The Toshiba Tall Ships Festival at Dana Point this weekend offers a wide range of attractions and activities.  It all starts with a parade of ships and schooners at sunset this evening.  The Brig Pilgrim, the replica of the ship made famous by Richard Henry Dana, has returned fron her yearly cruise and Dana’s classic “Two Years Before the Mast” will be read aloud on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.   In addition to the usual food, music, sailing and nautical lore, there will be something new this year – the public is invited to watch the Ocean Institute staff dissect a giant Humbolt squid. “Never done one during the Tall Ships Festival,” said Dan Stetson, president and chief executive of the institute. The dissection is included as a way to educate the public about a rapidly growing species considered invasive for certain areas, he said.

Tall Ships Festival starts today in Dana Point