LAPUSH — Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, state economic development director Juliette Kelly and a three-man trade delegation from China will visit the Quileute reservation on Wednesday to hear drummers, watch dancers — and strike a deal for halibut heads.
Bill Sperry, the Forks businessman who organized the visit, said the Chinese value halibut cheeks as a delicacy and make fish paste from the leftover heads that Quileute fishermen ordinarily throw away.
The visit will start at 4 p.m. with a welcome by Quileute youth dancers, then go into a cultural and trade discussion that will include representatives from the Makah and Hoh tribes, Forks Mayor Nedra Reed and other civic leaders.
A banquet of Native seafood will follow. Then the dignitaries will watch Native dancing, singing and drumming that will feature the Quileute healing circle that meets regularly on Wednesday nights.
The dignitaries will gather again with Owen in his cabin at the Quileute Oceanside Resort, where the visitors will spend the night.
All other events will take place in the A-Ka-Lat Center on the reservation.