Text: Salmon Days is a local festival about the return of the salmon to Issaquah creek. It is the first full weekend in October because that is when it’s most likely for the salmon to be fully back.

The festival started around 60 years ago, starting either before my father was born or when he was a small child. It used to be small, though still had face painting, booths, crafts, etc. my dad says that craft fairs were big back then, every town has its own little craft fair. By the time my father was in high school he can remember there was a year when 20,000 people came, in comparison the population of Issaquah back then was about 8,000. “It was one of those times where you’re just like, Maybe this isn’t such a little festival anymore”. There also were very few towns around that were doing a festival of that scale. Now it’s “freaking huge”. 

At the Festival:

• They remember there was little crafts you could either do or buy. When my mom was a kid there was a trend where they gave you a “weird” shaped bottle, then you filled it with styrofoam balls (my dad who is older remembers it used to be sand). Then you’d put a hat and hair on it.
• Elephant ears; which are according to my mom a “big slab of buttery deep fried gluten with cinnamon and sugar” — They have been “Epic forever”. “Anybody you ask about Salmon days is probably gonna talk about elephants ears.
• The Parade: Saturday Morning is the parade. It used to be little and go down Front Street (the town’s main street). It would have little floats and Miss Issaquah riding down the Salmon float, a couple of marching bands. Then by the time my dad was in high school or just out of high school it became so big they had to move it to a different street. There was one year where the parade was three hours long. My parents talked about how in the pre internet world it was The thing to do, The place to be.

They remember that when they were in school it was a great way to be social and connect up with your friends on the weekends. My dad, who didn’t have many friends, remembers it being a weird social experiment. 

Dad (cleaned up): You weren’t in school, so suddenly people would–you’d be walking along and people would be like, “Hey D”, you know, “Hey, how are you doing?” It’s like, “Hey, you want to go walk around with me?” You know, even though you barely knew this person. So, it was definitely a weird, like, social experiment. (laughs) So I remember walking around with people that I’d never even like talked to before. 

Interviewer: And you wouldn’t again? 

Dad: Uh, you know, maybe we’d say hi again on Monday, you know, at school, but then you’d drift back apart, you know, it’s like.

Mom: Please remember the source of this. 

Dad: Yeah, I mean, me. Hello? 

Mom: He just doesn’t maintain that sort of thing very well, so they may or may not have tried it’s unclear.

Context: I interviewed my parents, my mother who is 49, white, and moved to Washington from Idaho when she was at the age of 9 and my father who is 60, white, has lived in this town his entire life. Both my parents are introverts, but my mother had friends during high school while my dad was a bit more of a loner due his shyness and obliviousness.

Analysis: This festival is a tradition that is long standing and has evolved as the town grew, becoming a part of the way of life of living in Issaquah Washington. Salmon are a big part of living in Issaquah, with the salmon hatchery and the return of the salmon, but I think that’s really just a jumping off point for this festival for community and evolving traditions are also a big part. Both my parents remember community in high school being a huge thing that the Salmon days brought, for my dad it created a frame that allowed him to connect to his peers in a way he wasn’t able to otherwise. The Salmon return and the people gather in a ways that normally don’t, allowing for a different experience than everyday life. It’s also been going for so long that people have established their own traditions within the festival, like getting elephant ears. It started out small but took on a life of itself. It also makes me wonder if this celebration in part kept the Salmon hatchery alive, though that is speculation as I have no idea the financial situation of the hatchery nor have I heard anything.