.: Events :.

 


Salmon Fest Celebrates the Return of “School Days” & Salmon! »

.: Events :., .: Friends :. Category, submitted August 24th, 2022

The Friends of Northwest Hatcheries and Wenatchee River Salmon Festival event organizers are excited to announce the return of Salmon Fest School Days in September 2022! After a 2 year hiatus due to Covid precautions, we couldn’t be more excited to welcome back students from around the region, and to a new location at the Chelan PUD’s Rocky Reach Dam and Discovery Center. While School Days have returned, the public Community Day will have to wait another year.

Salmon Fest’s Education Coordinator, Marjorie Lodwik says of this year’s event, “We are so excited to be able to bring this event back for the first time since 2019, but due to complications with the construction on hatchery infrastructure projects and limitations with both FWS and Friends of NW Hatcheries/Salmon Fest staff, a few weeks ago it became clear that a successful event at Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery would be incredibly challenging to pull off. Luckily, our wonderful partner, Chelan County PUD, offered their Rocky Reach Dam facility for this year’s event. They have extensive grassy grounds, a brand new interactive visitor center, and can accommodate a large number of buses for the school days.”

She continues, “Unfortunately they won’t be able to host the public event on Saturday, but we have heard from many teachers, students, and their families that are so excited to be coming to the festival’s school days this year on September 15th and 16th. While we are sad that the festival can’t take place a the fish hatchery, we are very thankful for all of the hard work that the PUD and the rest of the Salmon Festival Team have put in to make this new location work!”

Read the official Press Release from the Directors of Salmon Fest below.

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Wenatchee River Salmon Festival “School Days” September 15th and 16th, 2022

Wenatchee, Washington — “Celebrate the Return of the Salmon”, at the 30th Anniversary of the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival!  Our two “School Days” will be ready to host North Central Washington students on September 15th and 16th, 2022 at Rocky Reach Dam and Discovery Center.  Students will explore and experience natural resource education at its finest! Salmon Fest has been the recipient of multiple awards, including, “Best Children’s Program”, by the International Festivals and Events Association.  The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival 2022 is an event devoted to engaging students at a venue that is both educational and fun.  Our Festival mission is to connect people of all ages to nature, and help build discovery and appreciation of the diversity and importance of the great outdoors.  The beautiful grounds overlooking the mighty Columbia River are managed by the Chelan PUD’s Rocky Reach Dam.  This unique venue will transform into an extraordinary outdoor classroom for this year’s Salmon Fest event.  Students will become part of “River Ramble” and a Native American Village receiving a powerful inter-tribal cultural experience.  Learning about nature from top Pacific Northwest natural resource specialists means students will gain first-hand knowledge about fish and wildlife, healthy habitats, and watersheds.  There is magic when Salmon Fest happens.  Students receive unique opportunities to be eye-to-eye with a fish, create gyotaku art, and share in a “Salmon Experience” together.  For more information, swim to our website salmonfest.org or call 509.548.6662 ext 226.

The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival is hosted by Friends of NW Hatcheries, Chelan PUD, USFWS-Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests, and the Bureau of Reclamation.


Salmon Fest Launches New Website »

.: Events :., .: Friends :. Category, submitted January 5th, 2021

The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival, presented by Friends of Northwest Hatcheries, has a beautiful brand new website!

The new website better conveys the full of extent of this important annual event and provides valuable resources and info that is easy for festival attendees, teachers, partners, and supporters to find. Know what to expect, get the most out of your experience, and plan your trip to the next Salmon Fest!

Check it out at http://www.salmonfest.org/


Due to Covid-19 Wenatchee River Salmon Festival Cancelled for 2020 »

.: Events :., .: Friends :. Category, submitted May 14th, 2020

Wenatchee River Salmon Festival Cancelled for 2020

As the largest and main event supported by Friends of Northwest Hatcheries, we are sad to report that the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival has been cancelled for 2020 due to Covid-19.  Please see their Press Release below.  We look forward to working with them through 2020 and into 2021 to help them plan for celebrating the 30th anniversary event in Sept 2021.

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NEWS RELEASE FROM THE WENATCHEE RIVER SALMON FESTIVAL

Leavenworth, Washington: Due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic affecting all of us in many ways, the much-beloved award- winning Wenatchee River Salmon Festival (Salmon Fest) has been cancelled in 2020. This year’s event was scheduled to be held at the beautiful Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery on the days of September 17th – 19th. The popular north-central Washington nature festival will now begin looking forward to creating a special 30th Anniversary celebration, “Salmon of the Future,” to be held September 15-18, 2021. Festival organizers will follow all required guidelines for public health and safety concerns during all phases of planning during these most challenging times.

An educational event on the scale of Salmon Fest hosts approximately 2,500 students and pulls in hundreds of volunteers. Natural resource and recreation specialists, community exhibitors, multi-cultural tribal educators, and other participants from throughout the entire Pacific Northwest are included. The public day can draw more than 4,000 attendees.

“The health and welfare of our festival visitors, students, volunteers, and community residents are top priority for the Salmon Fest planning team,” Festival Co-Directors Corky Broaddus and Hailey Croci clearly state. “During this coronavirus time of our lives, we truly are concerned about the health and safety of all of our dedicated festival staff that work in every capacity of Salmon Fest management and operations. We thank our festival agency and non-profit partners and community contributors in helping us come to this hard cancellation decision.”

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service managers of Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery agree. “Hosting a big public event this year presents far too many obstacles and concerns,” Visitor Services Manager Julia Pinnix noted. “Our first priority must be health and safety. Postponing the event until 2021 is a wise choice.”

The Salmon Fest is a hands-on outdoor event whose mission is to connect people and nature by providing opportunities that create meaningful and enriching outdoor interpretation and education. A visit to Salmon Fest builds life skills and experiences reaching out to all ages about the wonder of science, nature, and culture. Please join us in 2021 to share a “salmon experience” with us during next year’s upcoming Wenatchee River Salmon Festival “Salmon of the Future” celebration! For updates on the event, visit salmonfest.org and follow the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival on Facebook.

 

Contact: Corky Broaddus, Festival Director, 509.548.6662, director@salmonfest.org

 

See the official Wenatchee River Salmon Festival News Release


Leavenworth Unplugged Summer Event Series »

.: Events :., .: Friends :. Category, submitted June 5th, 2019

UNPLUG to RECONNECT with Nature, Family & Friends!

Leavenworth Unplugged, presented by Friends of Northwest Hatcheries and hosted by the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery is a series of casual social gatherings through the summer months on the beautiful Fish Hatchery property off of Icicle Road. Each event will feature a fun new conservation-focused goal/theme and educational activities for kids and adults. These events are meant to entice friends and families to spend more time outdoors together, unplugged from technology, to reconnect with nature and each other.

The events will be held on the third Monday of May, June, July, and August from 6:30 – 7:30pm.

Stay tuned to our Facebook page for details on the activities planned for each event!


Salmon Fest Family Day Has Returned! »

.: Events :., .: Friends :. Category, submitted June 21st, 2018

Salmon Fest Family Day Has Returned!

The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival (Salmon Fest) & Friends of NW Hatcheries Find Support from Local Wenatchee Valley Communities

Great news! Some of you may have heard this past winter that the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival, also known as Salmon Fest, and their major supporter, the Friends of Northwest Hatcheries, were in need of some help from the community. Several long-term board members were retiring leaving a large hole to fill for this typically under-the-radar organization and their more widely-known and popular Salmon Fest – focused annual event. A community meeting was held at the Leavenworth Fire Hall in January 2018, where remaining board members and representatives from the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, discussed the dire situation and what would be needed to continue to put on this 28-year old award winning outdoor recreation and education event at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery along Icicle Creek.

That night, the call was answered when several members of the Leavenworth community stepped forward and committed to helping ensure a bright future for Salmon Fest and the Friends of NW Hatcheries.  In February, a new Salmon Fest board was formed as a separate board, solely focused on the success of this annual event. With this new structure, the Friends group is well suited to grow and diversify its support for wildlife education and outdoor recreation programs throughout the northwest and the Salmon Fest team can work on providing the best possible experiences for students and the public during the 3 day annual event in Leavenworth. Plan to bring your family and friends to this free event happening during the days of September 20 – 22, 2018, with the return of the popular public Family Day on Saturday the 22nd.

Salmon Fest is a two-day natural resource education event held every fall to celebrate the return of the salmon to the Wenatchee River. The Festival is held on the grounds of the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, located at the mouth of the scenic Icicle Canyon near Leavenworth, Washington. An exciting menu of hands-on activities and “edutainment” gives students from throughout North Central Washington a unique opportunity to discover and appreciate the complexities of the natural world and the significance of salmon to people of the northwest. Since its inception in 1991, the Festival has remained true to its natural resource education mission while updating and augmenting activities to keep the messages fresh, timely and engaging. In response, the event has become nationally recognized for its educational excellence.

In mid-June, the new Friends Board was joined by representatives from a dozen fishery hatcheries and conservation offices from across the Pacific Northwest plus two nationally recognized Friends Group Mentors for a 2-day workshop to build a plan for the future. By all initial accounts, this important Mentorship meeting was a huge success and a plan is in now in place to help the Friends group support more programs and projects throughout the region. While the new Board members are getting settled into their new roles, the call for additional assistance from the community continues.

The Friends of NW Hatcheries is looking for people and organizations who would like to support the Friends mission by signing up to become members and several more passionate individuals who would be interested in joining committees.  Based in Leavenworth, Washington, the Friends of NW Hatcheries is a 501c3 nonprofit that supports wildlife education and outdoor recreation opportunities that promote responsible environmental conservation and stewardship in connection with fisheries and hatcheries around the Pacific Northwest. Funding for these programs come from grants, sponsorships, fundraising events, and membership fees.

Salmon Fest is also looking for volunteers who are available to help with this year’s event on September 20 – 22, 2018 at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery.  Please call 509-548-6662 ext. 226 for more information.

If you would be interested in helping the Friends group, or the Salmon Fest team, please contact:

Signing up to be a member of the Friends group is easy! Download the membership application and mail a completed copy with your membership dues. Membership is only $5/year for seniors and students, $10/year for individuals, and $15 for families through the end of 2018.

From all of us to all of you, thank you for your continued support of natural resource education and environmental stewardship and conservation!


2016-2017 Winter Snowshoe Tours »

.: Events :., .: Friends :. Category, submitted November 16th, 2016

Guided 2016-2017 Winter Snowshoe Tours at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery

Winter in Leavenworth is a great time to visit the National Fish Hatchery! We have juvenile fish on station all year. A visit can include a look at hatchery operations, as well as a guided snowshoe tour on our trails.

The grounds are open for visitors every day. Our visitor center is usually open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., although staff may only be present for limited times. Guided snowshoe tours are available on specific days. Please check dates listed below to see if your visit can include one of these free tours.

You must call ahead to reserve your place on a snowshoe tour. Our main line is 509-548-7641. We provide the snowshoes, available in one size only (small children and very large adults may find them hard to use). The tour takes 2 hours and follows the Icicle Creek Nature Trail, a route of about 1 mile.

Snowshoe Tour Schedule

Tours are provided in December, January, and February, if there is enough snow.

December 2016:

  • Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
  • Friday the 9th and 16th, 1 p.m.
  • Friday the 16th and 23rd, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
  • Dec. 27-31, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Please note there are no tours on Dec. 25 or 26.

January 2017:

  • Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
  • Friday the 6th, 13th, and 20th, 1 p.m.

February 2017:

  • Saturdays and Sundays through the 19th: 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Call for reservations
509-548-7641

Visit the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery website for more information.

Learn more about Leavenworth NFH on Facebook!

Download the Official Leavenworth NFH Snowshoe Tours Brochure HERE.