Not only was The Whale Museum’s 8th annual “Greeting Ceremony” event a lot of fun, it raised much needed funds for our exhibits, education programs, Soundwatch, the Stranding Network, research efforts, and our facility.

We want to say thank you to everyone who helped make this such a successful event. Our deep appreciation goes to our committee who worked tirelessly to get the word out and coordinate the event.

Jane Buck and her artistic team did a masterful job transforming the Brickworks into an oasis of beauty. The food and drink were delicious, thanks to Market Chef, San Juan Roasters, Northwest Totem Cellars, Kari’s Island Elixirs, Island Hoppin’ Brewery, and San Juan Island Cheese, as well as the dessert creators, including Shona Aitken, Gretchen Allison, Barbara Bevens, Café Demeter, Jose Domenech, Elli Gull, Market Chef, and Lewis Spaulding.

The auction items were amazing, contributed by individuals as well as many businesses on-island and from farther away. Please check out the full list printed on our website (whalemuseum.org/pages/thank-you). We cannot thank them enough for contributing items that were so enticing to our attendees. Our emcee and auctioneer Sam Buck did a wonderful job leading us through the evening.

We had great event sponsors—thanks to Islanders Insurance, Islanders Bank, Petro San Juan, San Juan Island Cheese, Coldwell Banker-SJI, and Windermere. And the volunteers and Museum staff were amazing—more than 20 people were on-hand to decorate, run the event and clean up, including the wonderful student chefs from Friday Harbor High’s Food For Thought Program.

Thanks to everyone who attended and supported our 8th annual “Greeting Ceremony” fundraiser. Because of you, we raised nearly $13,000 to further The Whale Museum’s mission of promoting stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education and research.

Richard Daly, Board President;

Jenny L. Atkinson, Executive Director