It’s reel-ly time again for Issaquah’s most exciting weekend of the year — the 47th annual Salmon Days festival returns at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, with the carnival kicking off a little sooner at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30.
The weekend-long celebration of the return of the salmon to Issaquah takes over the historic downtown for two days, featuring hundreds of arts and crafts, business and nonprofit vendors, foods from all around the globe, the kids’ Field of Fun, five stages with entertainment all day long, a carnival with rides for all ages and, of course, the Grande Parade on Saturday morning.
And while all the festival fan favorites are included again, this year’s festivities will have a few new surprises in store, according to Issaquah Chamber of Commerce Festivals Director Brian Twiggs.
Twiggs said that the festival has added about 50 vendors this year, and has expanded its area south to the Issaquah Community Center on Rainier Boulevard South. The David Harris Community Center Stage, used for the annual Concerts on the Green every summer, will be the main stage for Salmon Days entertainment.
And while kids can look forward to plenty of fun activities, this year’s Salmon Days also features a never-before-seen treat for adults — a beer garden will be located in the festival’s expanded space on the Community Center Green. Beer will also be served at the Kiwanis Salmon Barbecue at Gibson Park, across the street from the Salmon Hatchery.
Another fintastic new addition to Salmon Days 2016 is a new face in town who hopes to win residents’ votes. Sammy the Salmon, who represents the “Findependent” Party, has been busy campaigning all around Issaquah in recent weeks, promoting the 2016 Salmon Days theme of “Findependent.”
“People are really excited about the campaign,” Twiggs said.
The Chamber of Commerce chose the “Findependent” theme, a playful spin on this year’s presidential race, “to be the comic relief in the middle of this unique election,” Twiggs said. He called Sammy “a great candidate that both parties could identify with.”
And Sammy supporters who want a chance to shake fins with their candidate can rejoice. According to Twiggs, “Sammy will be around” all weekend long.
The Grande Parade, which offishally kicks off the festivities at 10 a.m. on Saturday, will feature 100 entries and should last for an hour-and-a-half, Twiggs said. The parade begins at Front Street North and Northeast Dogwood Street, then heads west on Northwest Gilman Boulevard all the way to 12th Avenue Northwest.
On Sunday, the fun will start at 8:50 a.m. with the Run with the Fishes 5k run/walk, followed by the Kids Dash at 10:20 a.m.
Over 40 Foods of the World vendors, located in the parking lot by the Issaquah Depot Museum, will be spreading a taste of many different cultures to festival attendees, with cuisine from Vietnam, Mexico, Kenya, Australia, Italy, Germany and the Caribbean, to name a few.
Other cultures will not only be present at Foods of the World, but also at the arts and business booths. Artists from Issaquah’s sister city, Chefchaouen, Morocco, are in town for the festivities to spread cross-cultural understanding and display their unique artwork.
For young visitors, the Field of Fun is set to include a soccer field, human hamster balls, inflatables to bounce in, a trampoline jump zone, a toymakers’ workshop, mini trains, performances by Puget Sound DockDogs, mini trains, a fish prints craft booth and a kids stage.
The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery will be giving tours all day both days to teach guests about the reason for the festivals’ existence.
A shuttle ($4 adults, cash only, free for kids 10 and under) will take attendees to the festival from the Issaquah Highlands Park and Ride, the Issaquah Park and Ride Transit Center and the Costco corporate headquarters.
Salmon Days runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. downtown Issaquah on Saturday, Oct. 1 and Sunday, Oct. 2. The carnival, located at the Staples parking lot at 628 Front St. N., runs from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Don’t forget to stop by the booth of the Reporter, one of the official spawnsors of Salmon Days!
