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By Andrea Swayne
The 45th annual Dana Point Festival of Whales kicked off Saturday and Sunday, March 5 and 6, with whale watching, marching on the main drag, carnival games and cardboard carnage.
The customary opening day parade down Pacific Coast Highway on Saturday brought thousands out to watch marching bands, dignitaries in classic cars, giant balloons and more. Following the parade, eventgoers enjoyed the carnival atmosphere at La Plaza Park during the annual Street Fair and Whales and Tails Wag-a-thon while dozens of teams were furiously building boats out of cardboard and duct tape, in hopes of winning the inaugural Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash in the Harbor at Baby Beach.
A heavy rain fell early on Sunday morning, resulting in the cancelation of a few events, such as the Rotary Club Diamond Dig (rescheduled for March 12) and Ocean Awareness Day, but for those who stuck it out, the sky cleared and the sun was shining by about 10:30 a.m. The Sand Sculpting Contest went on as planned, teams working quickly to make the most of the three-hour time limit to create prize-worthy sand creations at Baby Beach.
The two-weekend festival continues March 12 and 13 at the Harbor.
Read the official event program here, for a full lineup of events and activities.
Below is a photo slideshow from the Harbor events.
The first ever Dana Point Festival of Whales Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash ran Saturday, March 5 at Baby Beach. Competitors built boats out of only cardboard and duct tape and then raced them. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
(L to R) Tyler Douglas, Caden Douglas, Pete Douglas, Baron Banuelos and Sean Douglas put finishing touches on their cardboard dinghy, the “C U Later.” Photo: Andrea Swayne
The Jazzercise team (L to R) Heidi Whelan, Pam Micalizzi, Dona Kendall and Doris Rinehart put finishing touches on their boat. Photo: Andrea Swayne
(L to R) Drew Bailey, Johnathan Fisher, Jack Tiger Zhang, Bryce Dec and John Stafford made up one of eight teams from Dana Hills High School. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Diane Wenzel of Westwind Sailing checks in with the Douglas family just before judging began. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Donna Kalez judges the Great Opportunities entry. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
“Titanic 2.0” captain Nate Shapero was headed back to shore for the win. Photo: Andrea Swayne
“Can U Dig It” captain Eric Diggins pulls way ahead of the pack in the adult race. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Patrick Sheehan, 11, (left) and Evan Rylance, 12, of San Clemente were ready to race their boat, the “RMS Evasion.” Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
The 8-12 division winners run for the finish line. Photo: Andrea Swayne
The 8- to 12-year-old captain division was won by (L to R) James Bell, Jack Jacob, Ben Horn (captain), Eddie Bravo and Micah Clemens from Trabuco Elementary School. Photo: Andrea Swayne
The 8- to 12-year-old captain division was won by (L to R) James Bell, Jack Jacob, Ben Horn (captain), Eddie Bravo and Micah Clemens from Trabuco Elementary School. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
“Titanic 2.0” was the winner of the 13- to 17-year-old captain division. The boat was built by (L to R) Weston Lewis, Kevin Martens, Lindsy Perez and Nate Shapero (captain). The boat was sponsored by Fast Track Media Solutions. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Cardboard Classic Dinghy Dash, March 5 at Baby Beach. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Eric Diggins, Trent Ralston, Ande Diggins and Tai Diggins, with Eric as captain, won the adult division with their boat, “Can U Dig It.”
Classic Corvettes were on display along the Harbor walkway at the Festival of Whales on day one, Saturday, March 5. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Classic Corvettes were on display along the Harbor walkway at the Festival of Whales on day one, Saturday, March 5. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Classic Corvettes were on display along the Harbor walkway at the Festival of Whales on day one, Saturday, March 5. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Classic Corvettes provided a great backdrop for photo opps. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Sarah Barton and Claire McAndrews, seniors at Dana Hills High School man the display of a life-size whale rib cage made with single-use plastic bottles. Their class teamed up with younger kids from Malcom Elementary to assemble it. The structure is meant to start the conversation about the harm plastic pollution does to the ocean environment. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Claire McAndrews and Sarah Barton, seniors at Dana Hills High School talk with the public about plastic pollution. Photo: Andrea Swayne
Marine ecology students at Dana Hills High school, with the help of elementary school kids from Malcom Elementary, built this life-size sculpture of a whale rib cage to illustrate the harm single-use plastics have on the ocean environment. Photo: Andrea Swayne
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