Festival to Celebrate Whales With Modern Music, Old-Time Chanteys

If they gave a Grammy award for best adaptation of sounds from large mammals, things would go swimmingly for Ric Miller.

You can judge for yourself Sunday, when the Malibu musician performs his whale-inspired music at the Point Mugu State Park Whale Festival.

At this all-day get-together, Miller will play cuts from his upcoming CD that mimic--through haunting, lyrical music on a guitar synthesizer--sounds of the whale migration that graces our coastline every winter.

The seaside celebration at Sycamore Cove pays tribute to the migration of the mighty gray whale and its return from the brink of extinction.

Running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the program also includes a living-history group that performs old sea chanteys and takes kids on a virtual whaling trip. Visitors can also try their hand at an eco-friendly form of scrimshaw, reach into a touch tank and feel a living sea star, examine whale bones or peer through spotting scopes for a chance peek at the real thing.

Last year’s festival-goers, who numbered about 2,000, spotted several passing gray whales and a large pod of bottlenose dolphins from the beach.

BE THERE

Point Mugu State Park Whale Festival, Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Sycamore Cove, Point Mugu State Park, on the Pacific Coast Highway between Point Mugu and Malibu. Free, but parking at the state beach is $6. (805) 986-8591.