Millie Goebel was visibly ecstatic Saturday evening as she and Larry Mason took the stage to announce the headlining band of the Oak Harbor Music Festival.
Goebel had raved to Mason about the synthpop group after seeing them perform live.
“I said, ‘Larry, I went to a show last night at The Crocodile in Seattle and, oh my God, I saw the best live show I have ever seen,’” she recounted. “They’re called Penguin Prison, and they’re gonna make you want to dance.”
As soon as the first few bars of upbeat indietronica melodies soared through the amplifiers, Goebel’s words rang true.
Pioneer Way, packed with an audience of at least several hundred attendees, was transformed into a dance party in a matter of moments.
Penguin Prison was one of 30 bands to perform over the weekend, with acts spanning just about every genre from country to rock ’n’ roll and electronica.
While Mason, the festival’s music director, said all performers were a hit, some like Eldridge Gravy and the Court Supreme, The Olson Brothers Band, Three for Silver, Rust on the Rails and The Fame Riot, as well as Penguin Prison, were particularly popular this year.
The Teen Talent Contest, too, attracted quite a crowd.
Mason and his spouse Cynthia, president of the board, estimated attendance this year at about 20,000.
Festival organizers had anticipated between 15,000 to 20,000 festival-goers, as last year’s attendance was a record 17,000.
The festival board hired a drone to survey the crowd periodically throughout the festival to help organizers get a better idea of attendance.
The Masons said they hope to have a firm number by the end of the week.
Board members are conducting an online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ohmf2016 to gather feedback and gain a clearer perspective of attendee demographics.
The Masons also said they’ll have a better idea of the economic impact of the festival in the days to come, though preliminary observations are quite encouraging.
The RV lots were near capacity — the Masons said their own lot had doubled in reservations — and a few of the festival vendors reported record-breaking sales.
Cynthia Mason also noted 38 people had docked boats in the Oak Harbor marina specifically to attend the event, and about seven more spent the day aboard their vessels in the water to enjoy the music.
“Everybody was pleased, all the food vendors, arts and crafts vendors, musicians and community members were very happy with it,” Cynthia Mason said of the festival.
The Masons attribute much of the festival’s success to the aid of over 250 volunteers and the support of the community.
“We couldn’t do it without them,” Cynthia Mason said.
“We had a tremendous amount of support … it was really a pleasure.”
