Picture This: Full plate of activities at Salmon Festival

A North Mountain Park volunteer empties a net scooped from Bear Creek at the annual festival held at North Mountain Park in Ashland. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
October 14, 2024

Saturday’s event attracted crowds to North Mountain Park

The Bear Creek Salmon Festival returned to Ashland’s North Mountain Park Nature Center on Saturday, Oct. 12. Now in its 17th year, the festival celebrates the seasonal cycle of Pacific northwest salmon species, environmental stewardship and community.

The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife fish tank was a popular attraction for kids of all ages at Saturday’s Bear Creek Salmon Festival in North Mountain Park. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
The salmon tent, a popular attraction for kids, was sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Children were invited into the salmon tent to hear stories about salmon and nature. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Grandfather (at left, Cherokee elder and subsistence skills teacher Tom Smith, left) and grandson used the traditional open fire method to cook salmon for festival visitors to sample. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Grandfather and grandson used the traditional open fire method to cook salmon for festival visitors to sample. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Salmon cooks over an open fire at the Bear Creek Salmon Festival in North Mountain Park on Saturday. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Ashland Community Composting provided an opportunity for Salmon Festival visitors to make their own seed bombs. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
A dad helps his son land a big one at the spincasting activity sponsored by the Middle Rogue Steelheaders fishing club. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission volunteers manned a tent that provided supplies for rock painting. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
At the Bear Creek Salmon Festival booth sponsored by Lomakatsi Restoration Project, visitors were invited to make a basket. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Stream Smart Director Greg Stabach watches as two boys play a game to learn more about the life cycle of salmon. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
A volunteer and helper check their net to see if they captured anything from the creek as part of the activities at the Bear Creek Salmon Festival on Saturday. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
A child uses a dropper to transfer the water containing living organisms into a magnifier. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Father and son view organisms through the magnifier and use a chart to identify the organisms they are viewing. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Kids check their net to see if they have captured anything from the creek. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife staff transfer fish from their transport truck into the display tank at the Bear Creek Salmon Festival. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Kids look for evidence of life in the water that was scooped from Bear Creek. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
A young boy walks a spiral labyrinth in North Mountain Park. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
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Bert Etling

Bert Etling is the executive editor of Ashland.news. Email him at [email protected].

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