The 19th annual Festival of the River Aug. 9 and 10 is presented by the Stillaguamish Tribe to help people who live and work in the Stillaguamish watershed and surrounding regions to realize how their actions can make life better for all critters: people, fish and wildlife.
Festival organizers are very clever: They use a great schedule of entertainment and a culturally rich pow wow with dancing and drumming as well as food and fun for kids to attract visitors to the beautiful River Meadows Park for learning the essential lessons.
Located at a traditional gathering place of the Stillaguamish Tribe on the banks of the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River between Arlington and Granite Falls, the festival offers educational displays presented by many organizations from around the Puget Sound region. From the Snohomish Conservation District to the Puget Sound Action Team, all of the displays contribute to the understanding of watershed dynamics and how individual behavior impacts the quality of our very own water supply.
Stillaguamish Tribe’s fisheries biologist Pat Stevenson has been involved in presenting the festival since it’s inception nearly 20 years ago.
“We’re having a day of country music Sunday to see what kind of crowd that might attact,” Stevenson said. “Saturday’s line-up includes Smash Mouth, which is famous for creating the soundtrack for the movie, Shrek.”
Along with continuous music and entertainment for kids, and informative educational displays, the festival events include:
n Stillaguamish Powwow
n Logging show at 1:15 p.m., Aug. 9 and 10;
n Salmon habitat walks start at the Stillaguamish Natural Resource Tent on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday at
11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
n Ongoing demonstrations on flintknapping and fly-tying
The music features some impressive rock-n-roll music by The English Beat, Smashmouth, The Gin Blossoms, and LeRoy Bell & his only Friends, all day Saturday and a country day on Sunday with American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler, along with Darryl Worley, Jessica Andrews, Blue Country and Queen’s Bluegrass.
