May 10, 2025
"We did not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children"
Native American Proverb
The Festival features annual tribal canoe races, native arts & crafts vendors, story telling, musical and dance performances, artist demonstrations, authentic Native foods, youth activities, exhibits and displays.
The Festival features annual tribal canoe races, native arts & crafts vendors, story telling, musical and dance performances, artist demonstrations, authentic Native foods, youth activities, exhibits and displays.
This year's design is the Thunderbird - a symbol of strength and power that creates thunder by flapping his wings and lighting comes from flashing his eyes.
Thunderbird is a figure found in the cultures of many- if not all- Native American Nations. If you see a storm front coming on the Great Plains the Thunderbird is very visible. The lightning coming front the front (eyes) is believed to create obsidian projectile points found on the ground. As and the flapping of the wings creates the thunder.
The Thunderbird is found throughout Turtle Island.
The Thunderbird is the totem crest that the Samish artist created for Roger Purdue's button blanket some years ago.
Thunderbird
The first Coupeville Festival with Native American Canoe Races took place in 1930, organized by a Coupeville businessman to draw more tourists to scenic Whidbey Island. Only three 11-man canoes raced then, but in later years up to 22 tribes attended the festivals with most participating in the canoe races. Parades, festive events, and tribal dancing were added to the festivities.
Residents and tourists alike benefit from a healthy Sound, lakes, groundwater, and aquifers. What's more, we all benefit from the salmon, otters, whales, shellfish, and other critters that live in, or because of, those waters. To promote awareness of, appreciation for and information on how to protect this environment, the Festival provides space to many of the Island's non-profit organizations for educational displays, as part of our Mission.
Each year since 1993, Coupeville artist Roger Purdue designed a logo based in the North Coast native art tradition of his Tsimshian heritage. His designs are used on T-shirts, art prints and posters that are sold to raise money. Before he passed, he donated 15 additional drawings to the Penn Cove Water Festival, so that we could continue to use his art.
Our Mission
The Mission of the Penn Cove Water Festival Association is to continue an annual revival of the historic Coupeville Water Festival by bringing families together to enjoy Native American canoe racing, entertainment, crafts and culture and by giving them a chance to learn about, appreciate, and protect the environment in which we all live.
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