Columbia Salmon Festival

The mission of the festival is to inform people about the history and future of salmon in the upper Columbia, and their cultural significance.

Nowadays, many people in the valley have forgotten the role that salmon played in the Upper Columbia prior to the construction of Grand Coulee dam in 1942. Prior to that time Chinook salmon spawned in the Upper Columbia, with many of the fish weighing 40 pounds and providing a critical source of sustenance for Ktunaxa Nation and Shuswap (Kinbasket) community members.

Although the big Salmon are gone from the Columbia Valley, they have been replaced ecologically by kokanee salmon. The kokanee will turn the river bright red during the actual event, which is being held at the height of the run. This event will celebrate both the big salmon we have lost and the little salmon that we still have in the river. The goal of this event is, “to provide opportunities for ALL to learn about the past, present and future of Salmon in the Columbia River, and (their) importance to First Nations and everyone in the Upper Columbia Valley.”