Oroville >> Every year, thousands of chinook salmon return to where they were born and thousands of people travel from around the state to witness the phenomenon.

Last year, the festival boasted about 25,000 attendees — the city’s population is under 20,000. With the Oroville Dam crisis making it quite an unusual year for the city, event organizers are actually hoping it will be to their benefit, with an increased awareness about Oroville and the Feather River, and that this will be the biggest event yet.

Below are eight good things to know when making your plans.

1. The Nature Center, which benefits from proceeds of the annual dinner and dance on Friday night, was badly damaged by flooding this year and the area needs extensive renovations.

Ray Laager, Salmon Festival organizer, said the facility had just been updated. Laager and his wife, Debra Lucero, have been in charge of the city’s five major events since 2010 through a contract with the Supplemental Benefits Fund.

“They were 95 percent done, then here come the floods,” Laager said. “There is a great need to rebuild that area. We’re hoping to have a good presence for them this year. Years of repairs are needed.”

2. The Oroville Hospital Color Dash is not just for runners.

“Some people run it, some people walk it,” Laager said. “It’s a great way to start the morning.”

In three years, it’s grown from 150 participants to about 500, the festival organizer said. Oroville Hospital is the main sponsor of the Salmon Festival.

3. There are plenty of ways to keep kids entertained.

In addition to events, the Oroville Downtown Business Association will have a kids game zone and food court running throughout the festival along with its street fair on Myers, Montgomery and Bird streets. The Butte County Office of Education is also hosting Family Fun Day on Huntoon Street, where kids can create art projects, exercise and play. There also will be activities and informational booths at the Feather River Fish Hatchery, all for free.

Laager estimated 8,000-10,000 people visit the hatchery during the Salmon Festival.

4. For adults, new this year is a Bloody Mary bar.

At “Salmon Court,” located on the levee at Oliver Street and Arlin Rhine Memorial Drive, the Native Sons of the Golden West will host a Bloody Mary bar for the first time. There will also be a beer and wine garden, sponsored by Sierra Nevada and Feather Falls Brewing Co. The entertainment stage is also located at “Salmon Court.”

5. You can get around town by shuttle bus — with air conditioning.

Free shuttle bus services will be offered on two routes, arriving every 20 minutes. Buses will go on a loop between downtown Oroville, the Feather River Fish Hatchery and the county buildings at the corner of Grand Avenue and Table Mountain Boulevard. The other shuttle will run from downtown to Riverbend Park and back. The buses will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Alternatively, the walk between the hatchery and happenings downtown across the Green Bridge is just under one mile.

6. Kayak rentals will not be available this year.

The Forebay Aquatics Center — open from Memorial Day to Labor Day — usually contracts with festival organizers to make rental kayaks and stand-up paddleboards available during the festival, but it didn’t work out this year because of a scheduling conflict for the aquatics center, Laager said. Attendees are still welcome to bring their own watercraft on the Feather River, but there is not another place to rent in town.

7. Nonprofit organizations can set up a booth for free.

If interested in signing up, email Laager at raylaager@juno.com or call (530) 520-4742.

8. Event organizers are expecting their biggest turnout ever – because of the Oroville Dam crisis (and nice weather).

“I think we’re going to have record crowds this year because of morbid curiosity,” Laager said. “Everybody’s heard of the dam because it’s national news. Oroville has been put on the map.”

He estimated there were 25,000 attendees last year. That has more than quadrupled since Laager and Lucero began organizing the event in 2010. People come from around the state for the festival.

Reach reporter Risa Johnson at 896-7763.