Grilled salmon and the fixings were featured.
Community members gathered once again to welcome home the returning salmon to the Methow River at Homestream Park in Winthrop on Sunday (Oct. 4).
Salmon chefs Ira Stevenson, Aaron Naumann, Randy Lewis, Peter Baldridge and Kathryn Lam grilled, flipped, and buttered fillets. Arnold Cleveland likened the event to Thanksgiving before offering a blessing with his flute.
Methow Valley Interpretive Center executive director David LaFever spoke of reciprocity in the act of caring for an ecosystem that nourishes a community. Mark Miller reminded the gathering that this space used to be a dump, but was restored and now celebrated.
Miller spoke of “how a tree eats a fish,” referring to the life cycle of a salmon when adults migrate from the ocean to their natal spawning grounds, bringing nutrients from the ocean that are deposited from salmon-eating carnivores — to decompose into soil and support the forest food web. Randy Lewis continued that line, expressing, “the land is in our DNA.”
In 2019, Phil and Cathy Davis engaged an entire community to create Homestream Park. Over 50 organizations and businesses, and hundreds of volunteers made the vision a reality. The Methow Valley Interpretive Center now holds Homestream Park in trust.
