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Remixed virtual version of the Coho Festival returns to West Vancouver

The month-long Coho Festival has begun, but it’s a little different this year🐟
Elisia Seeber, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Elisia Seeber, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Coho-Festival-2021-featuring-Coho-Treasure-Hunt-great-fun-family-activity-to-do-together.R (1)
The festival features the Coho Treasure Hunt, a fun activity to do together with the whole family.CohoSociety

The Coho Festival is back. The 42nd annual event, which usually draws big crowds to West Vancouver’s Ambleside Park, is going virtual for the second year. 

Instead of the usual famous Coho salmon barbecue and festivities that have been enjoyed each year since 1979, the Coho Society of the North Shore has organized a “remixed version” of the month-long festival that celebrates salmon spawning. 

This year, considering COVID-19, the society has again launched a range of virtual activities for participants to take part in.

The favourite Coho Run or Walk will still take place, but this time around, participants can choose their own distance – five kilometres, 10 km, or 14 km – and challenge the pace of some renowned athletes and community leaders virtually, including Geroy Simon, Mayor Mary-Ann Booth, Alannah Yip, Simon Whitfield, and Squamish Nation Chief Ian Campbell.

And, of course, there will also be a Virtual Coho Swim. Participants can test their swimming times against the likes of Turlough O’Hare, Markus Thormeyer, Richard Hortness, Emily Overholt, and Fin Donnelly in either a 1,500-metre or 3,000-metre swim. 

There’s also a new activity on the list. The organizers have created a salmon and streams Coho Treasure Hunt in partnership with North Shore Culture Compass and Pacific Salmon Foundation. Treasure seekers can download a map and search for letter clues along four Coho Interpretive Walks for a chance to win prizes. Along the way, there’s an opportunity to learn more about salmon, community projects, public art, and the Coho Society salmon conservation initiatives.

Now in its fourth decade, the Coho Society is a volunteer, environmentally based organization committed to supporting the protection and revitalization of North Shore salmon streams and rivers. All net proceeds from the festival go toward providing support to organizations in river and stream enhancement projects. The society has raised over $750,000 to date. 

To sign up for the virtual activities, head to the Coho Festival website.