Mendocino Whale War Exhibit
March 1st – 30th, 2025
Museum open Fri – Sun, 11:00am – 3:00pm
Did you know that the Mendocino Whale Festival started as an act of protest against commercial whaling? Visit the Kelley House Museum during March for a special exhibit about the Mendocino Whale War, started by a group of locals who launched the first Whale Festival to educate the public about the plight of endangered whales on the coast. Posters, photographs, and clippings will be on display, along with a slideshow from founding member and photographer Nicholas Wilson. $5 suggested donation
Whale War Activists Panel Discussion
Co-sponsored with Noyo Center for Marine Science
Saturday, March 15th, 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Please join the Kelley House Museum and the Noyo Center for Marine Science for a special panel discussion with some of the original Mendocino Whale War members: Heidi Cusick Dickerson, Barry Cusick, Sally Welty, and Lee Welty. Also joining will be two special guests: founding member J.D. Mayhew’s granddaughter Shana Hadley, and Katherina Audley from the Noyo Center for Marine Science, who will speak about the state of whaling today, whale population recovery, and the anti-whaling movement. Kelley House docent Victor Simon will moderate this special 50th anniversary of the Mendocino Whale War. Advance tickets recommended. Admission $10 general public, $7 members.
Exhibit and Event location: Kelley House Museum, 45007 Albion Street, Mendocino, CA
PURCHASE TICKETS


Organizers of the First Annual Mendocino Whale Festival pose outside Crown Hall with J.D. Mayhew’s poster, March 20, 1976. L to R: Ellen Findlay, Bill Wilson, Sue Golden, Brendan, Heidi and Barry Cusick, Sally and Lee Welty. Photo by Nicholas Wilson.

J. D. Mayhew models the Save The Whales T-shirt he designed for the Mendocino Whale War. He was aboard the Whale War boat Phyllis Cormack in San Francisco preparing to go on the 1976 anti-whaling voyage. Photo © Nicholas Wilson |