Saturday is salmon-day

Enumclaw's second Salmon Festival will bring live entertainment, workshops and family fun to downtown Saturday.

More than 1,200 people attended last year's inaugural festival, which celebrates the return of coho, chinook and other species to Newaukum Creek.

Organizers anticipate this year's event will be bigger and better than the 2003 version, and all are invited to check out the fun at the parking lot at the corner of Cole Street and Initial Avenue. The festival is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and features free educational workshops, site tours, live music, a native dance performance, a fishing derby and other fun activities for the kids, arts and crafts booths and food.

In addition to food, entertainment and education, hourly van tours to salmon restoration sites will be offered, starting at 11 a.m.

Kids can try their luck at fishing and, for a flat fee of $5, go after the longest trout in the fishing derby pond. Throughout the day, three winners will be awarded prizes. Equipment and bait, as well as assistance and fish-cleaning services, will be provided thanks to the support of Trout Unlimited and the help of Boy Scout packs 500 and 520.

Partners and sponsors of the event include the Mid Puget Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group, the Enumclaw Area Chamber of Commerce, the city of Enumclaw, The Courier-Herald, the Middle Green River Coalition, Trout Unlimited, Boy Scout packs 500 and 520, Hancock Forest Management, Puget Sound Energy, Summit Central Construction, Gray Lumber, Auburn Sports and Marine and The Grocery Outlet.

All festival proceeds will benefit salmon restoration projects on Newaukum Creek. For more information about the Festival, contact the Enumclaw Area Chamber of Commerce at 360-825-7666 or the Mid Puget Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group at 206-529-9467.

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