Penn Cove Water Festival seeks volunteers
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 7, 2026
The Penn Cove Water Festival is seeking volunteers as organizers prepare for this year’s celebration of Coast Salish culture on Whidbey Island.
Richard Knodel, the president of the nonprofit, said volunteers are essential to the success of the May 9 event, with approximately 190 positions needed to be filled. Volunteer positions include merchandise sales, traffic control and youth activities organizing. Most shifts last two to three hours, allowing participants time to experience the festival.
“The Penn Cove Water Festival couldn’t happen without the support of the community,” Knodel said. “Volunteers are the backbone of this and many organizations, and we couldn’t be where we are without them.”
The festival traces its origins in Coupeville back to the 1930s, according to Knodel. The event serves as a platform to celebrate Coast Salish traditions. Attendees can expect indigenous music, dance, storytelling, fry bread, native art booths and tribal canoe races.
The first Coupeville festival featuring Native American canoe races was meant to attract visitors to Whidbey Island. What began as the “Coupeville Festival with Native American Canoe Race,” with just three 11-man canoes grew into a major gathering, with as many as 22 tribes participating in later years, Knodel said. Today, as is tradition, island residents bake loaves of bread to welcome Native American families who travel and sometimes camp on the island.
Coupeville is the only festival of its kind not held on tribal land, according to a South Whidbey Record article.
Knodel emphasized that while grants and donations make the event financially possible, community participation remains crucial to the event’s success. For more information, including volunteer sign-up details, visit www.penncovewaterfestival.org and navigate to “’2026 Volunteer, click here.” The next information session will be held from 3-5 p.m. on April 19 at the Coupeville Library.
The celebration begins at 11 a.m. on May 9.
