Annual Salmon Celebration Takes Over South Oregon Coast's North Bend

Published 08/25/2026 at 8:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Coos Bay, Oregon) – Soon, one little town in Coos County will get big on the yummy.

North Bend will host the 21st Annual Salmon Celebration on September 12 - 13, a free outdoor festival honoring Native American traditions and the cultural heritage of the Coquille Indian Tribe (pronounced “ko-kwel”).

The now-two-decades-old south Oregon coast event features the traditional salmon bake, prepared over an open fire, along with tribal vendors and craft demonstrations. Take a deep look into ancient regional culture with live performances that include native dancing, drumming, and flute music. Canoes will be on the water for exhibition and public rides on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., weather permitting.

Festival activities run throughout the weekend in the south parking lot of Ko-Kwel Casino Resort in Coos Bay. Tribal canoe races take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Vendor booths, demonstrations, and additional events operate Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The salmon bake meal will be served Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are available at Ko-Kwel Gifts inside Ko-Kwel Casino Resort and at the meal tent during the event.

The menu includes traditional pit salmon, brown rice with cranberries and grilled hazelnuts, fry bread with huckleberry jam and butter, assorted sodas, and freshly brewed coffee. Coquille Tribal Elders will also operate a fry bread booth offering fry bread and fry bread tacos to support Elders programs.

The celebration offers a chance for visitors to learn about tribal history, cultural practices, and ongoing stewardship efforts while enjoying food, music, and community gatherings rooted in deep traditions that go much farther back than European settlers.

The Ko-Kwel Casino Resort's Annual Salmon Celebration highlights the deep connection Indigenous communities have long held with salmon, a species central to cultural identity, ecosystem health, and traditional foodways.

Event organizers say the festival brings back the Tribe's original Salmon Ceremony and helps strengthen public understanding of salmon's importance to first Oregon coast peoples. The Coquille people have lived in the region for thousands of years, sustained by the land, rivers, and sea. Industrial logging in the late 1800s damaged salmon habitat, but the Tribe now stewards more than 10,000 acres of sustainable forest and leads restoration efforts to protect salmon and other first foods.

3201 Tremont Ave. North Bend, Oregon. 800-953-4800. See event site

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