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29th Annual Sitka WhaleFest

Sports and Recreation

October 8, 2025

From: Sitka Whalefest

Join us in unraveling the tangled connections of the natural world, revealing how intimately we are bound together on our shared planet.

Schedule:

Friday November 7, 2025

Kayaking to Kaasda Héen
8:30 am - 11:30 am

Market & Café
10:00 am - 4:30 pm

Science Symposium Talks
12:30 pm - 4:00 pm

- 12:45pm: Welcome & Opening Remarks 
- 1:00pm to 1:45pm, Through many lenses: community-based science in Alaska, Michelle Johannsen
- 2:00pm to 2:45pm, Killer whales and killer contaminants: researching toxic pollution in the ocean’s top predator, Chloe Kotik
- 3:00pm to 3:45pm, Restoration & Healing: past, present, and future for Keex, Dawn Jackson

Charismatic MegaQuestions
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Maritime Grind
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Saturday November 8, 2025

Marine Wildlife Cruises & Entangled Marine Mammal First Responders Training 
8:30 am - 11:30 am

Scientific Illustration
9:00 am - 11:30 am

WhaleFest Run - 5K, 10K Run, & 2 Mile Walk
9:00 am - 10:00 am

Market & Cafe
10:00 am - 4:30 pm

Science Symposium Talks
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

- 1:00pm to 1:45pm, Lose the Loop: A 25-year journey of pinniped entanglement research, prevention, response, and global collaboration, Kim Raum-Syran
- 2:00pm to 2:45pm, Ways of Knowing: Community Connections with Sea Otters and Abalone, Taylor White
- 3:00pm to 3:45pm, Keeping Killer Whales Out of Trawl Nets: What We Can Achieve when Science and Fishing Teams Work Together, Hannah Myers

Charismatic MegaQuestions
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Marine Trivia
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Sunday November 9, 2025

Marine Wildlife Cruises & Marine Mammal Necropsy
8:30 am - 11:30 am

Scientific Illustration
9:00 am - 11:30 am

Market & Café
11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Science Symposium Talks
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

- 1:00pm to 1:45pm, Marine debris cleanup: A messy way to make meaningful connections, Kristina Tirman
- 2:00pm to 2:45pm, Unraveling Large Whale Entanglements, Ed Lyman
- 3:00pm to 3:45pm, Our knowledge entwined upon the land and sea, David Kanosh

Charismatic MegaQuestions
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Date: November 7 - 9, 2025

Location: 

Sitka Sound Science Center
834 Lincoln Street
Sitka, AK 99835

Click here to Register

Click here for more information