Thousands of spectators coming from far and wide lined Front Street and Northwest Gilman Boulevard Saturday for Issaquah’s 40th Annual Salmon Days Parade, held Oct. 3-4.
Tens of thousands more arrived throughout the day as the sunshine broke through the clouds and took to the event’s diverse array of festival booths and activities along Front Street and East Sunset.
Issaquah Police Cmdr. Stan Conrad said they estimated around 180,000 visitors over the course of the two-day event.
Parade floats including local elected officials and several high school marching bands featured in the morning’s traditional beginning of the two-day festival.
One of those officials was a special guest of the city: the newly—elected mayor of Chefchaouen, Morocco, Mohamed Sefiani. He participated in the parade and later joined two Moroccan craftsman, Mostafa Dennouch and Driss Essakhi, at a booth on East Sunset Way.
“It’s very good, very fine, very nice,” he said of the events. “Every congratulations to the people of Issaquah.”
Festival-goers were invited to sample bites of food from cooking demonstrations, spin a wheel of chance for a free prize and marvel at locally crafted paintings and ceramics for sale.
Down at the Fish Prints stand — sponsored by Seattle Children’s Hospital — Alyssa Bothwell, 7, and her two-year-old sister Ashlyn took up the challenge to make their own artwork.
They painted rubber salmon moulds and then pressed them onto paper, creating a psychedelic and colorful piece of art.
At the center of it all, the Salmon Hatchery’s exhibits and bridge were packed with spectators trying to get a peak of the migratory fish,
Klahanie resident Miles Gaston, 12, never gets tired of watching the salmon’s annual rite of passage. He’s been to the hatchery an Salmon Days multiple times.
“I like the salmon hatchery and all the booths,” he said. “I like it how the fish try and make it up above the ladder.”
Others just couldn’t help but see the fish in a slightly different light, like Vancouver resident Josh Cook, 17.
“It makes me want to go fishing,” he said.
Replacing Issaquah’s Labor Day parade in 1970, the annual event has grown in popularity and is one of the largest and latest outdoor festivals celebrated in the calendar year.
Salmon Days organizer Robin Kelley said she expected the event would be well attended by local residents and families hoping to enjoy the beautiful weather, music and children’s activities centered at Memorial Park.
New to the event this year were the Hatchery Stage — which featured a number of bluegrass and county-style music acts, the Puget Sound Dock Dogs stage and jumping pool and compostable food plates and utensils used by vendors.
Kelley was also thrilled the weather, unlike last year, was gentle sunshine and warm afternoon temperatures.
“It’s one of the few things we can’t control,” she said. “It’s amazing to have everyone come together like this.”
