Schedule of Events

Saturday, March 6th

Another successful Whale Festival parade in Tofino

Whale Festival Parade Day!

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Location:  Campbell St., Tofino (4th St. to 1st St.)

Cost:  Free "Button Event"

Join the fun!  Pancake breakfast at the Firehall (2nd St. & Campbell St.) 8 - 10 a.m.

Monday, March 8th

Whale Quest Tofino

Clayqout Gray Whales'

"Who's Who"

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Location:  Boathouse @ Wharf St.

Cost:  Free "Button Event"

Get to know your local whales in print and paint!

A Gray Whale ID activity; developed in co-operation with The Pacific Wildlife Foundation.

When researchers watch whales, they often know "who's who" – now you can too!  Learn how researchers ID gray whales, and what this can tell them about the individual life histories of these fascinating, friendly whales.

Dr. Jim Darling of  The Pacific Wildlife Foundation has observed and photographed gray whales in Clayoquot Sound for over two decades.  Building the photo ID record of Clayoquot's summer-resident whales has now become a community effort, with valuable records contributed each year by local whale watch guides.  Dr. Darling's work helps us learn about Two-Dot Star, Admiral and some of their friends -- gray whales who choose to return to Clayoquot and nearby waters year after year.

Activities: Gray Whale ID matching; tail & profile painting

(suitable for children 6-12 yrs)

Thursday, March 11th

"Feathers & Flukes " Boat Tour

with guest guide & local birder Artie Ahier

Departure time: 9:00 a.m.

Trip duration: 3 hours

Cost: $84*

It's the perfect time of year for an exciting adventure where our guides take you touring into stretching inlet waters, and then along the outer coast of Clayoquot Sound -- Great Blue Herons and Oyster Catchers, Bald Eagles and Harlequin Ducks are likely sightings; some shorebird flocks may be active in the inlets, as well. 

Reserve a place on this special Zodiac boat tour with avid local birder Artie Ahier, and join in the fun of spotting & identifying the seasonal birdlife of the Sound.  But be prepared -- "We stop for whales!" -- you will be on the water duirng the peak of this year's great Gray Whale northern migration, and our route will cross their path on the outside coast.

We are proud to support the Pacific Rim Whale Festival with 100% of the proceeds from this trip.

* add $1 research contribution + gst

Reservations required / call 250-725-3330 (toll free 1-800-666-9833)

Friday, March 12th

Whale Song Station at Tofino Maritime Kids Day

Time: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Location: Tofino Community Hall

Cost:  Free "Button Event"

Activity: make your own Humpback song with balloons!

Listen up -- Humpback Whales are a-singing!

We assemble the puzzle pieces of Humpback Whale song; developed in co-operation with Whale Trust.

Get to know the ocean’s talented singers – Humpback Whales! Learn about who sings, when and where – and be ready to try singing like a whale yourself.  A fun and interactive station, recommended for all ages

With over 30 years' experience studying whales throughout the North Pacific and world wide, Dr. Jim Darling returns to Maui each year to study Humpback singers and their song.  Together with dedicated collaborators, Dr. Darling has recorded, photographed, and filmed the mysterious Humpback singers.  Humpback Whales are now seen in local waters for longer and longer periods each year, and their winter song is sometimes heard in local waters during October & November each year, before they migrate south.

"Coasts" (1 hr. / Blue Planet series , BBC 2003) From rocky cliffs to ge..., the coasts are always changing.  Day in and day out, they are battered by crashing waves.  Seabirds come here by the thousands to nest, while birds hatch and race to the sea, pursued by hungry predators.  yhoung sea lions are born and play on the sand -- until a Killer Whale attacks, crashing in on ....  But when breeding season is over, life returns to the seas and the shore once again.

"Humpback Whales" (1 hr. / PBS 2000)  Spanning the Pacific from the inlets of the Alaskan coast to the Polynesian Islands and the shores of Antarctica, Humpback Whales presents a multi-faceted portrait of this fascinating marine mammal.  These whales travel vast distances to take advantage of the best breeding and feeding spots, and carry with them the mystery of an ever-changing song.

Of special interest to us on the west coast, as humpback whales have only recently returned to our nearshore waters.  This film also documents Dr. Jim Darling's study of humpback song in Hawaii, and Flip and Chuck Nicklins' extraodinary work photographing these graceful, enigmatic leviathans over many years.

"Island of Whales " (1 hr. / NFB 1989) 'Best Canadian Documentary 1991' Come aboard the John Muir, a double-masted, 68-foot sailing schooner, and join five of the world's leading whale reseachers on a scientific expedition around Canada's Vancouver Island.  Spectacular photography and sound recording, both above and below the water, provide an intimate look at killer, gray, and humpback whales, and the world they inhabit.  (Partly filmed in Tofino.)

“Ocean Deep” (30 minutes/ Planet Earth series BBC 2007) – Feast or famine – it’s the governing principle of ocean life. From the Sailfish – three-metre-long, rapier-billed predators -- and the exquisitely shelled Nautilus, to the threatened Blue Whale, this journey into the most unexplored part of the planet reveals the extraordinary survivors of this immense and barren realm.

“Shallow Seas” (30 minutes/ Planet Earth series BBC 2007) – Plant Earth follows a Humpback Whale mother and calf on an epic journey -- from tropical coral paradises, where the new-born calf takes his first faltering breaths, to the icy, storm-ravaged seas off Alaska, the whales’ great feeding grounds. Many Humpback Whales make a parallel journey from Hawaii to our own food-rich coastal waters for their summer feeding season.

“Sperm Whale Oasis” (60 minutes/ Ocean Wilds series PBS 2001 – Sperm Whales are among the least filmed of the great whales, in part because they dwell at great depths in the open sea, and because centuries of intense whaling have made them wary of humans. But off the Azores in the vastness of the mid-Atlantic, the filmmaker manages to infiltrate a group of Sperm Whales – largest of all the toothed whales -- and to linger in their midst. One of the most compelling and close-up encounters ever filmed with Sperm Whales.

"Realm of the Killer Whales" (1 hr. / Ocean Wilds series, PBS 2001)  In spring, the waters off British Columbia greet the arrival of two great hordes from the open sea - herring and salmon.  Predators join in a harvesting frenzy, but none are as efficient in their hunts as the region's pods of Killer Whales.  Filmmaker Feodor Pitcairn films a side of these powerful creatures few see - their efforts to maintain a close family life.  Features the work of several Vancouver Island whale researchers whom we first met in the 1989 documentary "Island of Whales."

"Tidal Seas" (1 hr. / Blue Planet series , BBC 2003) The sun and moon move billions of tons of water with every turn of the tide.   The strongest tides drain entire bays, smash trees on riverbanks and strand sea creatures on ... land.  Weaker tides control the movements of huge numbers of fish coa...  schools of giant stingrays through astounding underwater archyes.  And as it recedes the tide can create unbelievable landscapes -- like a sparkling w...  crystals inhabited only by the shrimp and bright pink flamingos.

"A Whales' Tale" (1 hr. / Incredible Animal Journeys series, BBC 2006) After a five-month fast in tropical waters off Mexico, Gray whales migrate along the Pacific coast of North America to cold, food-rich northern waters off BC & Alaska.  The filmmakers travel up the coast with a mother and calf on their 10,000 km journey from Baja to Alaska -- one of the longest migrations on earth.  The whales survive encounters with great white sharks and transient killer whales, and find their way through busy harbours.  Includes underwater film of grey whales feeding.

Visit the Pacific Rim Whale Festival homepage for further information