The 7^th Annual California Seaweed Festival is coming to Monterey!

Monterey, CA – The 7th Annual California Seaweed Festival will take place on Saturday, October 24, from 9 am to 5 pm, at the Custom House Plaza, Monterey State Historic Park.

The California Seaweed Festival is a free, family-friendly, public event celebrating the seaweed diversity of California. Its organizers envision a world where seaweed is a kitchen staple, a conversation-starter, a career field and a conservation focus. The festival moves to a different coastal location each year to highlight the role seaweeds play in the local environment and economy and this is its first time in Monterey.

With this year’s theme of “DIVE IN!”, the festival will showcase the beauty of the local area of Monterey Bay, one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems, and share how seaweeds enrich coastal environments. By bringing together educational institutions, environmental non-profits, Blue technology businesses, food producers, craftspeople, artists, indigenous groups and governmental institutions, the festival offers ways for everyone of all ages and interests to interact with seaweeds.

This year’s festival includes talk sessions and panel discussions on art, science, health, aquaculture and technology aspects of the ocean around Monterey, with particular focus on kelp forests. There will be a narrated live stream from an actual kelp forest, a science poster session and sessions dedicated to indigenous voices.

More than 75 vendors and exhibitors will share seaweed art, food, products and information and hands-on activities. You’ll be able to taste a variety of seaweed products, handle seaweeds in touch tanks, take a picture with a mermaid, dance to live music, see the ocean through a microscope and try your hand at seaweed-y art and science.

Several special hour-long workshops are being offered, including Conservation Storytelling, Making Algae Ink, Gardening with Seaweeds, Making Seaweed Sunprints, Hands-on Beaded Jellyfish, and Seaweed Pressing & Collage. Monterey Abalone Company will offer guided tours and welcome visitors to their new education center.

Live entertainment throughout the day includes Taiko Drum Opening, followed by three bands: Red Beans & Rice, the New Wave Band and Hovering Breadcats, plus dance and multimedia presentations.

Additional festival events include Seaweed Scenes, two evening film screenings, at Carmel High School on Weds, Oct 21 and the Japanese American Citizens League in Monterey on Thurs, Oct 21. Each screening will present several short films and a discussion with filmmakers.

On Friday, Oct 23, Reef Check will host a morning kelp forest shore dive and Monterey Audubon will lead an afternoon beach walk. Moss Landing Marine Lab will host workshops on identifying local seaweeds, scientific illustration of seaweeds, and enzymatic isolation of protoplast from seaweeds, as well as guided tours of lab and aquaculture facilities. At Moss Landing Marina, Sunflower Star Lab and Western Flyer Foundation will provide free, drop-in tours.

More information about all of these events, a full program schedule, festival map and links to tickets for workshops and tours, can be found at the festival website: californiaseaweedfestival.org. Sign up for our email list or follow us on social media to get the latest news as the festival approaches.

The California Seaweed Festival 2026 is for anyone interested in seaweeds, blue technology, immersive art or ocean ecology. It brings together the local leaders in seaweed and ocean science, art, technology, aquaculture and gastronomy for a completely unique event that will change how you look at seaweed, the ocean and the future. The free festival is made possible with generous support from the Azulito Foundation, Regenerative Coastal Systems Lab, Blue Robotics, Hog Island Oyster Company, Ocean Rainforest, CA Sea Grant, KelpArk, The Cultured Abalone Farm and Monterey Abalone Company.