15 years of Northwest Ecosystem Alliance
Jammin' for Salmon and Love of Community
Rose Oliver is NWEA's office manager, and works on special events, outreach, and
volunteer organizing. She lives in Bellingham.
Some of my fondest childhood memories are of evenings spent playing
musical chairs and dancing the night away at the Marblemount Community Hall.
Everyone who was anyone in upper Skagit would attend, in fact there were nights
that the chairs would line up the entire length of the hall with over 100 contestants scrambling and screaming for a spot to sit. The magic that emanates from an
evening spent with your family, neighbors, and friends is evident and most
powerful. This love for community functions has been with me ever since, which
is why I was thrilled when asked to organize our annual fundraiser in Bellingham,
Jammin' for Salmon.
Jammin' for Salmon brings the community together not only for good times
and great music, but also to educate and mobilize people to take action for the
wildlands they love. This year I wanted to take it one step further in the hopes that
those attending would sense the connectivity within our community and experience a bit of the magic.
I invited the children at the event to participate in a theatrical performance
which delivered our message of ecosystem well-being. For the first few hours the
kids crafted salmon, bear, and tree hats, then local storyteller Brian Flowers
gathered them up to prepare for the show. Those who wanted to were given lines
to read and the others silently played the parts of the hats they'd made. When the
children took their places, I noticed that all attention was focused on the stage.
This was the only time in the history of Jammin' for Salmon that the entire crowd
fell silent; and I must say, that once the children started to speak, magic filled the air.
Children acted out a story onstage at Jammin' for
Salmon, NWEA's annual Bellingham member event.
Oliver Ross
We'd like to send out a heartfelt thanks to all of our wonderful sponsors
and local businesses and community members who donated to our Jammin' for
Salmon raffle; this year's raffle was the best ever. The event netted $7,500 for
NWEA. The first Jammin' was held at NWEA's 10th anniversary; it is our big
yearly community party for Bellingham. Thank you, Bellingham!
Sponsors
Raffle donations
Doug Nesbit
Barstop.com
Bellingham Weekly
Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro
Camp Fire Boys and Girls
Cascadian Farms
Community Food Coop
Epic Events
Hardware Sales
KUGS 89.3
Mallard Ice Cream
Mt. Baker Vineyards
Northwest Recycling
Author Carol Reed-Jones
Masseuse Mauri Jeffries
Masseuse Cheryl Roberts, LMP
Photographer Paul Anderson
Blue Moon Vintage Clothing
Café Akroteri
Community Food Co-op
Fairhaven Bike & Mountain Sports
Northwest Computer Supplies
Johnson Outdoors
Living Tree Paper Company
Paris Texas Clothing
Pepper Sisters Restaurant
The Old Town Cafe
The Temple Bar
Ralf's Brezen Bavarian Originals
Whatcom Children's Museum
Keeping the Northwest wild
Summer 2004
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