The scholarship will be awarded to a North Central Washington 2013 graduating high school senior pursuing a college education in a natural resource field (biology, forestry, botany, fisheries, geology, ecology, environmental education etc.)

Applicants must attend a high school in one of the following counties to compete for the scholarship: Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Okanogan or Yakima. The successful candidate will be selected based upon their academic record, community commitment, essay, references and financial need.

Applications are due April 15, 2013 and may be downloaded from the 2013 Nancy Duree Scholarship page.

Evelyn Edwards (pictured here with her teacher, Mrs. Thibault)

This year the festival received 1,091 art posters, the most ever submitted from 25 grade schools in North Central Washington. The posters focused on this year’s theme “Dances with Salmon!” Posters are judged on the basis of creativity, artwork and use of the festival theme.

Ms. Edward’s poster will be part of the “O-FISH-al” festival publicity announcements for the 22nd Wenatchee River Salmon Festival, and distributed throughout the region promoting the festival.

Congratulations also go to the 2012 Runners-Up:

• Isabella Taylor (River Academy, Wenatchee)
• Dominic Musgrove (Rock Island Elementary, East Wenatchee)

All winners receive specially printed T-shirts featuring their artwork and their teachers receive certificates for art supplies, courtesy of McDee’s Art Center.

The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival is a family friendly and award winning festival held at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, September 22-23, 2012.

The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, and Chelan County PUD host the festival.

Garrigues, daughter of William and Susan Garrigues, is a 4.0 student graduating from Naches Valley High School in June. She will enter Mississippi State University this fall and plans to major in Forestry and Wildlife Management.

Garrigues was chosen based upon her outstanding academic and extra- curricular accomplishments and an essay that reflected a strong love for the outdoors and passion for excellence.

Lisa Garrigues

The Nancy Duree Natural Resource Scholarship was created in honor of Nancy Duree, a Wenatchee River Salmon Festival Core Team member devoted to the educational mission of the festival and an active participant in the Festival since its inception in 1991. Nancy was a strong believer in promoting the value of higher education and was passionate about conserving the outdoors.

The $1500 scholarship is awarded annually to a north central Washington graduating high school senior who is continuing their education in a natural resource field at an accredited college or university.

The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival is dedicated to providing high quality natural resource education, promoting outdoor recreation, and sharing the cultural significance of the salmon to the people of the Northwest. Events are free and the festival is very family friendly.

This year is the 22nd celebration of the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival held Sept. 22-23, 2012 at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery.

Subject: Wenatchee River Salmon Festival College Scholarship Available

From: Susan C Peterson, Wenatchee River Salmon Festival Media & Marketing, 509.548.2558

Wenatchee River Salmon Festival Scholarship Applications are now being accepted!

Leavenworth, Wash.—Do you know of an aspiring biologist who would like assistance with tuition from an accredited college or university? The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival is now accepting applications from 2012 graduating high school seniors for the Nancy Duree Natural Resource Scholarship.

The scholarship will be awarded to a North Central Washington 2012 graduating high school senior pursuing a college education in a natural resource field (biology, forestry, botany, fisheries, geology, ecology, environmental education, etc.) The annual $1,500 scholarship is dedicated in memory of Nancy Duree, who was an active partner in the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival since its inception, and a champion of natural resource education for both children and adults.

Applicants must attend a high school in one of the following counties to compete for the scholarship: Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Okanogan or Yakima. The successful candidate will be selected based upon their academic record, community commitment, essay, references and financial need.

Applications will be accepted until April 16th and may be downloaded from the Salmon Festival website. Contact Corky Broaddus, Executive Festival Director at (509)548-6662 for more information.

The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival is dedicated to providing high quality natural resource education, promoting outdoor recreation, and sharing the cultural significance of the salmon to the people of the Northwest. The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery and Chelan County PUD host the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival and invite you to join us for this year’s 22nd celebration. All events are free and public days are September 22-23, 2012.

Head to the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery’s Salmon Fest for a fun filled day of outdoor familiy-oriented activities, then it’s just 5 miles to the town of Leavenworth for a rousing evening at Oktoberfest!

Stay in Leavenworth, or venture into Wenatchee, only a 20 minute drive down scenic U.S. Hwy. 2.

The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival is proud to be partnering with the Red Lion Hotel and the Best Western Cheiftain Inn for lodging in 2011. Please check their web sites for booking information.

There’s always fun for all ages in the Leavenworth area!

Red Lion Hotel Website

Best Western Cheiftain Inn Website

Leavenworth Oktoberfest Website

Click here for more about the contest, and a list of winners.

Leavenworth, Washington— The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival is proud to announce that Alex Steele was selected as the 2011 recipient of this year’s Nancy Duree Natural Resource Scholarship.

The $1500 scholarship is awarded annually to a north central Washington graduating high school senior, who is continuing their education in a natural resource field at an accredited college or university.

Steele will graduate from Cascade High School in Leavenworth, Washington in June. He will enter Whitman College this fall and plans to study Biology and Environmental Studies.

Festival Director Betsy McIndoe said, “We are really proud to honor Alex with this scholarship and we wish him the best of success.” The selection committee reviewed many highly qualified applicants this year but, “Alex was selected because of his passion for natural resources as evident in his essays, his strong academic record, and a well rounded showing of community service, leadership abilities, and strong recommendations,” said McIndoe.

The scholarship is named in honor of Nancy Duree, one of the founding Salmon Fest Core Team members who believed strongly in helping local youth understand and develop natural resource management skills. The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival scholarship has been offered since the festival’s beginning 21 years ago to area youth.

The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival is an award winning festival held at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. This year’s festival will be October 1-2, 2011.

The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, and Chelan County PUD host the festival. It is a free festival open to all who wish to learn or share the richness of our abounding natural resources.

News Release

For Immediate Release: May 31, 2011
Contact: Susan C Peterson, Media Coordinator
509.548.2558

Executive Director Corky Broaddus said, “We put a lot of thought into moving the dates of the festival. We made this decision based on information from the 80-plus schools that attend so they may have the proper time to prepare students for the educational events the festival offers, and to better coincide with the natural return of the salmon to the Wenatchee River system.”

Salmon Fest is devoted to fun-filled “edu-tainment”, a form of education and entertainment that is both fun and educational. Salmon Fest’s mission is to connect families and youth to nature by helping people discover and appreciate the diversity and importance of the great outdoors, but also the beauty and interconnectivity of nature to our lives, and to understand and appreciate the significance of salmon to all people.

With the festival’s date change, Salmon Fest will be able to add field trips with better salmon viewing opportunities and the schools will have adequate time to incorporate Salmon Fest curriculum into the classroom. Broaddus added that, “Salmon Fest brings people, natural resources, education, entertainment and science together, and the best way to celebrate the miracle of the salmon life cycle is to have people experience salmon in their native habitat.”

The festival attracts 10,000 people annually from across the northwest and Canada.

Salmon Fest is recognized nationally because of its educational excellence, and is located just two miles away from spectacular Bavarian Leavenworth, the Ultimate Christmas town (featured on “Good Morning America”).

For further information swim to this website: www.salmonfest.org.

Contact: Susan C. Peterson, Media & Marketing, 509.548.2558

Information on the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival website is currently being updated to reflect upcoming festival events, entertainment, and activities.

- Story and photos courtesy Susan Peterson, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF

The 20th Wenatchee River Salmon Festival, a natural resource education event celebrating the return of the salmon to the Wenatchee River, was held last weekend at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. Despite the downpour, almost 10,000 people participated in the four-day event.

Salmon Fest was the region’s first “government, nature inspired” festival and has been the model for over 200 other festivals throughout the northwest. Conservation Education is the foundation of the festival, but the intent of the festival is to make connections between people, differing cultures and nature in an educational, fun and creative way.

Gene Tagaban at the Native American Intertribal Encampment.

Thirty-one schools participated on Thursday and Friday with nearly 3,000 4th graders engaging with biologists and specialists in hands-on, interactive activities, from “Kids in the Creek” to nature-inspired music with renowned entertainer Dana Lyons.

On the weekend, visitors enjoyed festival favorites such as Gyotaku (Japanese Fish prints), the Native American Village, and live raptors, but people really enjoyed the outdoor recreation activities— a newly expanded portion of the festival. From snow shoes to kayaking, plus really good food and entertainment, the festival engaged “kids” from ages 2-90.

This annual event is co-hosted by the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, and Chelan County PUD #1. Over 55 other partners are involved with the festival, along with 450 volunteers.