By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – The Port Angeles Garden Club has revived and updated an environmental event that fell by the wayside a few years ago, and it’s happening this Saturday at Peninsula College.
Streamfest was created in 1999 by Jim and Robbie Mantooth, who for 12 years hosted on their land along Ennis Creek. Now, after an 11 year break, event Chairperson Sandy Cameron, appearing on the Todd Ortloff Show, says it’s back with fresh ideas and a new name.
“The Garden Club, we got together, and part of our conservation pledge that we say at each one of our meetings, we really make point to try to get out there and educate people, and be the best stewards of the earth that we can. And so we kind of took on this, and with Robbie’s blessing we called it Forever Streamfest because we are hoping that this will be an annual event.”
The free environmental fair includes 15 booths sponsored by conservation organizations eager to help you learn how you can support and protect our local waterways. Kids and grownups can plant seeds and adopt native plants for taking home.
There’ll be music, food and drinks available, and in the Little Theater, a lineup of speakers starting at 10:00am.
Randy Johnson will talk about efforts on the Dungeness River and Jimmy Come Lately Creek, Kim Sager-Fradkin will discuss the latest on the Elwha River restoration project, and the headliner will be gardening celebrity Ciscoe Morris.
“And so, if anybody has seen Ciscoe before, he has his plant giveaways. And so, we got a list of his favorite plants that he’s going to talk about, and the New Dungeness Nursery donated all of those plants that he’s going to be giving away.” “How about that?” “Yeah, that was really great.”
Seeing the speakers will require a $5 donation, but the rest of the festival is free, including a lot of interesting things for kids.
“We have Department of Natural Resources, who is bringing Smokey the Bear. We also have the North Olympic Salmon Coalition, who’s bringing Fin. I don’t know if anybody has seen Fin before…” “Giant fish.” “That’s right. It’s a salmon. But it’s about as big as a bus and the kids can play in there, and it’s going to be really fun. And then, the other thing that we have for kids is, NatureBridge is bringing their portable stream, where the kids can really get some hands-on. I mean, it’s just a lot.”
Forever Streamfest. This Saturday, June 25 at Peninsula College from 10:00am to 3:30, sponsored by the Port Angeles Garden Club.
Exhibiters include:
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Friends of Ennis Creek
North Olympic Land Trust
Lazy “J” Tree Farm
National Garden Clubs
Peninsula College
North Olympic Salmon Coalition
Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
StreamKeepers
Clallam County Conservation District
Peninsula Trails Coalition
NatureBridge
Clallam County Marine Resources
Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee
Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers
(“Ennis Creek” painting by Andrea Woods)