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🐹 A Conk Village 🏠️🏠️
Good morning, Bellingham. This is your Friday update from The Hamster Wheel.
It looked like garage sales were petering out for the year, but this weekend proved me wrong. Back for a special late-fall appearance in this edition!
Have fun, and stay safe out there!
~ Evan
Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP
Photos From the Hoods
Forest Rainbow - 📷 by Sandy Branson
Aurora Borealis from CBC - 📷 by Elaine Thompson
Heather Meadows - 📷 by Christian Martin
Tag @bellinghamsterwheel on Instagram or reply to this email to get your photos in The Hamster Wheel.
Explorations Academy
3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off
Saturday, November 15
Join Explorations Academy for a spicy evening with 20 different creative chilis for you to sample, as well as a kids zone with games, silent auction, and raffle prizes!
Every dollar raised supports the education of middle and high schoolers at Explorations Academy, a Bellingham school organized around experiential, field-based learning. Vote for your favorite chili, and hang out with guest judges Council Member Skip Williiams, Sheriff Donnell Tanksley, and MUD Ceramics owner Austin Danson who will add spirit and spice to the evening's offerings.
Moon Phases
Events, Updates & News Around Town
Get off the Hamster Wheel
Ceramic Art for a Rainy Weekend
With rain and bluster in the weekend forecast, it’s the perfect time to slow down and enjoy the finer things indoors at the Whatcom Artists of Clay and Kiln (WACK) 2025 Studio Tour. This self-guided event invites you to explore nine cozy studios across Whatcom County, showcasing the work of 35 talented clay artists.
The tour is open Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm, offering an opportunity to meet local creatives while browsing beautiful handmade pottery, sculpture, and functional art. You can find a list of participating artists, alongside an interactive map on the WACK website.
There are so many beautiful works on WACK’s Instagram page. I ended up picking a few that stood out to me. 😍 👇️ Be sure to peruse their social media, or better yet head out on the tour trail.
⛏️ Volunteer Opportunities This Week:
Saturday - Cordata Park: Support riparian and meadow restoration efforts at one of Bellingham’s newest and most popular parks! Work with the City, and NSEA to remove invasive plants and planting native trees and shrubs near East Bear Creek. Register to participate.
Sunday - Whatcom Humane Society’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center: Help Whatcom Million Trees Project and the Whatcom Humane Society as they continue converting a 12-acre former hayfield into a complex forest of native trees and undergrowth! Noon to 3 pm. Register to participate.
🎉 The Hamster Wheel is free! 🎉
However, voluntary contributions to support our ongoing efforts are appreciated! Make a one-time contribution or join a member level to make a small monthly patronage. Your support helps keep The Wheel rolling!
Garage & Estate Sales
Your Source For Vintage Can Openers
133 E. Hemmi Road (Sat, Sun 9 am)
If you’re a tool guy like me, this is the sale of the year. A shop filled with with the accumulation of the seller’s 60 plus years as a body, paint, and fabrication professional, general mechanic, and hot rod builder. map
765 Van Dyk Rd. (Fri-Sun 10 am)
They are calling this one the Knit Together Estate Sale. Over 1,000 skeins of high end yarn, plus a garage and detached four bay shop jam-packed with everything from home décor to hand tools. map
Holiday Markets & Bazaar
Fruitcake For Hamsters ✊
Red Barn Holiday Market, 1775 Front Street, Lynden (Fri, Sat)
A combination of home decor, vintage, craft, boutique clothing, kids and baby items and other amazing treasures. Details
BSAC Craft Fair, 140 E Bellis Fair Pkwy (Sat)
The 3rd annual Bellingham Senior Activity Center craft fair. Details
Christmas Bazaar, Ferndale Senior Activity Center (Sat)
Enjoy shopping for gifts, and baked goods, then stay for lunch. Details
Arts and Crafts Fair, Lynden High School (Sat)
Buy your Christmas gifts from a variety of local vendors. Details.
Food & Drink
Hamsters Gotta Eat
Because it’s fun to be a lookie-loo
Crash an Open House
7493 Miller Way, Deming (Open Sun 2-4 pm)
I almost flicked past this one because it’s a bit camouflaged. Once I gave it a few moments of attention I realized the soft colors and features that help it blend into the loamy forest floor also enhance it’s cozy PNW vibe. In the very best way, it reminds me of conk mushroom. 👇️ 🥰 Listing.
1335 Humboldt Street (Open Fri 4-6, Sat 11-1, Sun 10-12)
I adore this street. My best friend lived across and a few houses down from this one, and I have so many fond memories of walking to Nelsons Market for ice cream on warm summer evenings. This house has a lot of potential. 🙂 Listing.
Performance Arts This Week
Dance of The Hamsters
Cvnt Coven: Faerie-Tales
LIVE ARTS & FILM
iDiOM Theater
Twelfth Night | Wed-Sun
New Prospect Theatre
Phoebe in Winter | Thurs-Sun
Mt. Baker Theatre
Warren Miller's Sno-ciety (film) | Fri
Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship
Water is Love (film) | Fri
The Shakedown
Cvnt Coven: Faerie-Tales (pole dance) | Fri
BAAY Theatre
Finding Nemo Jr. | Fri-Sun
Squalicum High School
Julius Caesar In Space | Fri-Sun
Bellingham TheatreWorks
Bigfoot | Fri-Sun
FireHouse Arts & Events Center
A Very Queer Ballet: TRANScendence (dance) | Fri, Sat
BAAY Theatre
Ferdinand and the French Fry Factory | Sat, Sun
Bellingham Circus Guild
VAUDEVILLINGHAM | Sat
The Blue Room
Cabaret in the Fog (cabaret) | Sat
FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Nika And Madison (film) | Sunday
The Upfront Theatre
Various performances
PARTICIPATORY DANCE
Dance Fusion - Senior Activity Center - Sat 10:30 am
Contra - Fairhaven Library - Sat 7 pm
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 4:00 pm
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Open Floor Movement - Presence Studio - Sun 10:30 am
Events & Nightlife
Spinning Into The Night
FEATURED
Mystery Dance Theatre debuts Last Rites tonight, an immersive murder mystery told through movement, at the Majestic Ballroom. The performance follows a family unraveling after a death, as hidden truths and tensions emerge through dance and atmosphere. The show happens throughout the various rooms and spaces which you’ll be invited to explore, with two chances to figure out who done it. Tickets.
Seattle-based tribute band Queen Mother brings the music of Queen to life at the Wild Buffalo, delivering a night of rock anthems and audience participation. Expect faithful renditions of classics like Bohemian Rhapsody, Under Pressure, and We Are the Champions, performed with the flair worthy of Freddie Mercury himself. Doors open at 8:00 pm, show at 9:00 pm, ages 21 and over.
Are you a fan of pop culture and design? Meet HASBRO artist Ken Christiansen at Brick Island Toys inside Bellis Fair Mall on Saturday at 10 am. Known for his work on Transformers, Star Wars, G.I. Joe, and Ghostbusters, Christiansen will share insights from his career in concept art and graphic design, sign prints, and offer original art for sale.
The Blue Room hosts Concert for a Cause, an all-ages evening of live music supporting the Whatcom Center for Early Learning and its programs for local children and families. Featuring performances by Kris Orlowski and Michael Dayvid, the event also marks the launch of WCEL’s Monthly Giving Program. Grab tickets for the Sunday afternoon show.
FRIDAY
BIGFOOT, Options Theatre – Bellingham TheatreWorks debuts Bigfoot by Meghan Endres Brown, a darkly funny suspense drama that collides sibling rivalry with science and myth. When a physicist travels to rural Oregon to retrieve her Bigfoot-obsessed sister for Thanksgiving, family tensions and secrets erupt in the shadow of the unknown. Tickets.
"Water is Love" Movie and Discussion, Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship – Sustainable Bellingham hosts a screening of Water Is Love: Ripples of Regeneration, an award-winning film exploring how water connects ecosystems, communities, and climate. Learn more.
SATURDAY
Cabaret in the Fog, The Blue Room – The Risque Renegades return with an intimate evening of burlesque, live music, and theatrical flair in a show that celebrates local talent and late-autumn allure. Begins at 8:00 pm. Tickets.
SUNDAY
Sunday Spins with DJ Psychedelove, Stones Throw Brewery – An evening of vinyl listening hosted by DJ Psychedelove, celebrating psychedelic culture through records, books, and creative conversation. Runs 6:00–8:00 pm.
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Have a great weekend!!