What’s green, slimy and in decline along the North Coast? Kelp forests, which have diminished in recent years due to climate change and human impacts.
In response to the decline of kelp forests in Northern California, the second-annual North Coast KelpFest! is returning to the Mendocino Coast to celebrate the resilience of kelp and the ocean ecosystem.
The multi-day event will take place from Friday to Monday at various locations along the coast. KelpFest! is organized by local artists, educators, scientists and ocean advocates, including Word of Mouth Magazine, the Noyo Center for Marine Science, the Mendocino Art Center, and several others.
On Friday, KelpFest! will kick off with an educational event at Town Hall in Fort Bragg called “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: Mobilizing the Blue Economy in Fort Bragg.” The presentation will showcase findings from a planning document on coastal resiliency in Noyo Harbor and the surrounding area.
The two-year coastal resiliency plan is a project developed by the city of Fort Bragg and the Noyo Harbor District, in partnership with the California Sea Grant, a state program that uses federal and state funding to support coastal research and education. Friday’s event will run from 4-6 p.m.
On Saturday, the “Seaweed Spectacle Parade!” will take place at Portuguese Beach in Mendocino. The parade will feature costumes and a kelp forest display created by young artists from the coastal community. It will run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
KelpFest! will feature a Native American foods presentation on Sunday called the “Indigenous Food Festival and Market,” where the nonprofit Xa Kako Dile will offer sample ingredients from the land and ocean that have long been part of local tribes’ cuisine. Ingredients will include seaweed, kelp, acorns, blue corn and several traditional teas. Tribal arts and crafts will also be available for purchase. The market will be held at Xa Kako Dile’s Healing Gardens in Caspar and will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This year’s KelpFest! will begin Friday and conclude Monday. For a full schedule of events, click this link.
This story originally appeared in The Mendocino Voice.