Klamath Salmon Festival 2024 

Autumn Subers braved the last of the rain showers to place this California condor kite up on her Redwood Park Conservancy vendor tent early Saturday morning.

Joseph Pitt, Sr., 95, was honored as one of three Grand Marshals in the Klamath Salmon Festival parade.

Gloria Shuster, 94, was honored as one of three Grand Marshals in the Klamath Salmon Festival parade.

Jack Norton, 91, was honored as one of three Grand Marshals in the Klamath Salmon Festival Parade.

Darlene Rose McGee joined other elders in the Klamath Salmon Festival Parade while riding in "The Sister Canoe" entry.

As the last of the rain clouds cleared, entries the Klamath Salmon Festival parade headed down the parade route tossing candy to the attendees.

"Save Our Salmon" was a common theme at the "no salmon" Klamath Salmon Festival parade. The Yurok Tribe has led efforts to remove four dams on the Klamath River. The last of the dams will be dismantled by early fall in what is considered the largest salmon-restoration project in history.

This redwood tree ("keehl" in Yurok language) and two redwood forest life forms walked in the parade representing Redwood National & California State Parks.

Salmon life cycle street theater: Last year, Jackie Dandineau's Arcata Playhouse team was blowing up mock Klamath River dams in the Klamath Salmon Festival parade. This year, the dams are gone and the salmon are swimming freely again. Dandeneau's team at the Arcata Playhouse, led by James Hildebrandt and Laura Muñoz, created this large female salmon and organized the children from the Boys & Girls Club of Klamath to perform mock salmon-egg fertilization-and-hatching street theater in the parade.

Salmon life cycle street theater continued: After the large female salmon laid its bright orange roe (eggs) in the river gravel, the male salmon swam by to fertilize the eggs.

Salmon life cycle street theater continued: After the large female salmon laid its bright orange roe (eggs) in the river gravel, the male salmon swam by and released a cloud of milt, which contains the sperm, onto the roe to fertilize the eggs.

Salmon life cycle street theater continued: After the large female salmon laid its bright orange roe (eggs) in the river gravel and the roe were fertilized, the eggs matured into young baby salmon that emerged from the eggs and swam down the now dam-free Klamath River.

This traditional redwood canoe carried Darlene Rose McGee and others throwing candy to attendees of the Klamath Salmon Festival parade.

These two traditional Stick Game tournament players began a face-off drop of the "tossel" with their sticks in action. The young boys were playing the full-contact Stick Game that resembles a blend of lacrosse and wrestling. Participants compete tossing the "tossel" either up- or down-river with their sticks toward the goal line to score a point.

The traditional Stick Game Tournament features boys playing a blend of lacrosse and wrestling to keep their opponent from tossing the "tossel" with their sticks toward the goal line to score a point. Adult coaches on the field helped with playing instruction and keeping the players safe.

The traditional Stick Game Tournament features boys playing a blend of lacrosse and wrestling to keep their opponent from tossing the "tossel" with their sticks toward the goal line to score a point. Adult coaches on the field helped with playing instruction and keeping the players safe.

Tiah Ross-Butner from Ukiah High School, the winner of the 2024 Congressional Art Competition for California's Second District, displayed her winning artwork titled "Where We Come From - Klamath River" at a vendor tent with her artwork. It will hang in the U.S. Capitol for one year along with other art pieces from each congressional district across the U.S. Ross-Butner described her painting: "There is a hand-sized abalone shell in the top middle half of the painting, with water flowing from it down the canvas into the Klamath River full of salmon. Next to the river on the left-hand side there is a grizzly bear eating a salmon, and I chose a grizzly bear because this year is their 100-year anniversary of being extinct in California. Behind the abalone shell going horizontal across the canvas there is a black, Yurok Native American basket design called the Sturgeon Back, which I added to honor my great grandmother and my Yurok heritage."

This year's Klamath Salmon Festival featured a new tournament – arm wrestling. Head judge and organizer Dean Baker offered constestant Kayla Trotter, of McKinleyville, a few tips ahead of her first match.

This year's Klamath Salmon Festival featured a new tournament – arm wrestling. Constestants were matched up in gender and weight-class brackets.

Constestants Kayla Trotter (left), of McKinleyville, and Danielle Briscoe began their arm wrestling match.

Music by the Blue Rhythm Revue got festival attendees up and dancing.

Wood carver Rondel Davidson, of Crescent City, had these salmon for sale at his festival vendor tent.