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Vietnam Festivals and Events – Whales Festival

From long ago, the fishermen of coastal areas have considered whales as a rare kind of mammal that do not harm anyone and instead lend a helping hand when people unfortunately meet storms on their voyages. In other words, whales are taken into account as a sacred creature as well as the savior for fishermen.

In Vietnam, the creature is specially attached with Nguyen Anh— Emperor Gia Long of Nguyen Dynasty as legend says that they saved the Emperor from ship sinking. After ascending the throne, Emperor Gia Long awarded whales to be a minister in his court. From that moment on, whales were widely accepted in the country as a god.

With such spirit, fishermen express much admiration towards whales as they avoid calling whales directly and instead use the title Ca Ong or Ong Nam Hai (Whale God). They built temples (Lang Ong) to store whales’ bones, with altars of two guardians—Ly Ngu’s on the left, and Ly Luc’s on the right. In addition, they celebrate Whales Festival with the belief that showing respect to Whale God is the assurance of not only safety but also prosperity of the village they live.

The festival takes place within two days in the middle of the third lunar month with the presence of all villagers and fishing boats. The whale temple, together with of every house and boat in each village, are gorgeously decorated. In the first evening of the event, at whale temple, village elders carry out a peace offering with oblations (no seafood allowed) offered when the oration is presented. Visit the sea at dawn on the next day, visitors will find the operation of a boats procession indicating fishermen’s sincerity towards their Whale God. Lastly, midnight marks the official ceremony with incense offerings from children and classical operas performed by orchestras.

Time: third lunar month

Purpose: worship whales

Activities: decorating, peace offering, boats processing, classical music playing

Giant Blue Whale Migration Spring/Summer 2014

he annual “Giant Blue Whale Migration” brings hundreds of blue whales each spring/summer to the waters off Newport Beach. Over 800 whales were viewed last summer (summer 2013). Giant blue whales were once considered quite rare off southern California, but over the last five years this has changed dramatically with hundreds/thousands of giant blue whales spotted each year. These giants of the sea reach lengths of up to 90 feet and are the largest of all animals. Along with viewing these giants, the second largest whale in the world, the finback whale has also taken to the waters of southern California during the same months as the blue whales. Other varieties of whales are also possible during this time of year.

Along with whales giant pods of common and bottlenose dolphin are also very likely with pods numbering in the hundreds or more dolphins frequently viewed. These dolphin pods come within arms reach as they play along side the whale watching ship.

Pacific Rim Whale Festival

Every March and April, Tofino experiences the greatest whale migration on the planet, as 17 thousand Grey Whales pass en route from their winter home on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula – a journey of 22,530km/14,000mi – to summer in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea.
Whale Festival Activities

The season of the whale gets off to a roaring start with the Pacific Rim Whale Festival every March, a full week of activities including a parade; ArtSplash, the annual spring art show at the Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre; Aboriginal storytelling; explorations of whale lore and science; musical performances; rainforest walks in Pacific Rim National Park; and talks on pertinent subjects such as the importance of whaling in Nuu-chah-nulth culture.

Whale Festival — MAPA

Special Events. Abalone Cook-Off Info & … We have successfully completed all of the 2014 Whale Festivals at 4 separate locations throughout the month. … Keep checking back for the dates and details for the 2015 Whale festivals.
mendoparks.org/whale-festival/

Can we combat the ocean-acidifying effects of climate change with…whale poo?

In research being carried out by the Australian Antarctic Division and the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC), scientists are looking at the role which whales, and krill, play in keeping ocean acidity levels low enough to allow ocean life to survive, and thrive. It seems that whale feces helps absorb carbon dioxide on the sea bed and might just help keep ocean acidity in check.