The Great River Wedding
Kennewick and Pasco prepare for an elaborate, day-long celebration to mark the opening of the Celilo Canal, complete with an 'allegorical wedding' of the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Kennewick and Pasco are preparing for the Celilo celebration on May Fourth. The program features an allegorical wedding symbolizing the union of the Columbia and Snake rivers, to be performed by U.S. Senator Wesley L. Jones. The bride, 'Miss Columbia,' will be Miss Kate Williams of Kennewick, and the groom, 'Mr. Snake,' will be Mr. Wallace B. Stainton of Lewiston. The day will include a free barbecue, a flotilla of boats, and a series of balls and athletic events, involving local officials and the community in a massive display of regional boosterism.
“We can make this celebration the biggest thing that ever happened to Kennewick if the people will just get behind it.”
The Celilo Canal opening was a monumental event for river navigation, yet it signaled the end of traditional fishing rights for local Indigenous tribes, a conflict that remains a sensitive and crucial part of the Columbia River's history. The 'wedding' of the rivers was pure boosterism, masking the deep environmental and cultural changes that industrial river management would bring to the region.
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