Salmon Days Festival is packed to the gills
October 9, 2012
Unseasonably warm weather greets visitors for fun, sun
Thousands of visitors to Salmon Days fill Sunset Way on a warm and sunny Saturday to help set an attendance record for the annual two-day festival. By Greg Farrar
The calendar says it is October. The changing colors of the tree leaves suggest that autumn is in the air and the endless stream of chinook congregating at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery definitely confirms it.
Salmon Days Festival returns to downtown Issaquah
October 2, 2012
A chinook tries to surmount the weir Sept. 28 at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. By Greg Farrar
The ode to salmon migration, Issaquah’s iconic Salmon Days Festival, returns to downtown Issaquah on Oct. 6-7.
Olympian Jennie Reed to serve as Salmon Days grand marshal
September 21, 2012
NEW — 11 a.m. Sept. 21, 2012
Salmon Days Festival organizers tapped cyclist Jennie Reed, a silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics and Issaquah High School alumna, to serve as grand marshal in the celebration’s Grande Parade.
Jennie Reed
Reed, a 1996 Issaquah High graduate, won a silver medal in women’s team pursuit, a cycling event, last month at the London Olympics.
Salmon Days returns to downtown Issaquah for a 43rd outing Oct. 6-7.
Reed and the U.S. team of Sarah Hammer, Dotsie Bausch and Lauren Tamayo finished in 3:19.727 for silver. Great Britain earned the gold in the event and Canada claimed the bronze.
Concert benefits Issaquah’s sister city ties
June 5, 2012
Join the municipal Sister Cities Commission and the nonprofit American Moroccan International Exchange to celebrate strong international ties among Issaquah and sister cities in Morocco and Norway.
Issaquah and Sunndal, Norway, established a sister-city pact in 1991. Chefchaouen, Morocco, and Issaquah formalized a similar relationship in 2007.
The organizations plan a June 9 concert to benefit the commission’s international partnerships. The event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Issaquah Community Center, 301 Rainier Blvd. S. The lineup includes the bands Astro Cats, O’Dark:30 and Kalimba. The event is open to guests of all ages.
Tickets cost $10. Purchase tickets in advance at online at www.amieonline.org/concert2012; at Issaquah City Hall, 130 E. Sunset Way; or by calling 837-3000.
The fundraiser supports cultural exchange programs. Past Sister Cities Commissions efforts included student and artist exchanges.
Salmon Days Festival returns to downtown Issaquah
October 1, 2011
Girl Scout Troop 42127 members ride on a flatbed truck decorated with salmon Saturday during the annual Salmon Days Festival Grande Parade. By Greg Farrar
UPDATED — 12:50 p.m. Oct. 1, 2011
The ode to salmon migration, Issaquah’s iconic Salmon Days Festival, returns to downtown Issaquah on Saturday.
The festival is expected to lure more than 100,000 attendees to the city Saturday and Sunday for a parade, carnival games, street snacks, arts and crafts, and, of course, a chance to see migrating chinook in Issaquah Creek.
Issaquah sends condolences to Norway after Oslo tragedy
August 2, 2011
The recent terrorist attacks in Norway prompted a global outpouring of goodwill to the Scandinavian nation, including a message from Issaquah.
Sister Cities Commission Chairman Mike Pautz sent a note to officials in Issaquah’s sister city, Sunndal, after the July 22 attacks on government buildings in the capital, Oslo, and a nearby youth camp. Authorities put the death toll at 77 people.
“I wanted to take a moment to say hello and send our positive thoughts to you and your families throughout Norway. Given the recent events in Oslo, and elsewhere in the world, it is important that we all do our best to help spread goodwill and support,” Pautz wrote. “Many of us in Issaquah are thinking of you and hoping that you are all doing well.”
Sunndal is more than 200 miles from Oslo, the largest city in Norway.
Issaquah and Sunndal leaders established a sister-city relationship 20 years ago. The pact included some early exchanges, but diminished as the years passed. Representatives from both cities intend to reignite the relationship soon.
Issaquah also claims Chefchaouen, Morocco, as a sister city.
Issaquah sends condolences to Norway after Oslo tragedy
July 31, 2011
NEW — 11 a.m. July 31, 2011
The recent terrorist attacks in Norway prompted a global outpouring of goodwill to the Scandinavian nation, including a message from Issaquah.
Sister Cities Commission Chairman Mike Pautz sent a note to officials in Issaquah’s sister city, Sunndal, after the July 22 attacks on government buildings in the capital, Oslo, and a nearby youth camp. Authorities put the death toll at 77 people.
“I wanted to take a moment to say hello and send our positive thoughts to you and your families throughout Norway. Given the recent events in Oslo, and elsewhere in the world, it is important that we all do our best to help spread goodwill and support,” Pautz wrote. “Many of us in Issaquah are thinking of you and hoping that you are all doing well.”
20 reasons to ♥ Issaquah
July 2, 2011
The spectacular landscape is a reason to love Issaquah. By Connor Lee
Discover 20 reasons to love Issaquah, from the highest Tiger Mountain peak to the Lake Sammamish shoreline, and much more in between. The community includes icons and traits not found anywhere else, all in a postcard-perfect setting. The unique qualities — Issa-qualities? — start at the city’s name and extend into every nook and neighborhood. (The lineup is not arranged in a particular order, because ranking the city’s pre-eminent qualities seems so unfair.)
Salmon Days
The annual salmon-centric celebration is stitched into the city’s fabric. Salmon Days serves as a last hurrah before autumn, a touchstone for old-timers and a magnet for tourists. The street fair consistently ranks among the top destinations in the Evergreen State and, for a time last year, as the best festival on earth — in the $250,000-to-$749,000 budget category, anyway.
Issaquah Alps
The majestic title for the forested peaks surrounding the city, the Issaquah Alps, is a catchall term for Cougar, Squak and Tiger mountains. (Credit the late mountaineer and conservationist Harvey Manning for the sobriquet.) The setting is a playground for outdoors enthusiasts. Trails — some official and others less so — for hikers, bikers and equestrians crisscross the mountains, like haphazard tic-tac-toe patterns.
Sister Cities Commission seeks members
June 7, 2011
The municipal Sister Cities Commission is seeking members to help foster relationships among Issaquah and sister cities Sunndal, Norway, and Chefchaouen, Morocco.
The commission’s objective is to increase knowledge, goodwill and understanding through people-to-people diplomacy, education, cultural exchanges, economic exchanges and humanitarian assistance.
The commission has three openings. People can pick up application packets at the City Clerk’s Office, City Hall, 130 E. Sunset Way, during regular business hours. Submit a completed packet and volunteer service agreement by noon June 24.
After commission members and city staffers interview candidates, Mayor Ava Frisinger recommends appointees and the City Council confirms the appointments.
Issaquah students can join sister-city writing contest
April 12, 2011
Students interested in sustainability and sustaining international relations can participate in a writing contest organized by Sister Cities International, the citizen diplomacy network set up to create and strengthen partnerships between U.S. and international communities.
Students ages 13 to 18 can enter a personal essay or poetry into the contest. Using the theme “Shaping Your Community for a Greener Future” as a guideline, participants should illustrate how they, their community or their sister city is working to protect the local environment.
Issaquah has sister-city relationships with Chefchaouen, Morocco, and Sunndal, Norway.
Learn more about the contest at Sister Cities International website, www.sister-cities.org/programs/yas.cfm. The deadline for submissions is April 29.
