The Kenai City Docks was the location for the 2023 “Return Of The Reds” celebration and fundraiser for the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank on Saturday June 3rd.
The 2nd Annual event featured vendor booths, food trucks and cooking competition.
Nate Berga the owner of Kenai Fish and organizer of the “Return Of The Reds” explains the event;
“We started to event 2019 and with the idea that we’d celebrate the start of the salmon season and then we wanted to do something beneficial to the community and give back. So, we started doing a sponsor fundraiser for the Kenai Food Bank.”
Berga hopes the event continues to be an annual event in Kenai;
“We had the first year, 2019, then COVID came, so we took a couple years off and we’re back again this year.”
During the event the first red of the season was delivered and auctioned off, with the proceeds benefiting the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank.
The winner of the first red was sold to Jim Butler, a local set net fisherman and attorney. The salmon weighed in at six pounds and sold for $348 dollars, which translated to $58 a pound. Butler donated the salmon to the local senior center.
Greg Meyer, executive director of the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank was excited about the the first red of the season;
“It’s really awesome Nate Berga is the one who was resurrecting it. We did it once prior to covid and now we’re starting it up again. So, what an awesome way to celebrate something that’s so unique to the Kenai.”
For more details on the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank click here.