Cloudless skies and seldom seen sunshine made for a rare event Saturday in Coupeville — a water festival without rain.

“I can’t think of a better day we’ve ever had in all the years of the festival,” said long-time volunteer Jim Freeman. “Considering the weather all winter and spring, it seems like everything is just glorious today.”

“Obviously, the universe likes the Penn Cove Water Festival.”

An estimated 2,000 people came out for the annual celebration of Native culture and canoe racing, which is about one-third less than previous years, said Vicky Reyes, president of the Penn Cove Water Festival Association.

THE VOLUNTEER nonprofit group plans and stages the one-day event that is a blend of entertainment, environmental stewardship, crafts and competition.

Community groups of the Lummi Nation had to cancel due to family emergencies and a race in Canada on the same day meant fewer canoe clubs traveled to Whidbey Island, Reyes said.

The gathering is based on the historical Coupeville Festival that started in 1930 with three 11-person tribal canoes racing at the invitation of local town merchants. Within a few years, 22 tribes and thousands of families and visitors descended upon Coupeville, most of them arriving by boat.

Dale Johnson of the Makah Nation grew up hearing stories of the Coupeville canoe races from his father and uncle.

“Back in my dad’s day, they paddled from Neah Bay to here,” he said, leaning against the gleaming red cedar wood of a 48-foot long canoe painted with the words Makah Tribe. “They had ocean-going canoes that were wider and sturdier. I remember hearing how this whole cove was full of canoes.”

Once a racer himself, Johnson said he now coaches and trains “the ladies” who are 13 and under and compete in a category known as Junior Buckskin.

Both his granddaughter and grandson are part of the Makah canoe club called Ocean Thunder.

“They train almost every night. It’s a tough sport but it’s good for them,” he said. “No drinking, no smoking, no drugging. We don’t go for any of that stuff.”

UNLIKE LAST year, there were no spills during the canoe races.

Just thrills.

During the six-woman race, two canoes zipped through the flat water like dragonflies in a drag race.

Pulling hard on paddles in perfect rhythm, the dozen competitors dug in deep. Each boat mirrored the other, stroke by stroke.

Suddenly, a three-mile endurance race turned into a sprint, the Makah versus the Nooksack.

In between shouts of encouragement, Johnson explained the finish line strategy. “They are knocking each other sides, trying to get an advantage.”

Ocean Thunder won, by a splash.

AMONG A row of educational booths, three-year-old Isabelle Crout checked out tiny barnacles in an aquarium of the Sound Water Stewards of Island County. Volunteer Kelly Zupich explained the fascinating lives of barnacles, sometimes seen as “underdogs of the ocean.”

“They eat with their feet,” she said. “Can you imagine eating with your feet?”

Daniel Crout said his daughter loves checking out beach life.

“She enjoys her sea animals,” said Crout, who lives in Oak Harbor. “She likes watching the crabs walk away.”

Soaking up the sun and scenery on the Coupeville wharf, visitors were able to take in the canoe contests while listening to the line-up of entertainers from the downtown stage.

ETHEREAL-SOUNDING flutes of Peter Ali interspersed with the caw-caw of constant seagulls.

Ali, of Moroccan and Mexican heritage, explained the symbolic shapes and stories of the Native American flutes he took up playing in his 40s.

“Does anyone know what this raven is eating,” he asked, holding up one long wooden instrument. “That’s right. The sun.”

From sea to sky, Swil Kanim’s violin solos reverberated through the clear air.

Kanim, of the Lummi Nation, lived up to his “entertainment” billing with a mix of humorous and heartfelt stories.

The classically-trained violinist, also an actor, songwriter, Army veteran and inspirational speaker, revealed his crisis of identity.

“I was having a tough time deciding on what to call myself,” he said. “My wife came up with the best term. She said, ‘You know what you are? A violindian.’”

REVIVED IN 1991, the Penn Cove Water Festival is unique among Pacific Northwest tribal festivities.

“It’s the only one not hosted by a tribe,” commented long-time participant Lou LaBombard.

Of Seneca-Mohawk heritage, LaBombard is an anthropology professor at Skagit Valley College, cultural advisor to the water festival foundation and an “international teller of Native American oral traditions.”

His tales taken from various indigenous cultures highlighted storytelling sessions Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

“This is my 27th year participating,” he said.

“It remains a special cross cultural connection.”

Under a rare cloudless and sunny day at Saturday’s Penn Cove Water Festival, racers didn’t mind the chilly waters getting in and out of their wooden canoes for competition. Nearly 2,000 spectators took in the music, storytelling, environmental education and Native culture that are a hallmark of the annual event.

Rona Yellow Robe in front of the many Native American flutes she played during her performance at the Penn Cove Water Festival Saturday in Coupeville.

Nanci Melendrez, 15, shows off the fish she made at the children’s activities tent while helping her sister and other kids.

Swil Kanim entertained the crowd playing his classical violin and relating stories from his life growing up in foster care, getting by as a street musician in Seattle, serving in the U.S. Army and learning Lummi tribal traditions. His wife dubbed him a “violindian.”

Members of the Junior Buckskin Makah Tribe team pose for a photo in front of the 48-foot red cedar canoe. The Ocean Thunder team was in the age 13-and-under race with 11 crew members.

Edna Pilatti, member of the Makah Tribe Ocean Thunder team, watched canoe races from a bluff while waiting her chance to compete. The canoe clubs of regional tribes travel to many competitions over the summer. Native canoe races at Coupeville’s Penn Cove first started in 1930 at the invitation of town merchants.

Sound Water Steward volunteer Kelly Zupich explains to three-year-old Isabelle Crout of Oak Harbor how barnacles live and eat in the ocean. Many booths taught visitors about whales, shellfish and other natural wonders of Whidbey Island.