Each year in early Spring a small group of about a dozen gray whales detours into the Salish Sea (primarily March to May) to feed on ghost shrimp in shallow mudflats. These whales stop around North Puget Sound—particularly near Whidbey Island, Camano Island, and the Snohomish Delta—to build up energy for their migration. 

The Welcome the Whales Festival and Parade is an annual event in Langley, WA (Whidbey Island), celebrating the return of these gray whales—"The Sounders"—to Puget Sound. The 2026 event takes place April 11, featuring a community costume parade, waterside ceremony at Whale Bell Park, educational presentations, and a beach cleanup. 

INVOCATION: Women’s Frame Drum Collective will be processing with tambourines as part of the parade (along with other musicians and costumed celebrants) and will be holding space with frame drums and chanting during the waterside blessing ceremony at the whale bell on the west end of Seawall Park.