Don’t miss Farm, Forest and Fish Festival this weekend

Festival runs 3-6 p.m. Sept. 14 along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail in Duvall.

By Grace Gorenflo For the Valley Record • September 11, 2024 3:00 pm

From the creators of Duvall’s March of the Vegetables comes the Farm, Forest and Fish Festival, set to take place Sept. 14 along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail in Duvall.

The festival, from 3-6 p.m., will begin with a performance by the Sound and Fury Morris Dancers, a traditional English folk dance group based in Seattle. Starting at 3:35 p.m., there will be free art and science activities at booths along the trail, spanning from Taylor’s Landing to NE Stephens Street. At 5 p.m., a Seattle acoustic trio called The Geoducks will perform on the patio of The Grange restaurant.

Sheila Dearden, a retired naturalist and March of the Vegetables committee member, is the mind behind Farm, Forest and Fish. The committee held a similar event last September that was focused specifically on salmon; this year, they expanded the event to include agriculture and forestry. Those three facets of the Snoqualmie Valley are “intimately interconnected,” Dearden said.

“New people are moving in, and people aren’t always aware of what a unique, amazing place this valley is and what an incredible resource it is,” she said.

Betsy MacWhinney, March of the Vegetables founder, said there will be 16 booths to check out. At the booth of puppet maker Paula Strobel visitors can make fairy houses with natural materials and found objects. Sarah Rainwater, an art teacher at Chief Kanim Middle School, will have needle felting crafts at hers. There will also be a spot to make terrariums with plants donated by Duvall Ace Hardware and Garden.

Other booths will be educational, with information on things like beavers in the landscape and how land use changes affect streams. Dearden said it’s beneficial to teach about the valley in thisfestival format.

“The primary way of telling the story is through creativity and bringing that story alive for people,” she said. “When we connect with our community in that way and the land we depend on, people look at it differently.”

March of the Vegetables committee events are mostly supported by volunteers, but professional creatives, like artists and musicians, are paid for their participation through grant funding. This year’s Farm, Forest and Fish is funded through contributions from Duvall Rotary Club and City of Duvall.

“As they say, you need to create habitat if you want something to live there, and part of making Duvall livable for our local talent is paying them for their time,” MacWhinney stated in an email.

Events are always free to attendees. Keeping events accessible is a priority to MacWhinney who said she “gives out all the money that comes in.”

“We’re really trying to keep barriers to participation low,” she said. “It’s a little more freedom to just go out and enjoy something without feeling like you have to spend money.”

This year’s event partners will also be in attendance, including Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance, Snoqualmie Watershed Forum, Oxbow Farms, Duvall Historical Society and Duvall Civic Club, among others.

“I hope [attendees] take away a sense of wonder at the amazing resources here,” MacWhinney said. “Our wish is to help people feel like this is their home and they want to take good care of it.”