Get ready for a day packed with fish, fun, and family adventures at the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival! Join us for Community Day on Saturday, September 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Rocky Reach Park and Discovery Center.

This year’s theme is “Currents of Connection” to call attention to all the ways the Columbia River connects us. Experts from across the Northwest will share amazing facts about fish, animals, and healthy habitats. And the best part — admission is free!

Journey through a Native American village for a powerful, intertribal cultural experience. The event features 45 Native American educators and exhibitors representing 11 tribes and bands from the plateau region, Pacific Northwest and beyond.

For 32 years, Tuck’ush Man – a medicine man from the Wasco band of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation – and his wife Two Bears have led the Salmon Dance at the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival. Tuck-ush Man, now 92 years old, learned the dance from his grandfather, and plans to teach it to another generation to lead for next year. The Salmon Dance calls for the return and pairing of salmon to their spawning grounds and reaffirms the powerful relationship between the Plateau People and the salmon.

“The dance is about praying for the salmon and we want to carry it on,” said Two Bears. “It’s our love and devotion to the salmon and the people there that keep us coming back.”

Before the big festival day, about 2,000 local third- and fourth-graders will visit Rocky Reach on Sept. 18 and 19 for a special school program filled with outdoor learning and science fun.

For more updates, visit salmonfest.org and follow the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival on Facebook. This year’s event is hosted by Chelan PUD, Friends of Northwest Hatcheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Microsoft, Cascade Autocenter, Wenatchee Sportsmen’s Association, Chelan Douglas Retirees Association, Crunch Pak, Stemilt, Bio Oregon and the Leavenworth Outdoors Center.