Kodiak's wondrous whale fest: for seven years, people have gathered in Kodiak to view migrating whales heading to the arctic.

• Author: Pilkington, Steve
• Position: Alaska this Month

Each spring, the waters surrounding Kodiak Island become a playground for marine mammals, some using them as a seasonal northbound highway while others linger much longer, offering a lively show for biologists, fishermen, schoolchildren and visitors.

Due largely to all this activity, a Kodiak-based organization started a migratory whale watch program to inform and offer tracking assistance, and to educate those in the community interested in the marine life around Kodiak.

Whale Fest Kodiak, now in its seventh year, is a community-based celebration about whales and other marine mammals timed specifically to coincide with the annual northbound migration of the gray whales as they pass Kodiak Island. The event collates organizations, schools and agencies to offer a week of events, including experts' lectures, films, stories, art shows and radio talk shows. This month, Whale Fest runs from April 11-19. In past years, viewers have seen a variety of cetaceans, from gray, humpback, fin, sperm and killer whales to other species like Dall's porpoise and Pacific white-sided dolphins.

Gray whales, which can reach lengths of up to 45 feet, feed in Kodiak's waters while on their 11,000-mile journey to and from summer feeding grounds in the Arctic from their winter home of Baja, Calif. The first northbound gray whales often are pregnant females, followed weeks later by adult males and immature whales of both sexes.

Other Pacific states have become involved in tracking the migration and have Internet sites that mark the migration by tracking reports of sightings on maps and providing other information. College students can earn credit for their classes by attending the lectures or taking part in special programs the...