PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is inviting the public to join it in celebrating its 30th birthday Friday and Saturday at events on the Port Angeles waterfront.
The sanctuary received its designation on July 22, 1994, when it was set aside for protection and recreation. It spans 3,188 square miles of marine water off Washington’s coast and hosts six types of habitats: rocky shores, kelp forests, sandy beaches, sandy seafloors, deep seafloors and open ocean. It is home to 29 species of marine mammals and more than a million seabirds, waterfowl and shorebirds that travel along its coast during migration.
Friday’s event, Getting to Know Your Sanctuary, takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. at Field Arts & Events Hall. The star is “Big Mama,” a life-size inflatable humpback whale based on a real whale that makes an annual migration from Hawaii to the Olympic Coast every year.
A film festival, focusing on ocean- and Olympic Coast-themed movies, will start at 5:30 p.m. in the Donna M. Morris Theater. The movies on local habitats, species, area tribes, science and recreation range from 1 to 2 minutes to about 20 minutes long. They are appropriate for all ages.
Staff and volunteers will be on hand to highlight and answer questions about the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary’s research, resource protection and other projects. Small plates and drinks will be available for sale.
Marine Discovery Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday will take place at Pebble Beach Park, future site of the Marine Discovery Center that is scheduled to break ground sometime in 2027 or 2028. Among the activities will be a photo booth, a tide pool game and a nudibranch toss (similar to cornhole but with bean bags shaped like the colorful sea slug).
Staff and volunteers from Feiro Marine Life Center will have a microscope station where people can look through the lens at plankton plucked right from the water. Among the sanctuary partners at the event will be the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, Streamkeepers of Clallam County, Surfrider Foundation and Washington CoastSavers.
