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Arts & Entertainment

Setting Sail to Learn About Our Urban Ocean

I took to the sea in an Urban Ocean Cruise to learn about the Aquarium of the Pacific's festival this weekend.

For those with the sea in their blood, the Pacific Ocean may be like a magnet -ever the attraction. Whether you love to fish, swim, surf, kayak or sunbathe, there's nothing like having the ocean in your backyard. 

We who are lucky enough to live here know: there's something just a little magical about digging your toes into the sand and letting gentle waves pool around them, sea birds cawing overhead and waves crashing as you look westward to all that is unseen. It's really no wonder that 2 million people live less than 50 miles from the Southern California coast, creating an urban ocean landscape where humans and marine life go about their daily lives together - in harmony hope officials at the Aquarium of the Pacific, whose mission is to "instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the Pacific Ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems."

This weekend, the Aquarium, home to 11,000 animals in 50 exhibits, is hosting a two-day Urban Ocean Festival for all coastal dwellers to discover (or rediscover) the wonders of our watery world.

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Aquarium-goers will experience music, art, a fashion show and sustainable seafood tasting at the second annual Urban Ocean festival from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. The festival is included in the price of admission. 

As a special treat for a little extra, you can also embark on an Urban Ocean Cruise, which will take you through the Port of Long Beach, underneath the Gerald Desmond Bridge, around the 7 mile long breakwater and probably right up to some harbor seals and other marine life.

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I boarded the Caroline this morning to do just that, and under a thick marine layer we headed out. Though the day never cleared up, the trip was brightened by onboard personalities like Captain Dan Salas, a jolly and friendly fellow with a vast knowledge of his part of the sea.

Standing at the front of the ship, Salas pointed to a pod of dolphins as they swam by. "These are bottlenose dolphins. They live here in the harbor now, after recent clean water acts have made the ocean hospitable to them again," he said.

Sustainability is an underlying theme of the festival, but the perspective is positive rather than a bleak, and this may be the most eloquent and successful part of such an environmentally conscious festival: it doesn't hit you over the head with guilt or doom.

As Marilyn Padilla, Director of Public Relations, said, "Instead of saying no, no no, don't do this or that, we want to offer eco-friendly and humane solutions."

The more you appreciate a place of beauty, the more you will want to protect it, the thinking goes.

And in our backyard, there is much to see and appreciate. During the two-hour harbor excursion, we saw harbor seals propped up on rocks relaxing the day away, a sea lion feeding and a few dolphins swimming alongside the boat. This, of course, was amid the backdrop of steel machinery and oil islands, huge cranes lifting piles of garbage at the recycling center and crates upon crates of goods ready for shipping along the port. Because of recent clean water acts, the past four years have seen a return of marine life to the area.

Perhaps coexistence is possible with enough perseverance.

Chef David Keller of Kavikas Restaurant located right near the Aquarium took us all updeck to shower us with samples of freshly caught, sustainable harvested thresher shark. It was not only delicious, marinated in a pineapple teriyaki sauce and served with bell peppers and green onions on a skewer, but guilt-free, too. No shark populations were threatened with this meal! The thresher shark is actually a sustainable catch; meaning population levels are well above a threatened level unlike many other species of shark off the California Coast.

The Seafood for the Future non-profit organization is dedicated to connecting restaurants with sustainable harvests, and the same group with Chef Keller will be at the festival this weekend to hand out about 150 samples of the dish each day.

Other fun events like the Trashin Fashion show on Saturday, which will feature a runway show from about six designers, show rather than tell the story of ocean pollution. Marina DeBris, winner of the fashion show contest, was on board with two models wearing her unique designs created solely from materials she found washed up on the beach.

"I collected the materials you see here over about three years,” said DeBris. “I still have so much more at home. Most are lighters or plastic straws. It's to raise awareness, definitely.”

Strutting out in style, six year-old Marley Manfredi already knows the value of picking up trash on the beach. "When I do beach cleanups and I see trash, I don't like it," Marley said. She often takes part in beach cleanups, accompanied by her mother, Lisa, who believes children are the future of the environmental movement. 

"She sees plastic straws and ketchup packets on the beach, and the connection is made. She's already refusing plastic products when unnecessary, and she goes, ‘ew!’ to Styrofoam cups," Lisa said.

Other notable personalities on board were two art contest winners, photographer Evan Kelly and painter Danielle Eubank.

Kelly, a native of San Diego, who has lived by the coast most of his life, said that his art is an exploration of where two worlds collide - the natural ocean and man made creations.

"You look out to sea and see it as pristine, then you turn around and see the shacks lined up on the shore, so I'm interested in the interaction of the two. But it's not about portraying what's ugly, because when you just focus on the bad, it means you're not looking for solutions," Kelly imparted.

The Harbor Breeze Cruises also offer ongoing narration of the sights as the ship passes them, pointing out historical landmarks and tidbits of nautical information.

Standing on the shore or looking out from a boat, it's easy to appreciate the abundance of life and motion in our aquatic backyards from pelicans soaring to mysterious splashes of feeding, but just in case the wonder has begun to wane, take a trip to the aquarium this weekend and reacquaint yourself and your young ones with the natural beauty of the California coast.

Even a few minutes inside the aquarium will have your awe sensors on overdrive. Admittedly, this was my very first time inside, but after petting moon jellies and watching sea otters wrestle, I'm ready for more. I assure you it'll be right up your aquatic alley.

And this was just a preview! The weekend will see much more in the form of art exhibitions, games, mural paintings, poetry, live music and lectures inspired by the bustling ocean.

For us coastal dwellers living at the westernmost edge of the country, there is nowhere left to go except deeper. And at this weekend's Urban Ocean Festival, a deep appreciation is exactly what you will walk away with.

If you go:

When: Saturday, Jun 18 and Sunday, Jun 19, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Aquarium of the Pacific, 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802

Cost: Included with admission—$24.95 adult (12+), $21.95 senior (62+), $12.95 child (3-11), and free for children under age 3 and Aquarium members.

Combo Price for Aquarium admission and Urban Ocean Cruises: $39.95 adult (12+) and $15 child. Urban Ocean Cruises are at 4 p.m. June 19, July 9, August 13 and September 3.

RSVP: (562) 590-3100, ext. 0

For more information, visit aquariumofpacific.org.

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