This weekend is sure to be busy for South Whidbey residents.

On Saturday, April 15, a beloved parade returns to the streets of Langley and later that day, a fundraising gala benefiting the schools makes its first in-person comeback for the first time in three years, among other events happening.

The Orca Network’s Welcome the Whales parade is set to make a splash at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Prior to the parade, hands-on educational displays, costume-making, face painting and children’s activities are available at 11 a.m. at Langley United Methodist Church.

The parade begins in the old U.S. Bank parking lot on Anthes Avenue and Second Street and ends half an hour later at Whale Bell Park on First Street with a blessing for the whales, music and celebration on the beach. The Langley Whale Center at 105 Anthes Avenue will be open that day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with special activities and displays about gray whales.

The festivities occur around the same time that a group of gray whales known as the Sounders return to Puget Sound to feed. Besides whales, parade goers have been known to dress as mermaids, starfish, shrimp, jellyfish and other sea critters.

A few hours later, at 3 p.m., catch Michael Carroll’s piano recital at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island, which is located at 20103 Highway 525 near Freeland. Carroll will be playing the works of Mozart, Schubert and Chopin. There is a suggested donation of $20 at the door.

Then later that day, at 5-7 p.m., the South Whidbey Schools Foundation is hosting a fundraising gala at Seabiscuit Bakery, which is located at 3228 Lake Leo Way on the outskirts of Langley. The evening soiree offers a variety of hors-d’oeuvres, seasonal fruits, beer, wine and alcohol-free drinks, Mukilteo Coffee Roasters coffee and scrumptious desserts. The South Whidbey High School jazz band combo will play while guests mingle inside and outside on the patio near firepit tables.

Videos of grants that were funded last year will play and Melissa Field, the new school volunteer coordinator whose position is partially funded by the foundation, will give a talk. Last year, the foundation distributed nearly $55,000 in grants.

This year’s auction items include two collections of red wines, a week’s stay at a vacation beach resort and spa in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico and a 9 by 12 foot student-built garden shed.

Tickets are $75 each and must be purchased in advance at swsfgala.eventbrite.com. As of Tuesday morning, only 25 tickets remained for sale.

Join mystic poet Chelan Harkin for an evening of poetry at 6-7 p.m. at Soundview Center, which is located at 432 Third Street in Langley. The price of admittance is by donation. Judith Adams will provide an introduction. Harkin is the author of two books of poetry, “Susceptible to Light” and “Let Us Dance.”

Photo by David Welton Besides whales, participants of the parade have been known to dress as starfish, shrimp, jellyfish and other sea critters.