Water Festival returns
Published 11:00 am Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Canoe races, dancers and a salmon bake are just some aspects of Native American culture people can experience this Saturday during the Penn Cove Water Festival in Coupeville.
Festival organizers are putting more of an emphasis on Native American culture this year, which was one of the hallmarks of the festival when it began in the 1930s.
As with every year, one of the highlights will be the canoe races which begin at noon and can be seen either at Captain Coupe Park or at the Coupeville Wharf.
Tribes throughout the Puget Sound area participate in the festival.
“We generally get about 10 canoe clubs,” festival volunteer Susan Berta said.
Participants will compete in 11-person, six-person, two-person and single-person races.
There will be several family canoes this year, which are generally larger in size and have a higher bow.
“They are larger canoes used for journeys for the past 10 to 15 years,” Berta said. Every tribe in the region participates in the canoe journey, as participants canoe to the hosting tribe for a celebration.
Berta said the Sammish Tribe suggested bringing in the family canoes.
To accommodate the larger boats, organizers are looking at designing a larger race course on Penn Cove.
The races begin at noon and go until 6 p.m.
Molly Hughes, city councilwoman and festival volunteer, has been busy gathering 100 to 150 homemade loaves of bread for the event. Race participants will each receive a loaf of bread, a traditional gift for visitors.
“The Water Festival Association is continuing the tradition of inviting Native Americans to the island and giving them a loaf of bread,” Hughes said.
Once the races are complete, Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard, the Coupeville Town Council and other volunteers will cook a hamburger dinner for the race participants and their families.
In addition to the canoe race, a variety of other events highlighting Native American culture take place throughout the day.
Three Native American performances are scheduled during the festival: the Northwest Inupiaq Dancers, the Jingle Dancers and Swilkanim, a fiddler from the Lummi Indian tribe.
Johnny Moses, Professor Lou Labombard and Harvest Moon, a Quinault ambassador, will tell stories Saturday afternoon.
The performances take place on the corner of Alexander and Front streets, while the storytelling tent is located at the corner of Front and Gould streets.
Members of the Snohomish and Whidbey Island’s Snoqualmoo tribes tribes will prepare a salmon bake in front of the museum on Alexander Street.
“We have a lot of representation from the Pacific Northwest,” said Cindy Gass Johnson, Penn Cove Water Festival Association board member.
Native American art vendors and craft demonstrations will take place along Front Street during the festival.
The educational games that have been featured throughout the years are still scheduled. Only this year, they are taking place in a different area.
The tent that housed the games is moving to the corner of Front and Haller Streets. That way, the games will be closer to the park where the canoe races start.
Families going through the tent will notice a variety of educational games that also teach about various aspects of the environment. Those games teach children about subjects such as aquifers, the hazards of marine debris, plant identification and beach etiquette.
“All of these are really hands-on for the children,” said Roxallanne Medley of Beach Watchers, which is putting on the games.
She said that the games, although geared for children, should also be educational for the parents as well.
“I wanted them to be things that will appeal to families,” Medley said.
Beach Watchers sponsored the event until last year when the group decided to focus more on its mission of environmental education.
In its place, the Penn Cove Water Festival Association formed and is comprised of community groups, town officials and organizations such as the Island County Historical Society.
The Penn Cove Water Asssociation’s goal of emphasizing Native American culture harks back to the original festival that started in the 1930s. Back then, it was a four-to-five-day affair designed to educate people about Native Americans, Berta said.
However, the festival lost steam with the onset of World War II and ended during the 1940s.
The festival was revivied in 1992 and was sponsored by Beach Watchers.
Since the new group has taken over, members have been busy with fund raising and taking care of the behind the scenes details that comes with such a festival.
Volunteers also had to raise funds to pay for festival expenses and for the purse for the canoe race.
With all of the details ironed out, people just have to wait for one last thing that influences the success of the festival.
“I just hope we have good weather,” Medley said.
Penn Cove Water Festival
Penn Cove Water Festival
Canoe Races
Noon to 6 p.m., Captain Coupe Park.
Main stage performances
Native Jingle Dancers: 11 a.m. to noon
Northwest Inupiaq Dancers: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Swilkanim, a fiddler from the Lummi tribe: 2:45 to 3:45 p.m.
Storytelling tent
Johnny Moses: 1:45 to 2:30 p.m.
Harvest Moon: 4 to 5 p.m.
Lou Labombard: 5:15 to 6 p.m.
