August 26, 2025
Uncover powerful stories of migration, labor, and life on the water
This year at the Wooden Boat Festival, step into an extraordinary new exhibit that reveals a vital—but often untold—chapter of Pacific Northwest maritime history. Filipinos and Washington’s Waterfront invites visitors to explore how generations of Filipino Americans helped shape the region’s working waterfronts and cultural identity through more than a century of connection to the sea.
Created by our partners at the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area, with the Filipino American National Historical Society, the exhibit traces the journeys of Filipino migrants across the Pacific, their contributions to shipyards and canneries, and their lasting impact on coastal communities from Bainbridge Island to the shores of Alaska. Through rich storytelling, photographs, and cultural artifacts, the exhibit highlights themes of maritime labor, military service, food traditions, family gatherings, faith, and organizing for workers’ rights.
Filipino Americans have long been at the heart of Washington’s coastal economy and culture—digging clams, serving in the Navy, cooking traditional foods, and building community along the waterfront. This exhibit brings those histories to life, honoring the deep roots and wide reach of Filipino heritage across our region’s shorelines.
Don’t miss this opportunity to experience a moving and meaningful story of migration, resilience, and life on the water.
Feature photo caption: In 1903-1904, the U.S. hired a crew of skilled Filipino workers to lay underwater communication cables between Seattle and Alaska. These men were recruited for skills they honed laying similar cables in the Philippines during the Philippine-American War. Image courtesy of University of Washington Libraries Special Collections, UW7372
