The Kodiak Island Brewing Company’s tasting room was packed as live music blasted and artists showed off kelp-inspired pieces. There was even a mariculture-inspired short film playing on loop in the back by the beer stills.
It’s Kodiak’s first ever kelp festival, which kicked off July 24. The idea is to celebrate the potential of mariculture on the island, and the ways it could be used in the future.
“I kind of really fell in love with what we’re doing but more the people around it and the excitement and the chance to be part of something new – a nascent industry that you have to build from the ground up,” said Nick Mangini, who’s been a kelp farmer in the area since 2016.
The festival is made up of three days of spreading awareness and building community engagement. The first day’s activities included an information session to learn about the science of kelp farming, and the second was celebrating art made from kelp. The third night celebrates foods made with kelp.
The festival was a multiple-entity effort though. Mangini worked with Kodiak Ocean growers, which is a group of local farmers, Alaska Sea Grant, the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference, and the Kodiak brewery were also involved
The brewing company has had beers made with kelp in the past and even created new recipes for the festival.
“This year we used a kelp that’s never been commercially harvested or grown ever in the entire world – it’s a kelp called dragon kelp,” Mangini said. “So we harvested that from my farm this year because we were successful in getting it to propagate and put it in a beer – it’s pretty exciting.”
Mangini says he hopes to make Kelp Fest an annual event to keep building community support for mariculture. The last day of the kelp festival is Fri, July 26 at Kodiak Island Brewing.
The next growing season starts in November.