an annual street fair and arts festival, started in 1975, held in downtown Langley during the second weekend of July. The last Choochokam was held in 2016. Tour de Whidbey, in September, is an organized bike ride with varying routes around Whidbey Island. The Whidbey Island Marathon and Half Marathon, in April since 2002. Whidbey Island Race Week: a week-long sailing regatta every summer based out of Oak Harbor with daily racing in Penn Cove and/or Saratoga Passage (depending on wind conditions). Usually held third week of July, varies slightly due to tidal conditions. Whidbey Island Highland Games – 2nd Saturday in August. Competitions in Scottish Heavy Athletics, Highland Dancing, Pipe and drum bands. Whidbey Island Zucchini Festival – An annual festival hosted by residents of Whidbey island brought about by an excess of home-grown zucchini. The festival includes zucchini based musical performances, various types of zucchini based or themed visual art, all types of foods that feature zucchini, outdoor games and competitions using zucchini, and a giant zucchini slingshot. Oak Harbor Music Festival – An annual music festival held in the biggest city on the island, Oak Harbor. It is held over Labor Day Weekend, and consists of a wide variety of musical acts. DjangoFestNW – An annual 5-day music festival held in mid-September that celebrates the music of Django Reinhardt at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts. Climate Whidbey Island lies partially in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountain Range to the west, and has a variety of climate zones. This can be observed by rainfall amounts – wettest in the south with average rainfall of , driest in the central district of Coupeville with average rainfall of , and turning moister again farther north with average rainfall of . Microclimates abound, determined by proximity to water, elevation and prevailing winds. Ecology Flora Vegetation varies greatly from one end of the island to the other. Vegetation in the south is more similar to that of mainland Washington. The principal trees are Douglas fir, red alder, bigleaf maple, western red cedar, western hemlock, and Pacific madrone. Compared to the rest of western Washington state, vine maple is notably absent, except where they have been planted. Other under-story plants include the evergreen huckleberry, lower longleaf Oregon grape, elderberry, salal, oceanspray, and varieties of nettle. Non-native introduced plants such as foxglove, ivy and holly are also evident. Farther up the