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Press release from the Yurok Tribe:

Yurok Tribe Hosts 61st Klamath Salmon Festival — Saturday, August 16

This Year’s Theme: Celebrating the Spectacular Start of the Klamath River’s Renewal!

All are invited to the Yurok Tribe’s 61st Annual Klamath Salmon Festival on Saturday, August 16 in Klamath.

The free, family-friendly event features a parade, Ney-puey Fun Run, live music by Blue Mountain Tribe, multiple kids’ activities, basket-weaving demonstrations, 20 delicious food options, Stick Game, basketball and arm-wrestling tournaments and high-quality gift items made by more than 130 local vendors.

“This year, we have every reason to be thankful — the Klamath River looks better than any other time in living memory, a powerful testament to dam removal and restoration. We invite the community to join us in celebrating the river’s renewal,” said Joseph L. James, the Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “It fills my heart to see the Klamath healing with each passing day.”

The theme of this year’s event is “Celebrating the Spectacular Start of the Klamath River’s Renewal!” The Klamath is healing even faster than expected in response to the removal of the last of four dams in August of 2024. A month after deconstruction crews dismantled the last dam, thousands of salmon started repopulating the newly free-flowing part of the river.

A truly special band is headlining the festival this year. Blue Mountain Tribe, an all-Native blues band, is recognized for their original songs that reflect the Indigenous experience in the United States. The quartet has been awarded and selected for more than a dozen film festivals for their music video for “Sacred Flowers.”

The Yurok Fisheries Department will be screening three films during the festival. The screenings will showcase a segment of documentary filmmaker Shane Anderson’s upcoming feature film, “Undamming Klamath”, artist Lucy Raven’s “Murderers Bar”, and Our Changing Planet’s episode titled “River Restoration.” Showtimes are 11 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Anderson and Raven will be in attendance too.

Last year’s arm wrestling tournament was a huge hit so the Tribe decided to put on a bigger and better version of it this year. The 2025 tournament will include Men’s, Women’s, Master’s and Youth Divisions. Sign ups and weigh-ins are from 9am to 11am with the first pull happening at noon. The Ney-puey Fun Run begins at 9am. The annual parade is at 10am. Blue Mountain Tribe is playing at 12pm and 1:30pm.

The 2025 fish forecast is well below average and not nearly large enough for a commercial fishery. For this reason, there will be no salmon at the Salmon Festival. Through dam removal and restoration, the Yurok Tribe is confident that the Klamath’s salmon runs will recover. Right now, there is more positive momentum on the Klamath than ever before. Large-scale river restoration projects are happening throughout the basin.

This year’s festival received generous support from Yurok Telecommunications Corporation, Per-geesh Construction, Yurok Economic Development Corporation, Green Diamond Resource Company and LACO and Associates. The Salmon Festival parking area and shuttles are located off Klamath Mill Road. Please do not park on Highway 101.

*Reminder: For everyone’s comfort and safety, pets are not permitted at the Salmon Festival.