Cam Choy, associate professor of art at Kenai Peninsula College, works on a salmon sculpture in collaboration with the Kenai Watershed Forum during the Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 8, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)

Cam Choy, associate professor of art at Kenai Peninsula College, works on a salmon sculpture in collaboration with the Kenai Watershed Forum during the Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 8, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)

Kenai River Festival to bring education, music to Soldotna Creek Park

The festival will run 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday

Next weekend, on Friday and Saturday, the 31st Annual Kenai River Festival, hosted by the Kenai Watershed Forum, will again fill Soldotna Creek Park with music, food, drinks and educational booths and activities. The festival will run 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

That educational element, about the river and its resources, is the biggest focus for the forum, Development Coordinator Sara Aamodt said Wednesday.

The forum is hosting that content in the Kenai Watershed Forum Education Zone, formerly the Kids Zone. Aamodt said this year that content has expanded in scope to approach adults as well as kids.

To that end, the forum has partnered with a variety of other organizations to bring that material. She said that folks including the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, government agencies and private entities will all be participating. She said the breadth of providers serves to engage attendees with what’s around them, hopefully encouraging them to “appreciate what Alaska has to offer.”

For adults, that content is largely based on safety. One of the topics, Aamodt said, will be cold water immersion.

In addition to the Education Zone, there will be live music both days, including performances by the Tune Weavers, the Ridgeway Rounders, Big Chimney Barn Dance, Baker and Nervis Rex. Music starts at 5 p.m. on Friday and at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Saturday’s music lineup opens with a square dancing session headed up by Big Chimney Barn Dance.

Aamodt said there will also be a variety of vendors and food options, as well as a beer garden featuring Kenai River Brewing, Kassik’s Brewery, Stony Creek Brew House and Cooper Landing Brewery.

Saturday morning ahead of the festival opening, the Run for the River 5K and 10-mile race will be held. The race will start at Soldotna Creek Park and continue north along the Kenai River. Online registration will be available until noon on Friday, or registration can be done in person at the forum office, at the Runner’s Feed that Friday night or before the race.

The Kenai River Festival is “the biggest event the Kenai Watershed Forum puts on each year,” Aamodt said. She said it was an opportunity to put the educational aspects of their work front and center, as well as to give the forum a high-profile public outing.

“We’re around and we’re doing projects,” she said.

For more information about the Kenai Watershed Forum or the Kenai River Festival, visit facebook.com/KenaiWatershedForum.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education Vice President Jason Tauriainen speaks during a meeting of the board in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Dec. 3, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Board of education hears from schools about more restrictive cellphone policies

Existing policy says that devices shouldn’t be used during classroom instruction or other district-supervised activities

Media members and other observers gather at the Alaska Division of Elections office on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024,	as the results of all ballots, including ranked choice tabulations, were announced. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
State certifies election results

Bjorkman, Ruffridge, Vance, Elam win election to Alaska Legislature

Santa Claus waves at children from atop a Kenai Fire Department engine on Frontage Street in Kenai, Alaska, as part of the Electric Lights Parade on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Christmas cheer lights up chilly Kenai evening

Electric Lights Parade closes Christmas Comes to Kenai festivities on Nov. 29

A snowmachine rider takes advantage of 2 feet of fresh snow on a field down Murwood Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Parts of refuge to open for snowmachining

The refuge advises that snowmachine users exercise caution

Jace and Tali Kimmel share their Christmas wishes with Santa Claus during Christmas Comes to Kenai at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Christmas Comes to Kenai opens with Santa, reindeer, gifts

The festivity will continue in the evening with the electric light parade and fireworks

Clarion Sports Editor Jeff Helminiak harvests a newsroom Christmas tree from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge near Arc Lake outside of Soldotna, Alaska, on Dec. 3, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Christmas tree harvesting available around Kenai Peninsula

Trees may be harvested until Christmas Day

Josiah Kelly, right, appears for a superior court arraignment at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Anchor Point resident arraigned in Homer shooting case

He’s currently in custody at Wildwood Pretrial Facility

The waters of the Kenai River lap against the shore at North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘BelugaCam’ livestreams set up at mouth of Kenai River

Cook Inlet belugas are one of five genetically distinct populations of beluga whales in Alaska

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Clam Gulch resident sentenced to over 270 years for sexual abuse of a minor

Superior Court Judge Jason Gist imposed sentencing for each individual charge

Most Read