BY MIKE YOUDS
Special to the News
A healthy return of chinook bound for the Somass River should help boost Port Alberni Salmon Fest numbers this long weekend as the event rebounds from low attendance last year.
Festival president Dan Washington said he’s confident that a good return will draw more people to the derby and three-day celebration, the 47th annual salmon festival, centred at Tyee Landing.
“My reports say it’s an above-average return with lots of five-year-olds,” Washington said. That bodes well for derby anglers hoping to land a prizewinning “smiley” or large chinook, possibly one bringing a $15,000 grin.
A pre-season forecast called for an average return similar to last year but with roughly one-fifth of the fish migrating as mature five-year-olds, more than last year.
Last year’s derby winner, Jeff Addison of Nanaimo, drove home with the $15,000 windfall, a combination prize of the biggest fish of the day ($5,000) and the biggest of the weekend ($10,000). His winning catch weighed in at 34.5 pounds. The runner-up fish was 32.4 pounds.
“It’s been a long time since they recorded 60-pound fish,” Washington said.
The 50-plus pounders remain fresh in the memory, though. A 53-pounder won the 2016 derby for Dan Weatherby of Chilliwack. According to Alberni Valley Tyee Club records, it was in October 1959 when Ann Crossland (now Osterberg) set the all-time record with her 64-pound fish, which won the club’s derby that year. Art Berlinski caught the festival record holder, a 60-plus pounder, in 1982.
While the Tyee Club originated in 1939, the salmon festival began decades later as a community celebration and fundraiser.
READ MORE: Alberni Valley Tyee Club held first salmon derbies
Art Wynans recalled that a new Kiwanis club latched onto the festival idea in 1971 after it was proposed by Fred Duncan, editor of the now-defunct Alberni Valley Times. The Tyee Club, the city’s oldest club, asked the newest club if it could bring something new to Port Alberni.
“We were looking for a project,” said the former Kiwanis president. They landed a big one while baiting the hook with a little creative marketing, a taste temptation that they dubbed “the secret recipe.” Wynans and fellow Sproat Lake resident Bruce Barry, who was then president of the Tyee Club, came up with the recipe for the inaugural event over a backyard barbecue.
“We played it up since Day One,” Art said. “We just said it was ‘secret.'”
Undeniably popular, the barbecued pink-salmon dinners became a fixture of the festival. Art said the barbecue flavour comes from a combination of green-alder wood smoke and the sauce, which incorporates blueberry, lemon and oil. He chuckled when asked about his culinary experience.
“I had never done any cooking of that type; I’m an upholsterer,” he said over a cup of tea.
After 47 years of helping tend the grill, Art plans to be back this year along with his son Chris and grandson, who still visits every year for the festival. The event has always been a family affair for them. Chris recalled, as a youngster, pushing a cart filled with baked potatoes across the highway to the marina.
Over time, the salmon festival society developed and took the helm, managing the annual event and expanding its community foundation.
“The community is the main ingredient. If you’re a fisherman, the main ingredient is the fish … but overall, it’s the community that makes it happen and it’s the community that benefits,” said Chris, a former Tyee Club president. “All kinds of people come together to make it happen.”
Their essential alder firewood — “absolutely as green as we can get it” — was cut on Sunday, Chris said.
There have been lots of little obstacles since the event relocated to Tyee Landing in 2017 from its original location at Clutesi Haven Marina, though Washington described them as growing pains. Last year’s attendance was down, partly because of the change of venue but also due to hot weather. This time they’re better prepared and cooler temperatures are forecast. A shuttle cart has been added to carry seniors out to the weigh station, he noted.
“We want to bring the numbers back up and we need the community to do it,” Chris said.
Opening ceremonies begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31. An entertainment lineup featuring a variety of tribute acts and kids activities is scheduled. Fishing runs Saturday through Monday, starting at 6 a.m. until the final 9 p.m. weigh-in (3 p.m. on Sunday). With a surprise feature in store, the Quality Foods fireworks display begins at dusk on Friday. The new venue provides an excellent vantage point.
Last but not least, Washington promises the pie and ice cream booth will be back by popular demand.
