After 55 years of Oak Harbor’s Dutch Heritage being the focus of Holland Happening, the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce is rebranding the event to the Whidbey Island Culture Fest.

The chamber announced the change with a press release posted Thursday on Facebook.

The festival will continue to honor Oak Harbor’s Dutch roots while also acknowledging Whidbey’s culturally diverse population with international foods, arts and crafts, cultural exhibits and performances, the press release states.

Last January, the chamber and a group of Oak Harbor residents discussed the possibility of changing the festival or doubling down on its Dutchness, as some found that the festival had been feeling more like a street fair.

After receiving public input, the chamber decided to test the success of the second strategy to determine whether it was time for a change. In its latest edition, the festival brought back some old traditions, like Delft tile art and live wooden shoe carving.

Dannah McCullough, who has been leading the chamber since May, said she saw an opportunity for growth and inclusivity in the festival. While many stepped up earlier this year, there still wasn’t enough community involvement to make the last Holland Happening as authentic as it used to be, she said.

Her predecessor, Magi Aguilar, echoed this opinion and agreed with the decision to change the festival to include a wide range of cultures.

“The team and I noticed a decline in participation and a noticeable absence of Dutch vendors,” she wrote in a text. “This made it clear that the event no longer resonated in the way it once did.”

This isn’t the first time Holland Happening has changed its offerings in order to be more representative of the local cultural diversity. Back in 2018, the festival was changed to “Holland Happening, an International Festival,” and featured vendors representing Irish, Filipino-American, Norwegian, Dutch and Swinomish cultures.

Culture Fest will take place May 3-4, 2025 at the usual location, Pioneer Way, according to the press release.

Ever since the announcement was published, McCullough said a number of community members have visited the chamber and expressed their enthusiasm at the idea of feeling seen.

As the city continues to grow and evolve, she said, so must its traditions.

“The Whidbey Island Culture Fest represents an exciting opportunity for us to honor the past while embracing the future,” she wrote in the press release.