Culture Fest rolls into Oak Harbor next weekend
The event, a rebrand of Oak Harbor’s 55-year-old Holland Happening tradition, is making its debut.
By LUISA LOI
Special to the News-Times
The Whidbey Island Culture Fest, a rebrand of Oak Harbor’s 55-year-old Holland Happening tradition, is making its debut next weekend.
On May 3 and 4, Pioneer Way will feature costumes, music, dancing and foods from a wide range of cultures that have been a part of the history and present of the area. Not only Dutch, but also Indigenous, Irish, Filipino, Latino, African and more.
Starting at 11 a.m. Saturday, community members can line the downtown street to wave to performers and community members, including the Scottish American Military Society, the Whidbey Island Nordic Lodge, the Filipino-American Association of Oak Harbor, the Woodward TaeKwondo Academy, the Oak Harbor Police Department, North Whidbey Fire and Rescue, the Whidbey Royalty, the Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum and many more.
A spot in the parade has also been reserved for the traditional sweepers in Dutch attire, according to Events Coordinator Jessi Hudson. Though there won’t be a town crier, the festival will have a grand marshal, who this year will be Louis LaBombard, an Indigenous storyteller and retired professor of social sciences and sociology at Skagit Valley College, she wrote in a message.
The street fair, which runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, will keep the traditional Klompen Canal Race and will feature about 70 vendors, Marketing Coordinator Meredith Acosta wrote.
The entertainment, held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, will take the stage at the Main Street Associations’ Buskers Corner at Pioneer & Dock, featuring belly dancer Nalani, the Whidbey Island Bellydance Community, Arabic folk dancers from the Seattle Qablia Project, Native American flute player Peter Ali, Celtic and Irish musical duo A Fiddle in the Forest, Mongolian Dance Group Zoljargal Tserendorj, the Island Shakespeare Festival and more.
The Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce announced the rebrand last fall under the leadership of Dannah McCullough, who served as the chamber’s executive director until she was let go in January and replaced by Eric Marshall.
Prior to the 2024 Holland Happening, the chamber held a meeting with the community in which attendees agreed that the festival hadn’t felt Dutch in a while, leading up to last year’s attempt to bring back some of the lost authenticity.
Following the festival, McCullough said there hadn’t been enough community involvement to make last year’s Holland Happening as authentic as it once was, and that she saw an opportunity to make it a more inclusive event.
When he took over, Marshall chose to roll with the decision, though acknowledging not everyone was happy about it.
“We want to see how this experience goes, see what the community thinks about it,” he said. “If this is well received, then we’ll continue down this path. And if people would prefer to see us go back to the old ways, then we could take a look at that as well.”
Acosta hopes the festival will be an opportunity for people to experience Oak Harbor’s diverse community.
“My hope and goal is to honor Oak Harbor’s traditions while also bringing something new to the table,” she said.