The first annual Columbia Salmon Festival

Sep 28 – Oct 1 –

Columbia Valley residents and visitors will be treated to the first ever Columbia Salmon Festival from Wednesday, September 28 to Saturday, October 1, 2011 when first-nation and US tribal political leaders, federal, provincial, municipal and regional leaders, including members of Ktunaxa Nation Council, Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, and Okanagan Nation Alliance. The 4-day event will bring together Ktunaxa, Secwepemc and Syilx people to celebrate both the remarkable history and the promising future of salmon in the Columbia River.

Yesterday and today

Prior to the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam in 1942, Chinook salmon spawned in the upper Columbia River, many right below the present-day Fairmont Hot Springs and Copper Point resorts. They weighed up to 40 pounds and were harvested during their spawning migrations by the Ktunaxa and Secwepemc people, for whom they were a major food source, as well as commercial fishermen from the Pacific Ocean to the headwaters.

Today, the Kokanee salmon have replaced the Chinook salmon and over a quarter million of these small, land-locked creatures spawn annually in the very same spots that were favored by their predecessors. The Columbia Salmon Festival is being held at the height of the run, when the river will become bright red with thousands of their bodies, a perfect celebration of both the big salmon we have lost, the little salmon that we still have in the river, and their importance to all of us today.

Chinook salmon used to spawn in the upper Columbia River before its blockage by hydro-electric dams. Chinook can weight up to 40 pounds.

The festival – activities and events

To educate us about this precious resource in our own back yard, organizers of the festival have prepared a variety of events and activities in the Invermere to Fairmont areas. There will be youth salmon-awareness field trips, guest speakers, presentations, a charity golf tournament, the salmon monument celebrations and, to culminate the festival, a gala salmon dinner with celebrity chef David Wolfman.

Hosts and sponsors

The festival is being hosted by the Shuswap Indian Band and Akisqnuk First Nation. Its proud supporters are the Canadian Columbia Inter-Tribal Fisheries Commission, Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partnership and Fairmont Trails Society.

For further information about locations, times, etc. of the first annual Columbia Salmon Festival, please contact event coordinators: