Fishermen’s Terminal is preparing for the 25th Fishermen’s Fall Festival.
The festival will take place Sept. 7, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Fisherman’s Terminal (900 W. Nickerson St.). Admission is free.
Dean Paglialunga, general manager of Chinooks restaurant, is also a treasurer for the Fishermen’s Terminal Tenants Association, a member of the festival planning committee and volunteer coordinator.
“[The festival] brings awareness of the fishing industry and its benefits and raises money for the Fishermen’s Memorial,” Paglialunga said.
While entrance is free, the different food vendors charge. The money they make is donated to the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial, a nonprofit that promotes fishing safety and financially supports family members of fisherman lost at sea.
This year, the festival will feature its famous salmon dinner, with drink and dessert for $10. Another vendor will also sell cod tacos. Sig Hansen and some members of his crew from “Deadliest Catch” will help serve crab at the Bering Sea Crabbers booth.
Each year, the festival raises $15,000 to $25,000 in proceeds to donate to the memorial fund, said Paula Cassidy, president of the Fishermen’s Terminal Tenants Association.
Cassidy, owner of the Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fishermen’s Terminal, has been involved with the fall festival as an organizer for the last 18 years. She thinks it’s important to donate to the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial, not only for bereavement costs but because it also supports fishermen safety, education and scholarships.
On land and sea
Cassidy said she “absolutely adores” the festival. One of her favorite events is the salmon-fillet competition because it “gives the seafood-industry workers a chance in the spotlight to show their skills.”
The festival wouldn’t be possible without the sponsors, Paglialunga said. It has 50 sponsor listed on its website. “If we didn’t have [the sponsors], we wouldn’t have the festival,” he said.
Events will include a U.S. Coast Guard rescue demonstration, survival-suit races, a salmon-fillet competition, a salmon barbecue and a lutefisk-eating contest. (Lutefisk is a Norwegian aged-fish dish, which is described as gelatinous and “pungent.”)
There will also be industry booths, including two different crews from the reality show “Deadliest Catch.” The crews are scheduled to face off in a survival-suit race.
Kids who attend the festival can make their own wooden boat, partake in multiple arts and crafts using seashells, catch trout in the catch-and-keep-or-release pond and many other festival activities.
The main stage will feature storyteller Alleyoop, the Reptile Man, The Shifty Sailors singing group from Whidbey Island, the rock-‘n’-roll group Lost Vaurnets and Knute Bell, a blue-collar country singer.
There will also be a fire engine at the festival for kids to explore, Other than that, it’s all the same “great things that have made it exciting over the years,” Paglialunga said.
Volunteers still needed
All of the preparations are being finalized for the upcoming event, Paglialunga said. Now, he’s trying to drum up some volunteers. It usually takes 180 to 220 volunteers to help set up, run the booths and clean up.
To volunteer for the Fishermen’s Fall Festival, contact Dean Paglialunga at dean@anthonys.com or (206) 283-4665, or visit the fesival’s website: www.fishermensfallfestival.org.
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