Visiting Catalina Island for only a few months out of the year, these flying fish are simply remarkable. They jump out of the water at heights of over 30 feet, and glide for as long as ¼ of a mile. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate their magnificent return?

Family activities include the above Taste Around Avalon event, sand sculptures, marine touch tanks at the Tuna Club, parades, flying fish crafts and ocean science activities, ocean tours to see the flying fish, a kids fishing derby, and  many more fun and educational activities.

For a full schedule of events and activities, contact the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce at 310-510-1520, or visit their website at www.CatalinaChamber.com.

Last year’s winners were The Lobster Trap for “Best of Food”, Ristorante Villa Portofino for “Best of Drink with alcohol”, Steve’s Steakhouse for “Best of Drink without alcohol”, and Lloyd’s of Avalon for “Best Dessert”. Over 1100 people attended last year’s event to enjoy the food and libations, and to vote for their favorite dishes and drinks.

For more information on this year’s Taste Around Avalon in Santa Catalina Island, contact the Island’s Chamber of Commerce at 310-510-1520, or visit the Chamber of Commerce at www.CatalinaChamber.com.

May 19-20, 2012: It’s that time of year again to get out your rod and reel and compete in Catalina Island’s annual White Seabass and Halibut Championship. The competition will be held May 19-20 at Two Harbors…and there is money involved! There will be prizes ranging from $100.00 to $7,000.00.

Sponsored by Western Outdoor News (WON), United Anglers, and other groups and individuals, the fishing competition feeds participants some excellent barbeque.

Check-in is between 9:30 a.m. and noon on Saturday, May 19. All team members will be getting goodie bags from participating sponsors. There will also be a special drawing for prizes held on May 20. Fishing begins around 2 p.m.

Sunday, May 20, is weigh-in and awards day. Starting at 10 a.m. and closing at noon, the scale area at the pier will be open to allow each team to pick the one seabass, yellowtail, and halibut to weigh, while discussing the ones that got away.

Awards and the drawing will start around 1 p.m. and end about 2:30 p.m. Good luck!

For more information on the White Seabass Championship in Catalina Island, click here.

May 11-12, 2012: This year, May 11-12 marks the first U.S. Cup sponsored Catalina Island Mountain Bike Gran Fondo Event and Festival. The event welcomes beginners and fierce competitors alike, with suitable routes for all levels of mountain biking available – from 10 mile to 65-mile loops.

The three mountain bike routes begin at Two Harbors, Middle Island, and Ridgeline on May 12. Registration is from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, May 12. If you are coming from the mainland, make sure your boat arrives in time to allow you to register and start your cycling event choice on time.

What makes this such a great cycling experience is the single track trails that meander through the interior of gorgeous Santa Catalina Island, giving cyclers onetime access to majestic natural sections of the Trans Catalina Trail.

For those of you who wonder what the words “Gran Fondo” means, it is an Italian expression meaning “the big ride” or “the big endurance”. The Gran Fondo is a very popular and celebrated tradition in Italy’s cycling world. It is a timed cycling event (not a competition), which invites cyclers of all abilities.

For more information on the first Catalina Island Gran Fondo Island Mountain Bike Event, see www.visitcatalinaisland.com, and www.uscup.net

Attendees will go back to the Big Band Era of the 1920’s and 1930’s while dancing the Jitterbug, Charleston, Lindy Hop, Tango, Foxtrot, Balboa, and Waltz to the music of Dean Mora and the Avalon Ball Dance Orchestra.

The Avalon Ball takes place in the recently restored 10,000 square foot ballroom and is surrounded by beautiful ocean views. Master of Ceremonies is impresario and showman Maxwell DeMille.

So dress up in vintage evening attire, and dance the night away.

To access the mainland via ferry, contact the Catalina Express.

For more information about the Avalon Ball on Santa Catalina Island, contact the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles at 310-659-3326 or click here.

Robert D. Salisbury will provide organ accompaniment to the 1927 classic film Wings, which stars silent film legends Clara Bow, Buddy Rogers, Richard Arlen, and Gary Cooper. “Wings” is the only silent film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Wings is a romance and adventure film of epic proportions that takes place during World War I. With its dogfights and historical land battles, Wings was one of the first of “spectacle” Hollywood films.

Eighty years later, the film still resonates with audiences because of its universal themes of love, war, and the human capacity for destruction.

The sponsor for the benefit event is the Santa Catalina Island Company. Bronze Sponsors are Michael Fields, The Steamer Trunk, and DC-3 Airport in the Sky

For more information on the Catalina Island Museum 25^th Annual Silent Film Festival Benefit, contact the Catalina Island Museum at 310-510-2414, or click here.

May 5, 2012: The Catalina Island Rugby Festival, aka “The Catalina Island Old Boy’s Rugby Tournament”, will be held May 5 in Avalon on Catalina Island. The festival serves as a fundraiser for the Cancer Community Support Group and the Los Angeles Rugby Club. Although the minimum age to participate in the festival games is 40 years, the featured match of the day is the 50+ game.

The rugby team is always trying to better itself and their organization. According to their website, in an effort to promote sportsmanship and inflate egos,

“We are offering a pre-festival special this year. Last year we sold all our ‘Most Valuable Player’ awards. We will expand the opportunity to pre-purchase your award. Anyone interested can let us know by email of your interest. They will be $5 and are suitable not only for your trophy case, but hold 10 oz. of liquid refreshments. Think goblets!”

For more information about the Catalina Island Rugby Festival, call 310-798-5445, or send an email to tomhendrix5@aol.com. For an insider’s look into the rugby team’s mind, click here.

May 4-6, 2012: One of the best events of 2012 is the Santa Catalina Film Festival, which will take place May 4 through May 6 in the Avalon Casino and Theater on Catalina Island. The event helps support the Catalina Conservancy’s environmental mission to protect the Island’s natural habitat.

 The Catalina Conservancy will present their “Isla Earth Award” to the filmmakers that best portray their goals of preserving and restoring Nature. Although conservation will be the theme of some of the films, the Festival will present a broad spectrum of work, from documentaries, animation, and student work, to big budget films, trailers, and feature films.

The Santa Catalina Film Festival is a wonderful place for the public, promising filmmakers, and professionals to meet. There will be many festival activities, education centers, and seminars. Taking place against the beautiful backdrop of Catalina Island, the event is sure to inspire.

As an interested historical note, the 1,154-seat Avalon Theater, built in 1928, initially showed only silent films. It later became the world’s first sound theater ever built.

For more information about the Santa Catalina Film Festival, contact the Catalina Island Conservancy at 310-510-2595 or visit their site at www.catalinaconservancy.org.

May 27, 2012: This year’s “Summer Concert Series”, sponsored by the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and the Xceptional Music Company, will be held in various locations on the Island from May through September 2012.

Family-friendly free concerts at Wrigley Stage on June 2, June 23, July 28, and August 18, will begin at 7:30 p.m. and end at 9:45 p.m. The location, time, and price for the remaining concert dates of May 27, June 30, July 14, August 11, and September 2, will be announced later.

Concertgoers will be treated to big-name entertainment as well as to rising jazz, pop, and rock artists. For the entertainment line-up and for an up-to-the-minute events schedule, contact the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce 310-510-1520, or visit their website at www.CatalinaChamber.com

May 2, 2012: The 37^th annual fundraiser for the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber will be held May 2, 2012. The Catalina Chamber, an organization dedicated solely to the treatment of scuba diving accidents, sponsors the event. Last year the event raised over $117,000.00.

For $90.00 participants get two dives at Catalina, a walking tour of the Chamber at the Isthmus, a commemorative T-shirt, and five “day” raffle tickets.

The evening event, co-sponsored by the Aquarium of the Pacific, is a sit-down dinner in the Great Hall of the Aquarium. In addition to dinner, there will be a separate evening raffle, and a presentation of awards. A check showing the amount raised by the event will be presented to Director of the Chamber.

The USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber is located on the campus of the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center at the West End of the Island. Staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by volunteers, the Chamber is 24 feet long, 9-1/2 feet in diameter, and is large enough to treat several patients at the same time.

For more information on Hyperbaric Chamber Day, click here. You can find additional details about the Chamber itself here.