Big sounds at Little BIG Fest
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Once again, the third weekend in August means it’s time for Little BIG Fest to take over and shake, rattle and roll the Whidbey Island Fairgrounds and Events Center in Langley.
Friday evening through Sunday night, Aug. 14 -16, dozens of musical performances, eye-popping art installations and workshops, ranging from hula hooping to harmonica lessons, are part of the three-day “groovy realm.” Tickets can be bought online or at the fairgrounds ticket booth. Children under age 13 are free.
An assortment of food, drink, arts and crafts vendors and numerous activities for festival-goers of all ages is also planned. Licensed child care activities are available for a fee and registration.
The all-volunteer nonprofit organization behind Little BIG Fest is headed up by co-producers Keegan Harshman, 34, and Priscilla Lowry, 68, longtime Whidbey Island residents and friends.
Providing a safe place to gather and relax with family, friends and neighbors is central to the festival’s community focus.
“For me, it’s about leaving divisiveness at the door,” Harshman said. “That’s very important to me; it’s what I can do for the universe.”
A bass player in various bands and owner of Blue Sound Music in Freeland, Harshman said he tries to balance the lineup between new talent, better-known acts and regional and local bands while offering a wide range of genres — hip hop to old hippie stuff, soulful grooves to psychedelic rock, folk, country, jazz and blues, along with DJs spinning mixes for silent disco.
This year, more than 150 bands from around the Pacific Northwest applied to be part of the festival.
“So, unfortunately, I do have to say ‘no’ to some,” Harshman said.
Headliners include Panda Conspiracy, Scott Pemberton Trio, Outer Orbit and renowned harmonica player Lee Oskar. The line-up also includes bands with rather interesting names: Ant Aesthetic; Puddle Jump; Ian George & The Knee Pockets and a country group calling itself Temple Grandin as a tribute to the autism rights advocate who reimagined better treatment of livestock.
This marks the sixth year of the music and arts festival, which promises “a three-day journey of musical immersion and creative exploration.” Harshman started Little BIG Fest in 2018 with one stage and a few bands in the woods. It expanded in 2019, then took a three-year hiatus from 2020 through 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ever since leasing the fairgrounds in 2023, the festival has grown every year, becoming a kaleidoscope of color and sound. At night, neon streams swirl through walkways and light up stages. By day, mandala patterns stream through sun screens placed near outdoor stages. Come midnight, silent disco dancers don LED-lit headphones and bop away to different music channels.
Expect even more funky floating colors this weekend.
A planned fire-swirling show doused by the current burn ban is being replaced by a “glow flow jam.” It somehow involves old-fashioned metal Slinky toys, chandeliers, color-pulsating drum sets and glassware.
Once it gets past the break-even stage of producing the festival, organizers aim to support Whidbey Island music and art students with scholarships. Last year, South Whidbey School District raised $3,000 from festival parking fees for its performing arts booster program.
Band contracts, leasing fairground space and paying for a few professional services, such as bookkeeping, are the biggest expenses of its $130,000 budget. The festival is also sponsored by numerous local businesses and organizations.
A small village of volunteers — 130 people — are vital to coordinating the complicated juggling of 45 acts on four stages over three days. There’s also ticketing, security, first aid, weather backup plans, vendors and workshops to oversee.
“We absolutely could not do this without our volunteers,” said Lowry, owner and creator of artisan beeswax candles, Whidbey WaxWorks. “We finally have the team leaders and enough volunteers so Keegan and I can actually walk around and take in the festival. At this point, our stress level is on our feet, not above our heads, imploding.”
Festival-goers are encouraged to dress for daily themes: patterns on patterns Friday, with clashing encouraged; pretty in pink Saturday, with salmon and peach also counting; and Summer of Love Sunday, featuring tie-dye, fringe and flowers.
For more information: Little BIG Fest: app.littlebigfest.org
