SEATTLE, WA (8/30/10) – The Salmon Homecoming Alliance is pleased to announce that the 18th Annual 2010 Salmon Homecoming Celebration will take place at the Seattle Aquarium and Waterfront Park again this year, September 16-18. The festival will kick off with a special “School Days on the Waterfront” for 4th and 5th grade students on Thursday and Friday, September 16-17. The public celebration will take place Friday and Saturday, September 17-18.
This year’s celebration theme is “The Habitat Is Where It’s At,” reflecting the great need for people to reach out to each other and work together to restore and protect our environment from such economic and ecological tragedies as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the acidification of our water.
Each year the celebration provides a unique environmental educational experience for hundreds of tribal and non-tribal students and their teachers, and features environmental exhibits, cultural events, arts and crafts, vendors, a salmon bake and a vibrant “coastal jam” with local tribes and indigenous groups. The Salmon Homecoming Alliance sponsors the annual celebration to build bridges of understanding and to help people from all walks of life understand their connection with the environment, salmon, Puget Sound, and the natural environment.
Salmon Homecoming President Walter Pacheco of the Muckleshoot Indian Nation said, “We face many environmental challenges in the Pacific Northwest. Salmon Homecoming brings people together to build team spirit, protect the environment and create an atmosphere in which we can find solutions together.”
“What we all need to realize is that the environment, education and the economy are all connected,” said Billy Frank, Jr., chief advisor to the Salmon Homecoming and Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission—one of the key sponsors of the Salmon Homecoming Celebration. “By solving our environmental challenges, and engaging people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds in those solutions, we strengthen our ability to build sustainable prosperity for everyone.”
“The Salmon Homecoming Celebration is presented by the Salmon Homecoming Alliance, the Muckleshoot, Tulalip, Lummi and other tribes of western Washington, the Seattle Aquarium, King County, Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle City Light, Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, the Department of Ecology and the Washington Forest Protection Association.
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Contact:
- Steve Robinson, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission 360 951-2494
- Laura Austin, Seattle Aquarium 206 386-4329
Visit SalmonHomecoming.org for information.