Mill-Luck, lucky 7
Salmon Celebration
Photo by Lou Sennick
Sure bet
The seventh annual Mill-Luck Salmon Celebration will take place Labor Day weekend at The Mill Casino Hotel and RV Park, 2665 Tremont St., North Bend, on Coos Bay.
The celebration offers visitors the opportunity to experience Native American culture, art, food and music. It features canoe races, a traditional salmon bake, cultural exhibits and demonstrations, a Native American marketplace, children’s activities and an evening concert.
Linked to the traditional observance marking the return of the salmon, the Mill-Luck Salmon Celebration began as a means of sharing the heritage, culture and traditions of the Coquille Indian Tribe and other Pacific Northwest tribes with residents and visitors to Oregon’s Bay Area.
Artisans, musicians
The celebration runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 4 and 5. Canoe exhibition rides will be offered from 1-4 p.m. Sunday.
Admission to the celebration is free, but some events require buying tickets.
The salmon bake dinner will be served from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Joanne Shenandoah will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the casino’s Salmon Room.
Tickets for concert and the salmon bake are on sale at Ko-Kwel Gifts inside The Mill Casino – Hotel.
Tickets for the concert cost $18, with an $8 discount for Millionaire$ Club members. Tickets for the salmon bake dinner, including a commemorative T-shirt, cost $17 for children 11 and younger, $25 for adults with a $5 discount for Millionaire$ Club members.
Now in its seventh year, the event attracts Native American artisans and musicians from throughout the Western United States and Canada.
The salmon bake offers fresh salmon prepared in the Coquilles’ time-honored open-pit manner. This year’s celebration will feature a Saturday evening performance by Joanne Shenandoah, a Grammy award-winning and 12-time Native American Music Award-winning artist. She is a Wolf Clan member of the Iroquois Confederacy-Oneida Nation.
Her original compositions embellish the ancient songs of the Iroquois using a blend of traditional and contemporary instrumentation. Her music reflects the indigenous philosophy and culture, in both traditional chants and contemporary ballads.
Her music has been described as a ‘Native American Trance.”
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