Adventurous Epicureans, Don’t Miss Mendocino’s Second Annual Urchin Festival

The second annual UrchinFest arrives to the Mendocino Coast June 16–18, celebrating the tasty, fascinating, but also invasive purple sea urchin. During the festival, two local properties, Little River Inn and MacCallum House, offer all-inclusive packages for adventurous epicureans.

© Brendan McGuigan

Tide Pooling Package

This offer includes the following activities:

• A welcome campfire at Van Damme Beach on Friday evening, with Kevin Smith from Cook and Catch CA talking about how indigenous people populated California by following the kelp trail along the Pacific Rim; s’mores are served
• On the morning of Saturday, attendees again meet Smith at Van Damme Beach to harvest seaweed, urchin, turban snails and more
• During the day on Saturday, get front-row seats to crack open and sample urchin with a ranger program by Esme Placencia and a science speak and demo presented by Tristin McHugh of Nature Conservancy
• In the evening, enjoy cooking demos, appetizers and a five-course, uni-centric dinner paired with sake

The offer also includes two-night accommodations and two breakfasts for two people, for $2,500. Use code Urchin23 at either property.

© Brendan McGuigan

Urchin Diving Package

This offer includes the following activities:

• Same welcome campfire as described above
• On the morning of Saturday, Greg Fonts, professional free dive competitor and owner of The Freedive Shop, presents an introduction to the underwater world of the area while collecting sea urchins; all equipment provided
• Same afternoon presentation as described above
• Same cooking demonstration and dinner as described above

The offer also includes two-night accommodations and two breakfasts for two people, for $3,200. Use code UrchinDive