Channel Islands--The party was in full swing at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum on Sunday, April 7, as the 25th Annual Celebration of the Whales drew a friendly crowd that enjoyed the sunshine.
THE event, sponsored by Toppers Pizza, featured a concert in the park, a community “paint a whale” mural project, chalk art, shopping, a children’s fun zone, and much more.
Channel Islands Maritime Museum Executive Director Doug Riffenburgh took over in October 2023, so it’s his first event, and he is really proud of all the volunteers.
“It’s the biggest celebration of Whales we’ve had to date,” he said. “It keeps growing and getting bigger, and our volunteers do a fantastic job to make it easy on me.”
Riffenburg said the museum continues building relationships and getting plenty of exposure.
“We were on Spectrum One News the other day,” he said. “The vendors come from all over. We want to have a maritime theme here, and we have local artists. We have non-profits here defending our oceans and defending our community about the importance of sustaining the oceans.”
He said the Whales are “really awesome.”
“They’re out in force this year,” he said. “Our purpose is to…
