Cannery Row Days 2023: Celebrating the Return of the Western Flyer

March 12 - April 20, 2023

In the two years after the 1939 publication of The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck increasingly became the center of intense controversy and censorship. In search of a respite from the national stage, Steinbeck and his close friend, biologist Ed Ricketts, embarked on a month long marine specimen-collecting expedition in the Gulf of California aboard the Western Flyer, which resulted in their collaboration on the Sea of Cortez. This exciting day-by-day account of their journey together is a rare blend of science, philosophy, and spirited adventure.

Over the past few years, the Western Flyer has undergone a glorious restoration, and this year's Cannery Row Days will celebrate the return of the Western Flyer to Monterey with lectures, tours and activities that highlight the collaboration and journey taken by two friends - John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts, the boat they sailed, and the one-of-a-kind work of literature that emerged from their adventures, Sea of Cortez.

Schedule of Events

Launch Party at the Japanese American Citizens League Hall

March 12: 1:00-3:00pm
1:00pm: Intro to Japantown with Tim Thomas (Fisheries Historian)
1:20pm: The Highs and Lows of Intertidal Investigation with Rebecca Mostow (Education Program Manager, Western Flyer Foundation)
1:40pm: The Western Flyer Journey Continues! with Sherry Flumerfelt (Executive Director, Western Flyer Foundation)
2:00pm: Activities, Crafts & Games for Kids
Join us for Miniature Tule Boatmaking with Linda Yamane (member of the Rumsen/Ohlone community), sardine can label making & a special marine edition of Lotería!
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Lecture on Zoom: Hurray for the Sardine: The 1940 Festival that Became a Sendoff

March 16: 4:00-5:00pm
Speaker: Tim Thomas (Fisheries Historian)
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Lecture on Zoom: 50 years in Baja

March 23: 4:00-5:00pm
Speaker: Steve Webster (Marine Biologist)
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Nature Journaling at Monterey Public Library

March 25: 4:00-6:00pm
With Rebecca Mostow (Education Program Manager, Western Flyer Foundation)
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Lecture on Zoom: The ‘We’ of Sea of Cortez: The Boat, the Crew, Steinbeck, Ricketts and Carol

March 30: 4:00-5:00pm
Speaker: Susan Shillinglaw (Professor of English Emerita, San Jose State University)
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Lecture on Zoom: A Boatbuilders’ Perspective: Restoring the Western Flyer in Point Townsend, WA

April 6: 4:00-5:00pm
Speakers: Tim Lee and Pete Rust (Co-owners of Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op)
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Lecture on Zoom: Art and Algae: An Artist's Journey into the Science of Seaweed

April 13: 4:00-5:00pm
Speaker: Josie Iselin (Artist, Author and Co-Director of Above/Below)
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Guided Tide Pooling at Lover's Point

April 15: 1:30-2:30pm
With the Pacific Grove Natural History Museum and Western Flyer Foundation
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Lecture on Zoom: Squid, Shark & Ray Artisanal Fisheries in the Gulf of California

April 20: 4:00-5:00pm
Speakers: William Gilly (Professor of Oceans, Hopkins Marine Station) & Greg Cailliet (Professor Emeritus, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories)
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Reading Group
The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck
Join our 3-session reading group of John Steinbeck's The Log from the Sea of Cortez* with Susan Shillinglaw (Professor of English Emerita, San Jose State University).

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*Copies of the book were generously donated to our Library by Penguin Classics Publishing.

Session 1	Session 2	Session 3
When: Tuesday, March 21: 4:00-5:00pm	When: Wednesday, March 29: 4:00-5:00pm	When: Wednesday, April 19: 4:00-5:00pm
Where: Monterey Public Library	Where: Monterey Public Library	Where: Pacific Biological Laboratories

Pacific Biological Laboratory Open Hours
Stop by and take a journey through Monterey’s storied past with a visit to Pacific Biological Laboratory (PBL). Once a small family dwelling, it played a pivotal role in the life and work of marine biologist Ed Ricketts, his friendship and collaboration with author John Steinbeck, their circle of friends, and the "PBL Members" who bought the Lab in the mid-1950s and founded the Monterey Jazz Festival. Lab docents are available to share the big story of this unassuming building. Interpretation of the history of the Pacific Biological Laboratories may be suitable for children 10 years of age or older.

Open Hours

March 11: 12:00-4:00pm	April 8: 12:00-4:00pm
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No registration required
Watch A Virtual Tour of Pacific Biological Laboratory

Speakers

Greg Cailliet
Professor Emeritus of Biology, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories

Sherry Flumerfelt
Executive Director, Western Flyer Foundation

William Gilly
Professor of Oceans, Hopkins Marine Station

Tim Lee
Co-owner of Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op

Rebecca Mostow
Education Program Manager, Western Flyer Foundation

Pete Rust
Co-owner of Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op

Susan Shillinglaw
Professor of English Emerita, San Jose State University

Tim Thomas
Fisheries historian and former Director of the Monterey Maritime Museum.

Steve Webster
Marine Biologist and Baja Addict

Linda Yamane
Member of the Rumsen/Ohlone community

Cannery Row Days 2023