It was gray and a bit blowy, but plenty of people filled the streets in Issaquah for the annual Salmon Days festival. Our uke club was invited to play for the second year in a row, six enthusiastic players (you see five on the stage, one of our guys had to run off) played a variety of hapa haole, cowboy, pop, and oldies tunes to a small, bemused crowd.
One of my favorite things about getting out to play at these kind of events is the startled look on the faces of passersby, as though there could not really be that many people playing ukes all at once. “You’re a ukulele band?” they ask, after eying the excessive number of ukes. “We’re more of a club. You should join us!” is the standard reply. We’re all about inclusion. This year’s audience member is next year’s performer.
As always, we made some new friends, invited strangers to join us, and got asked for business cards. “We’re having a luau…” is a typical opener. We always say the same thing: “Google for Seattle Ukulele, you’ll find us. All the contact information is there.”
In between sets we looked at and then ate salmon. The hatchery weir is closed so the big fish can’t make it upstream in spite of their determination. The next open run – this means they open the gate and let the big boys fly – is Tuesday, October 7th. If I’m able to clear my calendar for a few hours midday, I’m planning to run out there and take another look.
The hatchery does a great job of educating the crowds about what’s going on – fish docents are everywhere explaining the salmon lifecycle and the facility, answering questions, and generally being good natured and enthusiastic about this Pacific Northwest wonder.
The hatchery is in downtown Issaquah. Check out the Friends of the Issaquah Salmon website for lots of great information about our finned neighbors.
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