By Kristin Carpenter
Coming up on July 20 the Alaska Salmon Runs will see the 38th year of local and visiting runners making their way across the Copper River Delta — running to celebrate health, outdoor fun, and spending time running and walking with family and friends.
This year we have a special addition to our event: a performance by Navy Band Northwest, the U.S. Navy’s “musical ambassador in the Pacific Northwest region.” The band’s professional musicians perform in ensembles that include ceremonial band, parade band, concert band, rock band, New Orleans-style brass band, jazz combo, brass quintet, and woodwind quintet.
Please join us for a special Alaska Salmon Runs opening ceremony this year at the CCMC parking lot to welcome Navy Band Northwest to Cordova at 9:45 a.m. The band will also be playing at the AK Salmon Runs finish line from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Navy Band Northwest will also perform at Music Camp and around town on July 19.
We don’t have spectators lining the course like they do for the Boston Marathon, so I’m asking folks who might be on the highway that morning to cheer on runners with a toot of your horn, a wave, a jangle of a cowbell, anything to let them know you’re supporting runners in their drive to the finish line.
You can also support runners by volunteering for this community-supported event: we need people to host water stations, help at the registration tables, record runners’ times, drive shuttle vans, and set up and clean up the race headquarters at Hollis Henrichs Park. Please visit salmonjam.org to view the festival schedule and to sign up as a volunteer – volunteers receive a discount on admission to Salmon Jam music!
Kristin Carpenter is the race coordinator for Alaska Salmon Runs.
