JUNE · LUMMI NATION
Stommish Water Festival
Generations-deep Coast Salish canoe races and culture, each June.
One of the oldest events in the county is also one of the most powerful. The Lummi Nation’s Stommish Water Festival has been held each June for generations — a celebration of Coast Salish culture built around traditional war-canoe racing, salmon, song, and community out on the reservation.
The canoe races
The heart of Stommish is the canoe racing: long, carved cedar canoes with teams of pullers digging in unison across the water, a tradition that stretches back centuries. It is intense, beautiful, and deeply rooted — nothing else around looks or feels like it.
More than a race
The festival also brings salmon bakes, a powwow with dancing and drumming, bone games, and vendors — a full weekend of Coast Salish culture. Stommish began in the years after World War II as a homecoming honoring Lummi veterans, and that spirit of gathering still runs through it.
Attending respectfully
Stommish takes place in June at the Stommish Grounds on the Lummi Reservation, west of Bellingham, and visitors are welcomed. Come as a respectful guest — it is a living cultural tradition, not a staged show, and that is exactly what makes it unforgettable.
Thinking about life here?
Events like this are the texture of a year in Bellingham. See everything within ninety minutes of town on the interactive Fun Guide — and if you are starting to picture this as your own backyard, let us talk. I am Genaro Shaffer, a broker who actually lives this stuff.