Next weekend will be a fishy one in the Tri-Cities.
Two local streamkeeper groups are holding major annual events: in Port Moody on Saturday, May 2, the PoMo ecological society will host its 24th annual Fingerling Festival at Noons Creek Hatchery and the nearby rec complex; and five minutes away in Coquitlam on May 3, the The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society will host its annual Salmon Leave Home event.
Both events involve the release into creeks of young salmon to begin their journey to the Pacific Ocean and eventually, if they're fortunate back to their home streams.
Here are details of the events:
FINGERLING FEST
On the first Saturday of each May, the Port Moody Ecological Society a volunteer-run organization and the managers of the Noons Creek Salmon Hatchery celebrates keystone salmon species with an environmental festival that is visited by more than 4,000 people of all ages. This iconic event is supported primarily by the city of Port Moody, with other significant sponsors including Pacific Coast Terminals (PCT) and Port Metro Vancouver.
The big hit at the festival and a memorable occasion for thousands of Tri-City children is the release of thousands of young chum salmon from the hatchery into Noons Creek.
Besides this hands-on activity, the Fingerling Festival also includes a variety of other attractions, from musical performances by Bobs and Lolo to food from a fundraising hotdog lunch, to the opportunity to learn more about our local environment from more than 60 exhibitors in the nearby arena and a variety of children's activities, including games, arts and crafts, puzzles and more.
SALMON LEAVE
The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society's annual Salmon Leave Home event runs May 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hoy Hatchery in Coquitlam, where everyone is invited to help release the smolts in to Hoy Creek.
This family event will take place rain or shine and will feature educational activities and musical entertainment by Joyelle Brandt, among other attractions.
Participants will learn about the coho salmon, which spend the first 18 months of life in a freshwater stream environment. Society volunteers incubate coho eggs and rear fry to the smolt stage in the Hoy Creek rearing pond, which was a trout farm in the 1940s. Once in the creek, the smolts begin their journey to the ocean.
Hoy Creek Hatchery is located in Hoy Creek Linear Park, west of the City Centre Aquatic Complex at the corner of Pinetree and Guildford Way. Hoy Trail has a several entrances: Walk in from Princess Crescent; walk in from behind Douglas College; walk in from Guildford Way (between Johnson and Pinetree); walk in from Walton Avenue or behind Walton elementary school, or from the foot of Lasalle Place.
More information about the event or the Society can be found on Facebook at "Hoy Scott Creek Watershed Society," and the event hashtag is #salmonleavehome.
