doe bay fest 9

Another summer, another Doe Bay Fest in the books. This year presented not only the challenges of a wild toddler, but my own physical limitations after having major knee surgery just 8 weeks earlier. We've been coming to Doe Bay since Viggo was a baby, twice I'e come pregnant, and even though this year was the hardest, it was worth it. There was tons of walking on uneven dirt paths, rocky beaches, and hills that felt like mountains, but I managed to walk steady and avoid falling. I may have missed the late night yoga studio sessions and the midnight shows under the big tree, and just bending my knee enough to fit inside the porta potty was comical, but the beach, the music, the friends, and the wild kids that make up our Doe Bay family made it all worth it.

another summer, another doe bay fest | orcas island, wa

If you've talked to me anytime in the last six months, chances are I've mentioned Doe Bay. We make the trek up to Orcas Island every winter and then wait patiently to return in August for the Doe Bay Music Festival. We take the foot ferry and camp with several families and our gaggle of kids, and have even met some pretty amazing new friends along the way. And that's the thing about Doe Bay - by the end of the long weekend strangers aren't really strangers anymore. Faces become more familiar and all those strangers become your extended Doe Bay family. The music is always great, that's a given, but it's a lot more than just the music. When you create a community of creative people in one of the most beautiful places in the world, magic happens. It's the side conversations while looking for crabs on the beach, morning swims in the Puget Sound and soaks in the tubs, secret shows in the woods at midnight, lazy afternoons sipping margaritas on the beach while watching your favorite musicians play what seems like a private show just for you, the smell of salt water and popcorn as the sun sets, a glimpse of a family of deers walking past your tent, seeing Joe waiting on the beach to greet your water taxi as it comes ashore, sweaty nights rocking out in yoga studio feeling the floor vibrate beneath your feet, kids running around yelling and laughing and waving their glow sticks while bands play the main stage, raw oysters and hula hoops, dancing at twilight, meals of mouth watering food from the cafe with friends, moms wearing their babies and bigger kids wearing headphones sitting on their parents shoulders while they bob their heads to the beat and wave their hands in the air, afternoon naps on the beach, the daily morning brass band processional through camp while you sip your coffee, and so much more. 

And for me, the best part is how inclusive the festival is of all of the kids. Like Joe says, "Doe Bay Fest is a music festival primarily for kids. Adults are allowed too, especially when accompanied by kids". We are fortunate to be able to participate in this community of magic makers that come together every summer and that our friends and family get to be a part of it. I'm already looking forward to next summer where we get to do it all over again.