Fall is upon us once again. The days grow shorter, the evenings and mornings cooler, and the trees paint the world around us in their brilliant shades of orange, yellow and rusty red, and the salmon make their annual return to our waters. The Bear Creek Fall Festival will be thrown in celebration of this return, and in the interest of raising awareness of the Rogue Valley’s water resources on Saturday, September 29. Photo by Stream Smart PartnersThe Bear Creek Fall Festival began many years ago as an event called “Kids and Bugs.” It was designed to teach children and families about salmon and the different water resources in the Rogue Valley.

“Now we’re just trying to reach more people with a general ‘water resources’ theme,” says Frances Oyung of Rogue Valley Sewer Services. This year, the event is supported by the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District, the Rogue River Watershed Council, the Medford Water Commission, and Rogue Valley Sewer Services. “We all work in different aspects of water, and some of us are regulators and are regulated under the Clean Water Act to do communication about protecting water resources,” Oyung adds. “And one way to do that is to do education and outreach, such as in events, and that’s what this is. While it’s called kind of a generic term, the Bear Creek Fall Festival, we wanted to celebrate water resources. And at this time of year it’s particularly important because the salmon are returning to our watershed.”

At the festival, families will be invited to take part in many exciting and educational events. “The US Forest Service is going to be there with their Salmon Tent,” says Oyung. “It’s almost the size of a room, it’s very colorful, it’s made out of fabric, and usually kids go in there and have activities. It’s really fun.”

According to Oyung, the Oregon Caves will also be contributing to the festivities, with a giant inflatable cave. And live music will be added to the festivities for the first time this year.

In addition to the festival providing education fun and entertainment for local families, a clean-up effort happens to be taking place on the same day. The Fall Festival will be taking place alongside the Bear Creek Stewards Clean-up Event.

Bear Creek Fall Festival

11 am – 3 pm, Saturday, September 29

Beak Creek Park, 1520 Siskiyou Blvd., Medford

Free