People from all over Whidbey Island and the Pacific Northwest converged on Coupeville Saturday for the Penn Cove Water Festival. The festival, which was started in the 1930s, celebrated its 10th anniversary since being reborn in 1992.

Native American canoe races remain a cornerstone of the festival, just as they were in the 1930s. But the contemporary Water Festival didn’t focus solely on racing. In addition to showcasing fun on the water, volunteers educated kids and adults about Whidbey Island’s important, yet fragile, water resources. All over sunny Coupeville there were fun and games, art and entertainment, food and music.

Out on Coupeville’s Wharf, BeachWatcher Sandy Dupernell explained how a whale’s skeleton came to be hanging from the wharf’s rafters.

“When a whale washed up on a Central Whidbey beach, many volunteers spent lots of time getting the bones ready then reassembling them and then hanging the skeleton,” she told a group of people. “The ivory-white color of the bones is natural,” she explained as people walked slowly around with their heads angled up. “Look at those two small bones down past the ribs, toward the tail. Those are the remains of what was probably the whale’s legs.”

Families find

lots to love

Outside, the Lopez and Garcia family from Mount Vernon stared down at the water watching fish swim and jellyfish bob around. The family had planned on going to Fort Casey Saturday morning. “We saw the festival signs and decided to make a detour,” Richard Lopez said. “We’re glad we did. We’ll stop by Fort Casey later today.”

Front Street had the sealion’s share of booths: from one with facts about water runoff to an Audubon display of nearshore birds to another dedicated to boat-building.

Jackie Fondo, 8, and Rebecca Fondo, 4, of Oak Harbor concentrated on painting their boats.

The Etzells drove up from Greenbank for the festival. Ben, 6, and Marisa and Luke, 5-year-old twins, were coloring kites while waiting for mom Kristi to park the car. Nicholas, 20 months, got help from his dad, Mike, who commented, “The festival has all kinds of great kids’ stuff to enjoy.”

Amber Morrison brought Monty, 6, and Taylor, 2, from Langley. After having fish bowl photos made, they were waiting for the canoe races to start. “Monty’s really excited to see those,” Amber Morrison said.

While the canoe races were limited to Native Americans, the Penn Cove Paddle was open to anyone with enthusiasm and a seaworthy craft.

Coupeville residents Paul Neumiller and his son Chris credited prowess in a canoe for their winning the Penn Cove Paddle.

“It was tough and we did everything we could to win,” Paul said. “Our entire goal was to not dump in front of the town.”

“This is one of the first things I’ve won,” Chris said. “I had friends cheering me on.” While Chris would not divulge any training secrets, he did say he and his father were steroid-free.

Showing people how to keep the environment pesticide- and herbicide-free was an important part of the Water Festival. Beach Watcher Coordinator Sarah Schmidt said, “That’s what the festival’s all about: teaching people how to reduce the amount of chemicals in our environment and water so everyone can live and enjoy our water and nearshore for years to come.”

Don Meehan, Island County WSU Extension agent, was busy but enjoying the day. “It’s great weather today, kids are learning and having fun, folks are happy and the tribes have just arrived,” he said while hustling down the wharf.

Tribes gather

to race canoes

Down at Captain Coupe Park, lots of families had arrived with their canoes and were warming up to race. Adults set up chairs and kids ran around and played on the beach. Onlookers shouted encouragements: “Find your rhythm!” “Even it out!” “Come on … dig!” “Go!Go!Go!”

Denise Billy and her husband Mike drove down from North Vancouver, B.C. The Billys, who are members of the Squamish tribe, competed in mixed doubles. Denise said she has been paddling for a couple of years but her husband has been racing for 22 years.

Keith Point came from Chilliwack, B.C., to represent the Stolo nation. He said a lot of people start training in March for racing season. “This is one of the early races of the season, so we see it as a measuring stick for the teams,” Point said.

Jaimee Charlie of Chehalis and Walter Point from Skowkale paddled in the mixed doubles. Charlie practices on the cold Harrison River so the water in Penn Cove wasn’t bad, she said.

Rhonda George and Harley Chappell from Chilliwack who represented the Stolo Nation were enjoying the afternoon.

Chappell has been paddling for three years but says, “Lots of people have been racing for longer than I’ve been alive. We’re really happy to be here.” Chappell trains on Cultus Lake at Chilliwack. “The lake’s mountain-fed, so the ocean is a lot warmer. Everybody’s having a lot of fun today,” he said.

Back on Front Street, there were steady lines for ice cream cones. Kids were still making kites and boats. And everybody was having a lot of fun. Another memorable Penn Cove Water Festival was proceeding as planned.