purple urchin fest !

PURPLE URCHIN FEST

An ode to the spiky, strange, delicious creatures of the deep. A day of urchin cracking, uni slurping, seaweed, open fire cooking, natural wine, kelp forest restoration, aquatic art, music, and marine mischief.

Beneath the surface lies an ocean floor ruled by spiky grazers, swaying canopy forests, and delicate balances. Come plunge and munch in this subterranean world.

We’re gathering to crack spiky urchins, taste golden uni straight from the shell, and swim in the strange ethics and ecology of the Pacific coast. The fire pit will be roaring with fresh catches from Greenling fish + Blue Aqua ranched purple sea urchin + local produce, and natural wine will flow, as The Fairies sing their sea-side odes, and film projections illuminate the air.

Get involved with local kelp restoration orgs, learn about the intertidal with a seaweed ID + tasting table, and more.

Featuring:

URCHIN CRACKING & UNI TASTING  Get your hands dirty and learn to crack open sea urchins, then slurp their golden tongues. A little workshop in the strange and wonderful world of uni. Purple urchins will be hand harvested in Mendocino on Saturday! Good bread, oil, seaweed butter, backyard lemons provided

PYRO-GASTRONOMY  Field and Flame: rooted in regenerative food systems and a deep respect for marine ecosystems, Niko, Bear and Jay will offer seasonal nourishment prepared on an open fire.

SEAWEED & OCEAN THINGS seaweed ID + tasting table, kelp restoration explorations, fishing stories, community diving resources, urchin-diving paraphernalia, and marine curiosities.

NATURAL WINE Feral Ecology wines, ciders & meads using foraged fruit from urban spaces, abandoned orchards and vineyards, imperfect organic fruit, and wild-foraged herbs and fungi. Experimental skin contact wines, light reds, and bubbles to wash down all that salty goodness! Some exciting new wines from 2026 will be making their debut

ARTS & CRAFTS  hands-on urchin natural dye crafting, and assorted oceanic oddities.

THE FAIRIES  Live musical performances, including a never before heard sea urchin, sea shanty.

UNI CINEMA  A special sea urchin film screening, with furikake popcorn, naturally.

General admission ticket includes live sea urchin, seaweed tasting, live band, film screening

Natural wines + fire cooked meal can be purchased on-site or prepaid

Hosted by Feral Ecology

Feral Ecology is an East Bay community-supported ancestral foods project exploring the realms of food sovereignty, revillaging, and wildcrafting with nature through fermentation, gathering and education. They craft rustic natural wines, ciders, and meads using foraged fruit, host workshops, feasts, foraging outings and more.

instagram.com/feralecology

Partners:

Wild Blue Aquaculture: https://wildblueaquaculture.com/

Greenling Fish Market https://greenlingfish.com/

Kalie Granier https://kaliegranier.com/work/2-feet

The Fairies https://instagram.com/super_woo_woo

Chef Jay https://www.herbnculture.com/about-the-chef.html

Niko Bertulis https://www.nikobertulis.com/

Paula Cristobal https://www.instagram.com/paula.cristobal/

Zai Wang https://www.instagram.com/p/DeR_HIDlhh9/?img_index=2

Lydia Lapporte https://californiaican.org/about/lydia-lapporte/

More incoming...