Seattle Aquarium & Northwest Tribal Community Win King County Event Producer Award for Salmon Homecoming.

City Desks, Lifestyle/Environmental Writers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2000

Salmon Homecoming Celebration's streak as the Susan Lucci of Seattle's event production scene came to an end with a big win at the fifth annual King County Event Producer Awards (KEPA) ceremony held March 1st at the Paramount Theatre.

Salmon Homecoming, a seven-year old waterfront celebration of salmon, created and produced by The Seattle Aquarium, Northwest tribal communities, and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and presented in 1999 by the Muckleshoot Casino, was chosen Best Special Event (budget $125,000 - $250,000) over formidable finalists, Southwest Airlines Torchlight Parade and Northwest Bookfest.

Produced with support from the Sports and Events Council of Seattle/King County, KEPA is an annual awards program acknowledging event organizers in King County for outstanding achievement in event marketing and production.

"This event has been a labor of love for so many people; it's great that our hard work has been recognized," said Aquarium Volunteer and Visitor Services Manager and Salmon Homecoming co-chair Robert Stowers. Stowers publicly thanked Aquarium Director Cindi Shiota, staff, volunteers and long time supporters of Salmon Homecoming including: Northwest Indian Fisheries Chair, Bill Frank, Jr.; The Seattle Times; King County; the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation; Seattle Public Utilities; Environmental Protection Agency, and introduced Salmon Homecoming co-chair Steve Robinson, from the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

"It was a big, pleasant surprise to me," said Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission policy analyst and Salmon Homecoming co-chair Steve Robinson. "I consider this award an indication of the progress that can be made in education, understanding and stewardship if tribal and non-tribal communities choose to travel the high road of collaboration. If salmon and other natural resources are to be a part of our common future, polarization and confrontation must become things of the past." Robinson thanked the many sponsors of the event, The Aquarium, the Muckleshoot Tribe and Casino, Chairman Frank and the tribes for permitting him to be an ongoing part of the "Salmon Homecoming adventure."

Salmon Homecoming, a celebration of salmon and the Native American belief that all things are connected, attracts more than 50,000 a year people to Seattle's central downtown waterfront. Among the highlights of the four-day event -- Native American coastal dance performances, storytelling, a Pacific Northwest indigenous gathering, a powwow, school day activities for children, environmental exhibits, a salmon run and waterfront walk, and a forum to enhance Indian/non-Indian relations and raise awareness of salmon restoration efforts.

"With the listing of the Puget Sound chinook as a threatened species, the significance of celebrating salmon and our efforts to work together to save this precious resource is greater than ever," says Ken Bounds, Superintendent, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation.

Unlike events that attempt to duplicate Native American traditions and hire Native performers for "local color," Salmon Homecoming is created each year, in large part, by the local tribal communities. Salmon Homecoming's Native/non-Native partnership is elevating industry standards as a model for events which seek to highlight and draw on Native American culture.

The eight annual Salmon Homecoming Celebration will be held September 7 - 10 at The Seattle Aquarium, Piers 62/63 and Waterfront Park. For information about sponsorship, contact Tim Kuniholm at 206/386-4375 or Robert Stowers at 206/386-4331.