Event to offer opportunities for learning and fun, with food, games, and live music

By James Sloan, Rogue Valley Times

The Bear Creek Salmon Festival is returning with plenty to learn, see and experience at 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 Bear Creek Salmon Festival also celebrates the Rogue Valley’s first people, who were the first to honor the salmon and who remain connected to the seasonal cycles,” said Jennifer Aguayo, coordinator for the North Mountain Park Nature Center and in her fifth year of running the festival. “The Takelma, Shasta, Modoc and many other Indigenous tribal groups of this region were the first land stewards, and in honoring and learning about traditional life ways, we can see the human connection to the watershed and caring for the system that sustains us.”

“We celebrate salmon, but we also celebrate community and the responsibility we have for each other as well,” Aguayo added.

The festival is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at the North Mountain Park Nature Center, located at 620 N. Mountain Ave. in Ashland.

It’s free to attend and the festival will have a wide range of activities for the whole family. Activities include games, crafts, a giant salmon tent, live fish to observe and more.

There will be live music at the festival as well, with McAlvage and Fretwell performing in the morning and the Bathtub Gin Serenaders playing in the afternoon.

“Visitors can learn to fish on the ball fields or even get in and explore Bear Creek at our ‘what’s in the creek’ station,” Aguayo said. “What could be better on a fall day, than getting outside to frolic and explore nature?”

There will also be Native American traditional salmon cooking and acorn education stations to encourage fun while learning.

The Bear Creek Salmon Festival is organized by Ashland Parks and Recreation along with local nonprofit Rogue Food Unites. The Rogue River Watershed Council, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Bureau of Land Management, Medford District Office, also offer support.

“This year, we’re partnering with Rogue Food Unites to add an extra snack station and bring awareness to the great work they do,” Aguayo said. “They’ll have a snack station right next to the nature playground where visitors can grab a quick charcuterie plate … There will be an adult and kids’ version with yummy things to keep the energy going.”

RFU coordinates with locally-invested food businesses to provide fresh, nutritious and shelf-stable ingredients to communities throughout the Rogue Valley.

“Fatso’s (Cheketos) food truck will be serving delicious gluten-free lunch items,” Aguayo added.

The festival will continue as a zero-waste event, with food vendors utilizing reusable dinnerware to eliminate unnecessary garbage. Through a collaboration with Recology Ashland’s Lend-Me-a-Plate program and volunteers, the effort will eliminate use of single-use plastics and food containers during the festival, according to organizers.

A key for visitors is building community connection at the festival.

“I always love the community aspect. I love bringing together so many different people to celebrate something that is so close to my heart,” Aguayo said. “Exhibitors, bands, food vendors, partners, everyone comes together to bring joy, connect and share what they love.”

“There are people dancing and kids running around laughing, it’s magical,” Aguayo added. “It’s just a great opportunity to soak up the vibrant energy of fall.” 

To learn more about the Bear Creek Salmon Festival, visit ashlandoregon.gov/1003/Bear-Creek-Salmon-Festival-2024.

To learn more about the North Mountain Park Nature Center and see upcoming events at the park, visit ashlandoregon.gov/364/Nature-Center.

Reach reporter James Sloan at jsloan@rv-times.com. This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.