Issaquah Salmon Days is a festival held in

Issaquah, Washington Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the " Issaquah ...

that celebrates the

return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document o ...

of the

salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

. The main features of the event are a parade, live music, and a market for

artisans An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, ...

to sell their wares and food. The purpose of the event is to celebrate the end of the salmon run, where salmon return to their birth river to lay eggs. The first festival was in 1970 and has continued annually since its founding. In 2006, the festival's economic impact was estimated at 1.5 million dollars.

History

Issaquah Salmon Days was created when Earl Robinson, the president of the Issaquah Chamber, suggested hosting a salmon festival because of existing salmon tourism in the area, and the local Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, where salmon return annually to lay eggs. There was also a want to replace the local

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United ...

festival, which had ended two years previously. The first festival was in October 1970, and was presented by the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, with around 20,000 people attending. At the time it was a small event with limited attractions and remained so for the rest of the 1970s. In 1980, Salmon Days was officially sanctioned by

Seafair Seafair is a summer festival in Seattle, Washington, that encompasses a wide variety of small neighborhood events leading up to several major citywide celebrations. While many small block parties and local parades occur under the auspices of Se ...

, meaning that Seafair clowns, pirates, and floats were added. There was an added parade for adults with

parade floats A float is a decorated platform, either built on a vehicle like a truck or towed behind one, which is a component of many festive parades, such as those of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, the Carnival in São Paulo, the Carnival of Viareggio, the Mal ...

, instead of just one parade for children. The festival also joined the Northwest Festivals Association in 1985, which helps to plan and execute the festival. A paid festival director was hired in 1987 for the first time. During the 1980s, attendance more than doubled, growing from 65,000 in 1980 to 150,000 in 1988. Through the 1990s and 2000s, the festival averaged around 150,000 to 200,000 visitors. In 2006, the festival's economic impact was measured at around 1.5 million dollars. Today, the festival is still run once a year.

Festival attractions

Salmon Days includes more than 270 artists that line Front Street and Sunset Way, more than fifty food vendors, the Field of Fun with free activities, and five stages offering live entertainment.

Historical attractions

When the festival was created in 1970, attractions included the

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

BBQ, Issaquah Salmon Hatchery tours, a children's parade led by J.P. Patches, and firefighter crew competitions. By the 1980s, the festival had expanded with a parade for adults with a competition for the best float.

Streets-arts and crafts

Front Street from Newport Way to Gilman Boulevard and Sunset from Newport Way to Second Avenue SE are closed during the festival due to the different arts and craft vendors and other Salmon Days sponsor booths. During the festival, booths are set up on the side of the roads with items for people to look at and buy. Different arts and crafts offered include jewelry, paintings, children's toys, clothing, pottery, glass sculptures, gourmet food, home & garden art, leather, metal, musical products, photography, and wood sculptures. The streets close at 8 a.m. and reopen at 7 p.m. during both days of the festival.

Memorial Field-Field of Fun

During Salmon Days, Veterans' Memorial Park has many activities for children. This area is known as the Field of Fun. Activities include

pony ride A pony ride is an opportunity for children to ride real ponies for a short time, usually seen at fairs, guest ranches, zoos, summer camps, private children's parties and similar places. Children on pony rides do not handle the pony themse ...

s, inflatables,

trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. People bounce ...

jumping, Puget Sound DockDogs competition, and fish prints. A kids' train also circles the parking lot adjacent to the Memorial Park.

Foods of the World

In the area south of the Veterans' Memorial Park in the Train Depot parking lot is the Foods of the World, which has many different foods, such as

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...

s and

fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or '' allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, and

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

foods. Drink options include

smoothie A smoothie is a beverage made by puréeing ingredients in a blender. A smoothie commonly has a liquid base, such as fruit juice or milk, yogurt, ice cream or cottage cheese. Other ingredients may be added, including fruits, vegetables, non-da ...

s and fresh-squeezed

lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...

. Dessert choices include

caramel apple Caramel apples or toffee apples are whole apples covered in a layer of caramel. They are created by dipping or rolling apples-on-a-stick in hot caramel, sometimes then rolling them in nuts or other small savories or confections, and allowing th ...

strawberry shortcake Strawberry shortcake may refer to: * Strawberry shortcake (dessert), a shortcake served with strawberries * "Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie," a song published in 1956; a version by The Brother Sisters was released by Mercury Records in 1960 ...

apple dumpling An apple dumpling is a baked or boiled pastry-wrapped apple. To prepare apple dumplings, apples are peeled, cored and sometimes quartered and placed on a portion of dough. The hole from the core may be filled with cinnamon, butter and sugar and ...

, elephant ears, and chocolate-dipped strawberries on a stick.

Issaquah Salmon Hatchery

The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, operated by the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife, remains open during the festival. There are several locations on the hatchery grounds where visitors can see chinook,

coho The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientif ...

, and

sockeye The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...

that have returned to their native waters to

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

. These viewing areas include a

pedestrian bridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

across

Issaquah Creek Issaquah Creek is a small stream flowing through the city of Issaquah and nearby communities, in the U.S. state of Washington. Its headwaters are on the slopes of Cougar, Squak, Tiger, and Taylor mountains in the Issaquah Alps. Tributaries of Is ...

and windows that provide a view of the hatchery's

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as mo ...

and holding pond. Although tours are not available during Salmon Days,

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de con ...

s from Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery are stationed throughout the hatchery to answer questions from visitors during the festival.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Salmon Days official siteFriends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery
Issaquah, Washington Festivals in the Puget Sound region Recurring events established in 1970