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Annual Festival of Whales means big crowds, big business for Dana Point
 Vol. 2, Issue 9, February 27-March 5, 2009
Jonathan Volzke and Alyssa Anderson
Dana Point Times
Annual Festival of Whales means big crowds, big business
2009 Festival of Whales Event Program Download PDF
Sure, the place to see whales is off the Dana Point coast. But that doesn’t mean the Festival of Whales has to be exclusively waterfront, and as organizers prepare for the 38th annual event, they promise that visitors will take to the entire city, like fish take to water.
And businesses are hoping the two-weekend event, which begins March 7, brings a wave of new customers, too. Business owners count on the March bump for sales.
“Love it! Love the draw,” Mark Hanson from Art Sea said. “The festival is a great community party.”
Chad Poulos from White Pelican Jewelry agreed, adding that the event draws folks from outside of Dana Point, too. “It brings in foot traffic. There’s definitely a boost to the local economy.”
At La Plaza Park downtown, Jimmy McCrary at Hennessey’s said the restaurant is packed during the parade. In the past, though, parade day was really the only day he saw a big increase in business. That might change this year.
Organizers have worked to add new events to the festival, and new locations, too. This year’s Festival includes a movie night in the harbor, a 5k run, classic car shows and a closing barbecue and concert.
Nichole Chambers, who’d only been in her position as executive director of the Dana Point Chamber of Commerce for two months when last year’s festival rolled around, said an expanded lineup of events and locations this year came from greater coordination among the groups that organize the events, as well as feedback from visitors.
“We get a lot of phone calls,” Chambers said. “When people heard the word “festival” and saw what they were getting, they felt it was two different things. So we decided let’s give them what they want, a festival atmosphere.”
That means an improved street faire, Chambers said, and several other events. In the end, the goal is to translate that fun into increased business. “It’s a chance to showcase Dana Point…businesses can get creative and use the festival to their advantage.”
Christy Teague, the city’s economic development director, said Dana Point has done studies on the economic impact of the Festival of Whales in the past, but it’s often hard to measure because businesses might not necessarily see an increase immediately.
“Hopefully merchants see lots of people coming in and discovering their business,” Teague said. “If we get people coming in from North Orange County who haven’t been to Dana Point in long time and they decide Cannons or Luciana’s is their favorite restaurant as a result of coming to a concert at Festival of Whales, that’s great.”
One change this week is Restaurant Week, when participating eateries will offer a fixed menu and special pricing. The week will bridge the two weekends and make the entire week special, organizers said.
It’s even more important now, Teague said, because the economy is stifling large vacations, making weekend and local getaways more important to capture. Efforts such as the re-born Grunion Run—a 5k run and 1k children’s run, can bring a whole new audience to the Festival, Teague said.
Whether it ultimately achieves the success of the Turkey Trot, which attracted a record-breaking 11,000-plus runners in November, remains to be seen, Teague said, but the diversity of events helps.
Even the advertising helps: The Orange County Transportation Authority is sponsoring the Festival of Whales this year, and buses throughout Orange County are rumbling along their routes with giant wraps that proclaim “Ride with Us to Dana Point” and show the Festival of Whales logo. It also has the dates of the events on the bus-sized poster, but the largest words are “Dana Point.”
The new energy isn’t discouraging any of the longtime organizers or participants, either. Everybody, Teague said, is working together better than ever.
“We have expanded it a lot … I think it’s good,” Teague said. “This year there was more collaboration than ever. Harbor merchants have always led the charge, and the city helped support them and the parade, while other groups held events during the Festival of Whales. This year, we’ve had planning meetings for a year, with Harbor Association, Chamber of Commerce, county Harbors department and the city, so it really enhanced everything we’ve done.”
Teague credited Chamber’s arrival, as well as that of Brad Gross as Harbor Director and the city’s Administrative Services Director, Mike Killebrew, with helping infuse new ideas and energy, too.
Donna Kalez, general manager of Dana Wharf Sportfishing, is chair of the Festival this year. Her father, Don Hansen, is the event’s Master of Ceremonies. It’s only fitting: He’s considered the one of the founders of the Festival. Kalez promises this Festival will be “the best year ever.”
“We’re like the first family of whale watching, and my dad is very happy with how the Festival of Whales has grown,” Kalez said. “The Festival of Whales is an awesome event. It brings the community together and fosters community spirit.”
The festival is good for their business, too, although as Festival attendance has grown so has the number of competing whale-watching companies.
“Obviously it’s very lucrative for us, of course, but what people don’t know is that we used to carry 2,000 people per day, and we’re now down to 1,000 per day. But that’s OK with us because the two weekends are important to the community and the harbor,” Kalez said.
During the two weekends of the festival, 50 percent of Dana Wharf Sportfishing’s business is through reservations, and 50 percent is walk-ups. The company runs a special all four days—$8 at 8 a.m. per person. It’s a chance for locals to roll out of bed and enjoy the festival, she said, even as the event attracts more visitors from elsewhere.
Chamber executive Chambers said the event will continue to evolve, and improve, too. “We think there are lot of opportunities...not necessarily to make it bigger, but in enhancing it. Our goal is that six months from now, someone will think ‘I had a really good time in Dana Point, why not go back down there?’”
Norb Garrett contributed to this story
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