||| BY EDEE KULPER, theORCASONIAN REPORTER |||
The Lummi Gathering of the Eagles Canoe Journey began Sunday, as the canoeists paddled from Anacortes to Lopez Island. On Monday, they paddled from Lopez to San Juan Island. Today, they will paddle to Orcas Island, landing at Camp Orkila at 4 p.m., where the public is welcome to come for dinner (bring your own food and chairs) and partake in singing, dancing, stories, and gift sharing, concluding at 11 p.m.
The public is welcome again tomorrow at 2 p.m. for an afternoon of storytelling at the Village Green, and another evening of dining and celebrating together.
All are welcome to send the canoeists off on Friday at 9 a.m. as they depart from Camp Orkila and head to Lummi Island.
How wonderful it will be to enjoy each other on land, and if you’d like a view from the canoe, here are some scenes of Monday’s session on the Salish Sea as the paddlers passed sailboats and ferries, shadowed by safety boats keeping kind watch from calm, overcast morning leaving Odlin Park on Lopez to sparkling-bright afternoon arriving in Friday Harbor.
Many thanks to Rick Rhoads for a beautiful day on his safety boat, Friendship. What a fitting name for this event.
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I am looking forward to this wonderful event and offer my thanks to all those who brought it about!