Upcoming Event: Issaquah Salmon Days Virtual Art Fair
By Paul Yost and Jennah Litecky Yost
As the summer days become cooler and the trees begin to show their hidden palettes of brilliant colors, we are always excited to return to Issaquah for the Salmon Days Festival. For 50 years, the festival has celebrated one of Issaquah’s greatest treasures: the annual return of the salmon.
When: October 3-4, 2020
Where: Online, or in-person at various locations around Issaquah, WA
Featured Pieces
One of the things we most enjoy about salmon days are the fir covered mountains that surround the valley bejeweled in the center by Lake Sammamish. It is a stunning landscape and one we always look forward to experiencing every year. Our featured work will represent this beautiful landscape we will miss this year, but keep alive in our work. Pieces featuring mountainscapes, the diverse forests, and the last of the summer sun will be on in our shop on our website ready for purchase. Some of the featured works are available in multiple sizes, so for more information contact us here.
Jack Pine Forest
32”x 8”x 2”
Earthworks Series: Mountain Shadow
8”x 20”x 2”
Summer Sun
20”x 56”x 2”
About the Festival
The event is hosted by the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce and benefits the entire community by supporting local businesses and bringing the community together. The Salmon Days festival is a family event that is not only a great way to spend time with loved ones but also a great place to enjoy fine art, crafts, and homemade treats. Usually, a wide range of vendor tents line the streets with excellent restaurants and local shops along the sidewalk behind. The event begins with a parade of marching bands, floats, and dancers from the local schools showing the diversity and strength of the community. This year, the festival is going virtual—but that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy the parade. The Grande Parade will still kick off the festival, but audiences can enjoy the spectacle virtually and still enjoy the festivities.
This year, all the vendors will be virtual with numerous in-person, physically-distanced contests including coloring, rock painting, and salmon recipes. They will continue their “Labor of Love” open golf tournament, socially distanced, which supports 18 local organizations at each of the 18 holes who have lost fundraising opportunities due to COVID. Most exciting for us, the festival will have a socially-distanced art walking tour to keep the celebration alive.
For FireSmith Copper, Issaquah Salmon Days is at the end of a long show season and marks the conclusion of summer travels to art shows. It is such a wonderful way to wrap up the season. Following the show, we usually stay in town a few extra days just to enjoy the local restaurants as well as visit the clients and friends we've met over the years. This year we look forward to keeping the festival running virtually and supporting local and regional businesses online.