About 500 volunteers from two dozen nonprofit groups in and around Bodega Bay are throwing a two-day party this weekend to celebrate the region's long-running fishing traditions while raising money for community service and educational groups.
The annual Bodega Bay Fisherman's Festival is 41 years old this year, though its centerpiece — the Blessing of the Fleet — goes back 56 years, to a time the commercial fishing industry was at its height.
The event coincides each year with the impending start of the commercial salmon season, although it's been held even in years with curtailed or canceled seasons.
This year's salmon season begins May 1.
The two-day festival at Westside Regional Park on Bodega Harbor includes food and crafts vendors, local wines, beer, live music and family fun, including a bathtub race, a pet parade and a wooden boat challenge in which teams create handmade vessels. A golf tournament at the Links at Bodega Harbour is scheduled for Saturday.
On Sunday, the annual boat parade begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by the Blessing of the Fleet.
Local skippers, some of whom have just finished up fishing crab, have been working for several weeks to get their vessels shipshape and outfitted for salmon, so they may not participate in Sunday's parade, retired fisherman Chuck Wise said.
At the height of the fishing fleet, something like 100 vessels would participate in the regatta and blessing, which acknowledges the dangers faced by those who make their living at sea, said Josh Perucchi, vice president of the nonprofit group that runs the festival.
This year, he said, there should be three or four dozen boats participating, all decked out in colorful flags and banners as they churn their way out into the harbor for the annual blessing and a brief moment during which a flower wreath is sent adrift in honor of those lost at sea.
Perucchi said the festival usually clears about $50,000 or $60,000 for distribution to a wide range of nonprofit beneficiaries in Bodega, Bodega Bay, Tomales and Valley Ford.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5?p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Daily admission is $12 for adults and $10 for seniors. Children under 12 are free. Two-day passes may be purchased for $20.
More information is available at www.bbfishfest.org
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