More than 500 people wandered through the slow food demonstrations, fine art displays and educational booths at the first annual Stockton Steelhead Festival earlier this year in California to celebrate the importance of these imperiled fish and the Central Valley’s waters.

A parade of student-made papier-mâché steelhead kicked off the celebration. Local musicians — Moms Chili Boys Band, the Afternaps and Wendi Maxwell’s Trio — laid down a solid track of grooves and rhythms that had children and adults alike dancing the day away.

The event was organized, in part, by the Friends of the Lower Calaveras River, a band of more than 120 community members dedicated to restoring the river.

Stockton’s leaders, including Mayor Ann Johnson and Councilmember Diana Lowery, also turned out to the event to show their support for festival and the Lower Calaveras, which may appear (in some places)  as little more than an irrigation ditch. But the truth is that this river and its tributaries provide important habitat for threatened steelhead trout and Chinook salmon.

The event’s success shows just how important the Lower Calaveras River and its wildlife have become to the community. And hopefully, the event will inspire even more people to “friend” the Calaveras.

With such a successful event this year, we are all very excited about planning the 2012 Stockton Steelhead Festival and State of Our Rivers Symposium. If you live nearby and interested in joining our group, visit the Friends of the Lower Calaveras River‘s website to find dates for river clean-ups, education bird and wildlife walks, and more.

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