If you’ve ever wanted to set up camp inside a tipi, one South Whidbey woman has you covered.

Ever since moving to the island with her family during the COVD-19 pandemic, Rochelle Johannessen has been busy building Wild Hearts on Whidbey, a bucolic events venue that includes plenty of spots for picknicking under twinkle lights.

The 20-acre venue is set against the backdrop of towering trees and a hobby farm where rescued horses, chickens, ducks and peacocks live.

“Our Clydesdale came from Missouri from an Amish farm,” Johannessen said. “He was skin and bones when we got him.”

Amenities include charcuterie boards, campfire pits and various vacation rentals, the most unique of which is the tipi Johannessen built with her late father after reconnecting with him for the first time in years.

“I have a brain like Pinterest, so it doesn’t stop with ideas,” Johannessen said. “I would say I wanted to build a tipi more after I found out my family and my heritage.”

It all started with an ancestry test a few years ago, when she confirmed her Chippewa heritage on the paternal side of her family. The indigenous people of the Canadian prairies – also known as Ojibwe – are the second-largest First Nations population.

Before he passed away, Johannessen’s father visited Wild Hearts on Whidbey and helped her build the tipi, which has 30-foot-tall poles and a 50-foot diameter. They worked through a grueling summer heat wave.

“We went and cut all the trees down, debarked all of them,” she said. “It was 109 (degrees) out.”

The inside of the tipi is outfitted with rugs, beds, a papasan chair and a campfire pit. The tranquil retreat is available to rent through hipcamp.com, a website for booking outdoor stays and camping experiences.

Just about any special occasion – birthday parties, anniversaries, business events, baby showers, weddings – can be arranged at Wild Hearts on Whidbey for up to 75 people. Johannessen previously worked for catering companies in Missoula, Montana and the Seattle area. She knows the ins and outs of the event industry and serves as the head coordinator and decorator. Lately, she has enjoyed collecting colorful Depression glassware from family members, thrift stores and the “Buy Nothing Whidbey Island” Facebook group.

Johannessen has also hosted a few smoke-friendly weddings with cannabis bars for adults who partake.

With its idyllic setting, the land has attracted plenty of photographers and their models for romantic photo sessions. Not far from the tipi, visitors can find Miss Shauna, a classic blue pickup truck parked in the fields of long grasses and wildflowers.

And come September, there will be an exciting new addition on the property. For the past several months, a new building with stained glass windows has been under construction. The orange and yellow windows were salvaged from a church in Lynnwood.

“I literally draw things in marker and pencil on a piece of paper,” she said. “I just show my husband and he makes it happen. This is by far the biggest project he’s ever built for me.”

On top of rescuing dogs and homeschooling her children, running Wild Hearts on Whidbey is a full-time job for Johannessen.

But compared to life in the busy city, it’s a dream come true.

For more information, visit wildheartsonwhidbey.com or the events venue’s Facebook page of the same name.

Shaded from the hot sun, the cool inside of the tipi contains beds, chairs and plenty of twinkle lights. (Photo by David Welton)

Rochelle Johannessen feeds her flock. (Photo by Kira Erickson/South Whidbey Record)