturday, lines were long for the seafood chowder tasting at Town Hall, and microbrew tasting and a barbecue at Eagle”s Hall.
Festival crowds were smaller on Sunday, despite weaker wind.
Galleries along Main Street had hoped to be open with food, but that didn”t happen. Wine and raw food goodies like Linguini Parody with White Truffle Cream in Endive Cups at the Living Light Center in the Company Store provided the taste complement to the Whales on Parade.
Organized by Anna Kvinsland, “Whales on Parade” was a fund-raiser benefit for the Arts Council of Mendocino County, Kiwanis Club of Fort Bragg, and the Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce. Proceeds from the sale of the whales went to these three nonprofit community organizations.
Artists could also take half of the sale price of their whale when sold at auction, providing an economic benefit for Mendocino County artists, the chamber Website points out.
It got started in January with creation of the plywood templates by Charlie Bell of Surf and Sand Lodge. Bell cut over 40 nearly identical plywood whales and gave them to the artists to add paint, sand, glass from Glass Beach, abalone shell fragments and even political messages.
The political message came from Mendocino County Supervisor David Colfax, who created a whale that urges “Stop Offshore Oil Drilling” in blue colors, made with the ocean laws designed to protect the coast.
Bella Davidson was thrilled to win Dertner”s painting, which features Mendocino Presbyterian Church prominently. She has purchased Dertner prints but this is her first original from the prominent local artist.
“I was lucky my husband was with me. He said ”go ahead and bid” and I did. I probably wouldn”t have gotten it if I had been here by myself,” Davidson said.
Liana Fernandez of Oroville comes to the coast as often as possible and enjoys the art and Mendocino Art Center.
“I liked the aboriginal themes on some of the whales as well as the one by artist E. John Robinson.” Robinson, one of her favorite artists, provided a stunning horizontal seascape of whitewater, an image from a day much like the windy weekend.
Music was provided all day at Whales on Parade, first by guitarist and artist George Reinhardt, then by a harp player and finally by Will Power, the Fort Bragg High jazz band.
