The 13th annual Hyde Creek Salmon Festival will be taking place this Sunday, and gives attendees a chance to see hundreds of coho and chum salmon returning to the creek to spawn. The event will also include interactive displays, presentations from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a salmon barbecue, and much more.
Photograph by: Lisa King , NOW
A four-year cycle spanning thousands of kilometres will come to an end Sunday, as hundreds of spawning salmon will be front and centre at the Hyde Creek Salmon Festival.
Now in its 13th year, the PoCo event highlights all things aquatic, and focuses on education, ecology and conservation against a backdrop of scores of salmon returning to the creek to spawn.
And according to Hyde Creek Watershed Society director Jean Peachman, this year's run of chum salmon has been particularly healthy.
"The chum this year are very large, and it has been a big run," she said. "And we're hearing that from other hatcheries around B.C. Four years ago, something was really good in the ocean in terms of their feeding."
Some of the events on tap for the festival include interactive environmental displays and exhibits, including live owls, a vulture and marine life. Representatives from Fisheries and Oceans Canada will also present three in-stream salmon demonstrations, while Lions Club members will be serving up salmon burgers and salmon chowder.
The popular children's entertainer known as the TaDa Lady will roll out the Nylon Zoo - a giant inflatable fish - and employees from the Home Depot will be on hand to help kids build their own bird houses.
There will be raffle prizes like Club16 Trevor Linden Fitness gym memberships, guided helicopter tours and a return trip to Whistler via the Rocky Moutaineer train.
And then there's the sight of hundreds of fish living out their last days in the creek, a visual that is particularly gripping for people from locales other than Western Canada.
"They are just blown away because it's not what they've seen in their own countries," Peachman said. "It's not something you would see anywhere except probably here in British Columbia. It's truly amazing."
The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at both the Hyde Creek Recreation Centre, located at 1379 Laurier Ave., and the Hyde Creek Education Centre and Hatchery, at 3636 Coast Meridian Rd. See www.hydecreek.org for details.
The 13th annual Hyde Creek Salmon Festival will be taking place this Sunday, and gives attendees a chance to see hundreds of coho and chum salmon returning to the creek to spawn. The event will also include interactive displays, presentations from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a salmon barbecue, and much more.
Photograph by: Lisa King , NOW
