The 6th Annual California Seaweed Festival is coming to Los Angeles!

The 6th Annual California Seaweed Festival will take place on Saturday, October 11, from 10am – 6pm, in collaboration with Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro.

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 diff erent California coastal location each year to highlight the role seaweeds play in the local environment and economy. This is its first time in Los Angeles.

With a theme of Urban Ocean Ecosystems, the festival will showcase how seaweeds make life better by enriching coastal environments, making seawater cleaner and providing a habitat for other species. Bringing together educational institutions, environmental non-profits, Blue Technology businesses, food producers, craftspeople, artists, indigenous groups and governmental institutions, the festival off ers ways for everyone to interact with seaweeds.

There will be talks on Seaweeds in the Arts, Aquaculture and Science, and Panel Discussions including Indigenous People’s Forum, Seaweed Applications in Farming and Health, Urban Ocean Ecosystems, and Restoration & Seaweed Solutions. There will be a screening of the film “Seaweed Stories” by Lonely Whale, an underwater puppet show and a cooking demonstration. More than 40 vendors and exhibitors will share seaweed art, food, products and information. You’ll be able to taste a variety of seaweed products, handle seaweeds in our touch tanks, take a picture with a mermaid or a giant blue whale, dance to live music, and try your hand at seaweed-y art.

Food trucks and a beer garden by Smog City Brewing will be featuring seaweeds too. Tickets are on off er for several hour-long workshops including Seaweed in a Solidarity Economy, Identifying Southern California Seaweeds, Making your own Sunscreen with Kelp, Artistic Seaweed Pressings, Making Seaweed Ink and Using Algae Jello as Abalone Feed. Warming up the week are more events in Santa Monica and San Pedro.

On Thursday, October 9, Heal the Bay Aquarium will host a screening of the film “Sequoias of the Sea” with a happy hour before and a panel discussion to follow, a collaboration with Braid Theory and Women in Sustainable Tech.

On Friday, October 10, AltaSea Berth 60 in San Pedro will host the festival’s Seaweed Speakeasy, a celebration of cutting-edge Blue Technology and immersive art, accompanied by gourmet seafood and seaweed-forward appetizers, cocktails and beer, live music, and a chance to meet and interact with hundreds of seaweed enthusiasts from across the country and beyond. Industry tours and a kelp cultivation workshop are available before the party.

The California Seaweed Festival 2025 is a one-time event not to be missed by anyone interested in coastal ecosystems, seaweeds and how they make life better, or the blue sustainable future. The festival brings together local leaders in seaweed and ocean science, art, technology, and gastronomy for a completely unique event that will change how you look at seaweed, the ocean and the future.

Full information and a detailed schedule is available at californiaseaweedfestival.org.