Whale Days Festival Coming to San Diego Bay

Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Contact: Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216

Whale watching season has become one of San Diego's favorite times of the year. A free community event, designed to celebrate the giant mammals, as well as educate the public on their migration, will be held along San Diego's North Embarcadero.

The Big Bay Whale Days Festival is coming to the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier, 1000 North Harbor Drive, on Saturday, January 21. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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From late December to early April, San Diego celebrates the migration of thousands of California Gray Whales. Their annual journey takes them from the Bering Sea, past the San Diego coast, to the protected warm waters off Baja California, Sonora and Sinoloa, Mexico.

The Big Bay Whale Festival is part of a month-long celebration in January, known as Whale Days.

"For the past four years, the Whale Days Festival has provided the community with a wonderful opportunity to learn about the California gray whale, it's migration as well as ecology and conservation," said Rebecca Milkey, Festival Chair and marketing director for Hornblower Cruises and Events. "The public can also find out information about whale watching and how to interact with the whales safely and affordably."

The event supports the Port's goal to create a vibrant waterfront, year-round, that attracts residents and visitors to the bayfront of its five member cities, and bring an economic boost to businesses located there.

Several businesses have partnered with the Port in the annual Whale Days celebration by offering discounted fares on whale watching and bay cruises.

Discounted "Whale Days" cruises will be featured during the entire month of January at Hornblower Cruises & Events and Flagship Cruises & Events along with deals from a variety of Embarcadero attractions and restaurants. The USS Midway Museum and the Maritime Museum of San Diego will have "Whale Days" admission specials and money saving coupons will be available for Embarcadero merchants including Anthony's Fish Grotto, Seaport Village and Old Town Trolley Tours.

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Children attending the event can experience a giant "walk through" inflatable gray whale, as well as other interactive activities. There will also be live sea creatures, free face painting, a children's art mural coloring project, a festival train ride and a bounce house.

Adults can enjoy live music on the "Whale of a Stage" featuring the James Gibson Band, Nadro John and Jinnah Williams.

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San Diego Bay and its surrounding tidelands provide a recreational haven for boaters, cyclists, fishermen, runners and art enthusiasts. Seventeen public parks along the waterfront include amenities such as children's playgrounds, basketball courts, soccer fields, baseball fields and miles of scenic walkways. There are four public fishing piers, four public boat launch ramps and several accessible boat docks.

The Port of San Diego was created by the state Legislature in 1962. Since then, it has invested $1.7 billion in public improvements in its five member cities: Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, National City and San Diego.

The Port oversees two maritime cargo terminals, a cruise ship terminal, 17 public parks, various wildlife reserves and environmental initiatives, the Harbor Police Department and the leases of more than 600 tenant and sub-tenant businesses around San Diego Bay.