You can’t get more Dutch than Elmer Veldheer’s hand carved wooden “klompen” shoes. Add in a lively Oak Harbor parade, thrilling carnival and street fair stocked with local items, and you’ve got Oak Harbor’s Holland Happening weekend.

Elmer Veldheer was named Grand Marshal for the 2012  Holland Happening Parade. He and his wife, Marlene, are flying in from Holland, Mich., for the festivities, which take place Friday, April 27 through Sunday, April 29.

The festivities were even named in honor of Veldheer’s work: The Year of the Klompen.

Veldheer, 82, has traveled to Oak Harbor for 20 years to carve wooden shoes to the open-mouthed astonishment of countless children and adults.

“They all enjoy it. They can just stand there and watch a shoe being made from a block of wood or an old stump. You end up with a nice shoe they can just slide their foot into and run around,” Veldheer said.

“When it’s all done by hand, people admire the work,” he added.

However, Veldheer said this will be his last year carving shoes in Oak Harbor due to worsening arthritis that makes it painful for him to hold tools all day.

“He is the guy that everybody comes to see,” said Katie Salinas, Holland Happening director. “He has been a tradition in Oak Harbor for the longest time.”

Salinas added that everybody should come by to thank the old shoemaker and see how hard he works.

To carve a shoe, Veldheer begins with a plain block of wood. He carves the outside of the shoe, mostly with a hatchet, then puts it in a vise and takes the inside out of the shoe. That’s the hardest part, Veldheer said, because he has to make it comfortable to wear.

It takes Veldheer about three hours to make a nice pair of shoes, in contrast to the 14 minutes it takes for his brother’s shoe-making machines to create a pair.

His brother started a wooden shoe business more than 20 years ago and enlisted Veldheer to be a hand carver for demonstrations. Veldheer ventured to the Netherlands to learn how to carve shoes from a man who spoke hardly any English. Veldheer said he would sit beside the man and copy his process for two weeks.

Now, only one other person in Michigan still hand carves shoes, Veldheer said.

“We do it just for the fun of it, for the hobby of it, to show how it was done a hundred years ago,” Veldheer said.

The Veldheers live on a farm where they grow 5 million tulips and raise wild buffalo. Thousands of tourists from more than five states visit their farm during local Dutch festivities each year.

“We have a lot of fun and do a lot of different things here on the farm,” Veldheer said by telephone this week. “Veldheer” even means “here in the field” in Dutch, he added.

The Veldheers always extend their stay in Oak Harbor by a few days to visit the many friends they’ve made over the years, which is their favorite part of the journey.

“We just love the people. All the people are so kind. We’ve made a lot of friends over the years,” Veldheer said.

Oak Harbor has celebrated its Dutch heritage with a festival for 43 years. Get in a festive mood for Holland Happening with the Eagle Run 5K and Eagle Dash, beginning at 8 a.m. April 28 at Windjammer Park. Children and adults can run scenic routes for prizes. For more information, call 850-292-8973 or visit www.eaglerun.org.

This year, enjoy the parade at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 28 on Pioneer Way and Bayshore Drive, accompanied by a street fair, which begins at 10 a.m. and goes through 7 p.m., and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Salinas said one of the highlights will be the food, with the majority of booths selling local items.

The family carnival on Bayshore Drive is open Friday through Sunday. A “kid zone,” complete with carnival games and prizes, will be located on the west side of Pioneer Way.

The Klompen Canal Races take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 29 on Pioneer Way. Competitors who’ve decorated their klompen will race the shoes down a long stream of water for prizes, plus a prize for the best decorated shoes.

Also view art by Oak Harbor elementary students  April 25 through April 30 in Pioneer Way business windows, and drop by the Whidbey Allied Artists’ art show on Pioneer Way across the street from the mermaid statue April 27 through April 29.

For more information, visit www.hollandhappening.org.