The first full Port Alberni Salmon Festival to run since the coronavirus pandemic halted large gatherings in 2020 drew thousands to the waterfront over the Labour Day weekend.
The blistering heat on Saturday didn’t discourage festival goers as they enjoyed coming back to a full festival. Main organizers from 93.3 PEAK FM drew a well-rounded event that kicked off Friday night, while the Alberni Valley Tyee Club ran the derby portion of the weekend.
Saturday saw anxious bullhead anglers head down to Tyee Landing to catch the big one. The event was sponsored by the Salvation Army and the winners were: Eve Demoskoff, smallest bullhead, Prestley Menzies, largest, in the boys category Cameron Molott, smallest and Hazy Bottaro largest.
The Talent Show was a big hit with the 12 and under age category garnering the most participants. The winners were Quinn Demoskoff, 11, dancing with Miya Stubbs, 11, Ryder Sargent and Myla Crebo, 6.
There were no participants in the 13-18 year category.
In the19-plus category the winners were Shay Goodwin and Robbie West singing together, Liam Tyne singing and Taylor Christensen also singing.
The Kids Zone was popular with children of all ages. The food trucks and beverage garden were popular as well, and the stage provided a full slate of music and entertainment throughout the weekend.
There was a steady flow of fish coming in to be weighed in. Barb Westra, who was marking down weights at the Tyee Landing weigh station on Saturday morning, said a few coho were coming in but they were mostly chinook, with a few hatchery fish registered as well.
Sean Falkenberg's 28-pound, 8 oz. chinook caught Saturday off of Bamfield was still the winner as of Sunday night. Find out who the derby winner is at www.albernivalleynews.com. We'll have a follow-up in the Sept. 11 print edition.
Saturday's daily winner was Falkenberg, with Darwyn Mallat in second (26 lbs. 10 oz.) and Craig Marbin in third (24 lbs.).
Sunday's daily winner was Andrew McVie with a 26-pound, 10-ounce fish, followed by Craig Martin in second (25 lbs. 10 oz.) and Holden Fraser in third (24 lbs. 14 oz.).
The derby traditionally wraps up at 3 p.m. on Labour Day Monday, with the winner announced shortly afterward. Up for grabs this year is a total of $15,000 for the biggest fish ($5,000 for the daily prize and $10,000 for biggest fish of the derby).
