Festivals in April are always a gamble when it comes to Whidbey Island weather.

So when the clouds opened and raindrops came down on Oak Harbor Saturday morning, it appeared that it might rain all over Holland Happening’s parade.

But about 10 minutes before the parade started, the rain stopped, temperatures started to rise and it turned out to be a rather glorious, sun-filled weekend for Oak Harbor’s celebration of its Dutch heritage.

Christine Cribb, executive director of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the event, said she never doubted it would turn out to be anything different.

“We all knew the weather forecast,” Cribb said. “We knew it was going to pass over.”

The 46th running of Holland Happening drew about 8,000 people, according to counts taken at the street fair by organizers. Cribb said the estimate didn’t include carnival attendance, and some people told her that number seemed conservative.

After Saturday’s parade, the street fair along Pioneer Way was jam-packed with people who perused the booths that lined the street and got a taste of fresh-dipped corn dogs, Dutch desserts and a wide assortment of ethnic dishes.

Some local businesses also benefitted.

Kay Coolidge, owner of Popsies, said she couldn’t remember a better day of business than Saturday in her 10 years of running the store during Holland Happening.

“This was our biggest year,” she said. “We lucked out with the weather, didn’t we? We’ve seen it not so good.”

The event commenced with Friday night’s carnival and the Dutch Dinner, provided by Oak Harbor High School’s advanced culinary arts students who cooked up authentic Dutch dishes.

“The Dutch Dinner went just beautifully,” said Jan Ellis, a former longtime Holland Happening entertainment chairperson whose ancestry is Dutch. “The food was excellent. They got it all right.”

Ellis, Safeway, Thrive Fitness and Ronnie Wright of Pacific Grace Tax and Accounting were the biggest of a large field of generous event sponsors from the community, Cribb said.

She also pointed to the efforts of 60 volunteers and City of Oak Harbor staff.

“Equally important as the chamber is in planning and promoting this event, the city employees jump through hoops to make this happen,” Cribb said.

“I’m sincerely pleased but am looking forward to the Fourth of July.”