The City of Gig Harbor will hold its annual Donkey Creek Chum Festival on Oct. 10. This year’s mantra: It takes a fish to raise a village.

The city says that every year since 1972, the Gig Harbor Commercial Fisherman’s Club has incubated salmon eggs at Donkey Creek, releasing over 1 million smelt into Gig Harbor Bay. Each fall, mature salmon find their way from the open sea back to Austin Estuary, fighting their way up the culvert and into Donkey Creek to spawn.

“In celebration of this annual event, the Fisherman’s Club, the City of Gig Harbor, Harbor WildWatch environmental group, the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Club and many other local organizations have teamed up with one goal in mind – saving the salmon for future generations,” according to the press release.
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