Garnet Festival
It is the 10th Annual Stikine River Garnett Festival this week in Wrangell. Right now I should be on a jet boat going up the Stikine River with a bunch of fourth graders and senior citizens but the annual trip has been cancelled due to bad weather. Southeast is notorious for its bad weather, but this April has been a bit extreme. The email, which said the trip was postponed, came yesterday morning when it was snowing. Yes, snowing. The day peeled away though to reveal a bright sunny afternoon which lasted even when I left water aerobics at 7.
The postponement of the trip means that there will most likely be no hooligan in the river, which are fish the masses of eagles feed on. Here is an except from a short story I wrote on the Garnet Festival:
“What was originally a three-day weekend festival has since turned into an eight-day celebration which is made unique by the largest springtime concentration of American bald eagles in the world. Between 1,500 and 2,000 American bald eagles congregate on the Stikine River delta.
The masses of bald eagles arrive to feed on hooligan traveling up the river’s Middle and North arm. The delta also serves as a major stopover on the Pacific flyway for approximately 200,000 shorebirds, up to 15,000 snow geese, and over 10,000 Sand Hill cranes. From mid-April through early May, around 123 different species of birds are represented annually on the delta. The hooligan, a small (approximately 6 to 10 inches long), smelt-like fish also known as Eulachon, attract large numbers of Steller sea lions and Harbor seals too.
The festival is named after the Stikine River’s garnet ledge, which has been mined by amateurs and professionals for over a century and is located near the mouth of the Stikine, about five miles from Wrangell.”
There is a tradition where all first river goers have to bite off the head of the first hooligan they catch. While I love trying new things, I’m not sure how I’d feel about it once it came down to me staring at the live fish in my hand. So, as it turns out, I’ll probably not have to deal with that at all.
The Garnet Festival extends into this coming weekend. There is as Adult Dance at the American Legion Friday night, which I am contemplating attending just so I can have an excuse to wear a skirt. Under the description of the event it says: “Kick up your heels, a variety of popular music! DJ and some live music. Chinese auction too!”
I have no clue what they mean by Chinese auction. Perhaps, I’ll find out.
The postponement of the trip means that there will most likely be no hooligan in the river, which are fish the masses of eagles feed on. Here is an except from a short story I wrote on the Garnet Festival:
“What was originally a three-day weekend festival has since turned into an eight-day celebration which is made unique by the largest springtime concentration of American bald eagles in the world. Between 1,500 and 2,000 American bald eagles congregate on the Stikine River delta.
The masses of bald eagles arrive to feed on hooligan traveling up the river’s Middle and North arm. The delta also serves as a major stopover on the Pacific flyway for approximately 200,000 shorebirds, up to 15,000 snow geese, and over 10,000 Sand Hill cranes. From mid-April through early May, around 123 different species of birds are represented annually on the delta. The hooligan, a small (approximately 6 to 10 inches long), smelt-like fish also known as Eulachon, attract large numbers of Steller sea lions and Harbor seals too.
The festival is named after the Stikine River’s garnet ledge, which has been mined by amateurs and professionals for over a century and is located near the mouth of the Stikine, about five miles from Wrangell.”
There is a tradition where all first river goers have to bite off the head of the first hooligan they catch. While I love trying new things, I’m not sure how I’d feel about it once it came down to me staring at the live fish in my hand. So, as it turns out, I’ll probably not have to deal with that at all.
The Garnet Festival extends into this coming weekend. There is as Adult Dance at the American Legion Friday night, which I am contemplating attending just so I can have an excuse to wear a skirt. Under the description of the event it says: “Kick up your heels, a variety of popular music! DJ and some live music. Chinese auction too!”
I have no clue what they mean by Chinese auction. Perhaps, I’ll find out.
posted by Siapiau | 11:08 AM
1 Comments:
I think you owe Wrangell the mastication of one live (well, recently live) fish head.:)
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