Around 100 guests attended a ceremony at the Eden Killer Whale Museum to mark the occasion, including HMB Endeavour Captain, John Dikkenberg, Pastor Ossie Cruse, Member for Eden-Monaro, Dr Peter Hendy, and performers from both Eden Public School and Eden Marine High School.

Local ambassador Jan Aveyard had the honour of opening the festival.

“I think it’s very important to acknowledge that it’s the people of Eden who put this festival on,” she said.

“They volunteer their time to make this happen, so we must thank them, as well as the museum for hosting this event and the schools for providing the entertainment.

“This is the 18th Eden Whale Festival, and there have been times when it has been close to falling over.

“But this festival brings the people of Eden together, and everyone has always been united in their belief that the Eden Whale Festival must continue, so we must thank the current and past committee members for their contributions.”

The ceremony featured performances from the Eden Public School choir, as well as primary school students Trent and Ethan Thiedeman, and Sam West.

Check back later for more performance videos.

Eden Marine High School’s choir also performed, along with year nine duo Brooke Rogers and Keely Coleman.

Captain Dikkenberg praised their performances in his speech.

“I’ve just had my first grandchild, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been somewhere that school children have got up and performed,” he said.

“But I’ve got to tell you that I found those performances hugely enjoyable, and it says a lot about our young people and, particularly, the young people of Eden.

“Those performances could have been put on anywhere in Australia, and they would have drawn huge applause and recognition for every involved.”

Dr Hendy praised the festival’s organisers, saying it is a huge event at an opportune time.

“I was recently lucky enough to be invited to a tourism summit held locally, and this event is a fantastic tourism boost for not only Eden, but the whole Bega Valley, right up to Eurobodalla and Canberra and inland to Cooma,” Dr Hendy said.

Museum president Jack Dickenson and secretary Jenny Drenkhahn also addressed the gathering, outlining the museum’s program for the weekend.

The museum is open both days, with its newest exhibitions featuring JR Logan and the start of the ‘Sapphire Coast’ branding in the Bega Valley.

Doggn It Blues will perform at the museum from 4-6pm on Saturday, including a rendition of their new song, ‘Old Tom’, while National Parks & Wildlife Service whale expert Geoff Ross will deliver a presentation in the theatrette from 2.30pm on Sunday.