The Church of Ribby: Spokane Indians mascot ordained to perform wedding ceremonies

Jul. 14—Couples in Spokane have a new option for marriage when it became official Wednesday afternoon that a Spokane Indians mascot, Ribby the Redband Trout, is certified to officiate weddings.

Now, you may be wondering how a trout could unite two people in matrimony.

"With requests, it would be situational because Ribby doesn't speak; he would need to have a fish translator," Otto Klein, the Indians senior vice president, said.

While it is still very early in the process, the Indians have begun to brainstorm how they would pull it off if anyone requests to be married by Ribby.

"We are exploring options of how we could offer that to the public, but at the moment, nobody has reached out and asked to have Ribby ordain their wedding," Aaron Croom, partner services and mascot coordinator of the Indians, said.

While it is common for mascots to develop into beloved public icons, becoming certified to officiate weddings is relatively new territory. The mascot of the San Jose Sharks, SJ Sharkie, has married multiple couples during the past decade.

"As far as Ribby being ordained, we found that major league mascots in other sports have been known to ordain weddings," Croom said. "Our mascots do 200-250 appearances a year throughout the community; it's just kind of a broader package of how our mascots can interact with our community."

The process of Ribby's ordination was simple. He became certified online through Universal Life Church.

Weddings are one of the popular community events for a mascot to be requested to attend. In fact, Ribby plans to attend a wedding ceremony Saturday, though not as an officiant.

"I would confidently say that professional mascots attend an average of 1-5 weddings per year," Croom said. "Sports fans are very passionate about their brands, and it's a fun way to engage hardcore fanbases. We've had a lot of positive engagement; it's a great way to expand our community outreach and bring joy to Spokane."

With the Indians being a High-A minor league club, the players cycle through the organization quite often. Therefore, it is difficult for players to establish themselves as fan favorites.

"Mascots are a huge part of our team's success because players typically are here for a year or less," Klein said. "With 80% of our team changing each year, our mascots are the most consistent piece of our organization regarding fan interaction."

Liam Bradford's reporting is part of the Teen Journalism Institute, funded by Bank of America with support from the Innovia Foundation.