Screams of delight from children on spinning carnival rides, the scents of greasy food and even warm sunshine imparted an air of festivity to Oak Harbor’s Holland Happening weekend April 28 and 29.

Families lined Bayshore Drive for the parade Saturday morning, children clustering on the street with bags and pillowcases to store candy thrown by parade participants. Evie Moore, 5, and Rory Moore, 6, waved and waved at the long march of school bands, businesses, political groups, church groups, nonprofits and vehicles.

“I loved it!” Rory Moore exclaimed after the parade, holding a heavy bag of candy. She said the Oak Harbor Yacht Club pirate ship that really shot its cannons was her favorite part, while her mother, Elspeth Moore, said she loved the Shriners in their little cars.

“I love the parade,” Elspeth Moore said, adding that she grew up in Oak Harbor and loves a small-town, local parade.

It was Amy Morrison’s first time at the parade since her family recently moved to Oak Harbor.

“I loved it! It was really, really fun!” Morrison said.

It was rush hour on Pioneer Way after the parade as the crowds headed for the street fair or to the carnival on Bayshore Drive. Booths lined Pioneer Way for the street fair, where many stopped to purchase locally made foods, jewelry, knit hats and much more.

An awed crowd gathered around Elmer Veldheer, the parade grand marshal and wooden shoe “klompen” carver who has visited Oak Harbor for more than 20 years. Due to his worsening arthritis, this was the Michigan native’s last year carving wooden shoes at Holland Happening.

With the scents of lumpia, mussels and the festival favorite, funnel cakes, heavy in the air, the lines at food booths grew. The Martinez family succumbed to a couple of crunchy funnel cakes.

“Everybody comes for the funnel cakes, right? It’s not a carnival without a funnel cake!” Roxanne Martinez said as children Layle, 4 and one-half, and M.J., 7, and husband Mark indulged in the sweet treats.

Shrieks of delight and screams of excited terror emanated from the carnival below Pioneer Way as children and adults alike were whirled in circles or launched into the air by carnival rides.

Grace Osborn, 11, and Lexi Peters, 11, got off the “Wind Glider” out of breath from spinning in circles.

“It was fun!” Peters said, grinning.

When asked if they would do it again, both girls emphatically said, “Yes!”

While the child roller coaster may not have been as terrifying as the “Wind Glider,” Olivia Simms, 4, was just as excited in her front row seat. Her shrieks as the roller coaster rounded sharp curves were punctuated by smiles of delight.

“She’s having a great time,” her mother, Sarah Simms, said from the sidelines.

That seemed to be the common theme throughout the day as people watched a variety of groups perform on stage, like the Fil-Am Dance Troupe, the Oak Harbor Youth Cheer and a number of bands. Groups also performed Sunday until the festivities wrapped up and the street fair and carnival ended Sunday evening to wait until next year for Oak Harbor’s Dutch heritage to come out in full force once again.