Good morning, Bellingham. This is your Friday update from The Hamster Wheel.

I had the pleasure of attending my daughter Juniper’s choir concert last night, where each of the four public middle school choir clubs put on a darling show. So many talented kids. Proud dad moment for sure. 😊

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

Or, hit reply to send me photos via email. 📧

Women Going Through Life Transitions is a seven-week support group beginning in early March, offering a guided space for women navigating major life changes such as career shifts, medical diagnoses, perimenopause, divorce, grief, or relocation.

Meeting weekly on Thursday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, the group will focus on building resilience, clarity, and connection in a confidential, counselor-led setting designed to help you move through change with greater steadiness and support.

Email [email protected] to register or learn more.

Wait, what! There’s an annual Chicken Parade in our neighboring metropolis of Edison? How did I not know this? And how will anything else compare now that I do. 🤣 With the tagline “bring a chicken; dress like a chicken; anything BIRD goes!” what’s not to love?

There’s shockingly little online about this event, which only heightens the mystery. 💫🐔💫 What I did find is this: Load up your chicks and cockerels and head down to Edison this Sunday for a noon parade start at The Edison Café (that’s the cute one at the Y in the road east of ‘downtown’ 👇). The parade will also end there after a circuit through town. Plus there will be a kid-zone setup at the Edison Granary.

If you know (and love) Edison as much as I do, you’re probably envisioning the parking nightmare that could ensue. Parking is tricky on a quiet day. So, plan to go early, park at the post office and walk, or better yet, carpool with some other hens and capons from your extended flock. 😉

Local Read: In the Salish Current this week, Eli Voorhies reports on the spread of a transmissible cancer, bivalve transmissible neoplasia, in eastern soft-shell clams and basket cockles in the Salish Sea. The very idea of a cancer that can pass from one organism to another makes my skin crawl. 😬 Super fascinating article though. Eli explains how cancerous cells survive in seawater long enough to infect neighboring shellfish, and how genetic sequencing has tracked the mutation back to a single common ancestor clam! 🤯

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Saturday
Cornwall Park (South): The forest understory in one of Bellingham's oldest parks needs some help. Work with the city to protect and restore this critically important habitat by planting native trees and shrubs! Register to participate.
Galbraith: The only thing better than being on a beautiful trail, is knowing you helped build and maintain it. Join WMBC in maintaining Galbraith trails. Register to participate.

Soleil Chappelle, MA LMT, blends craniosacral therapy with gentle, intuitive massage to help your body release tension and rediscover ease. Sessions with Soleil are tailored to your needs, combining subtle internal listening with hands-on techniques to ease restrictions in fascia, calm the nervous system, and support your body’s natural health.

Clients describe the experience as grounding and deeply calming, a rare kind of touch that works both physically and emotionally, inviting release where stress and old tension have taken hold. Whether you’re seeking relief from chronic discomfort, burnout, or simply the pace of daily life, Soleil’s practice creates a supportive space for rest and recovery. Learn more at bodyswells.com

The Bellingham Dockside Market is open tomorrow (Saturday), from 10 am to 2 pm at the Fishermen's Pavilion in Squalicum Harbor.

Seafood vendors include: Crab Bellingham, DJ Fish Co, Drayton Harbor Oyster Co, Fish Fed Foods, Icy Fresh Seafood, Jean C Family Fisheries, Lummi Seafood Market, Sea to Shore Seafood Co, and Slack Tide Fisheries. Expect to find salmon, tuna, cod, sole, crab, urchin, and more!

For lunch, look for: Seashells Coffee Co, It’s the Sweet Things, Eva’s Wild, and Legoe Bay Reefnetter.

Plus, fun crafts from: Blues Chews, Kristy Carrico Art, LSC Creations, and Sea Jewel Canvas.

322 S Forest Street (Open Sun 1-3 pm)
Here’s a South Hill beauty to walk through this weekend. The interior is finished in a craftsman style which I love, with the addition of some fun mid-century light fixtures which I also love. Plus the gambrel roof isn’t something you see around here too often. It’s an interesting look, and I’d be curious how the second story feels. Listing.

Mount Baker Theatre
Matt Mathews (comedy) | Fri

New Prospect Theatre
APHRODITE (cabaret) | Fri-Sat

Lynden High School
The Prince of Egypt (theater) | Fri-Sun

Blaine Community Theater
Closer to Home Tickets (theater) | Fri-Sun

Bellingham Circus Guild
My Circus Valentine (circus) | Fri-Sun

Ferndale High School
Titanic The Musical (theater) | Fri-Sun

Wink Wink
Love Sucks: A Vampire Valentine's Day Revue (theater) | Fri-Sun

Mount Baker Theatre
Wicked Sing-Along (film) | Sat

New Prospect Theatre
The Plight of a Woman (theater) | Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Hip Hop, House, Shuffle - Lost Giants Cider - Fri 6 pm
Dance Fusion - BSAC - Sat 10:30 am
Square Dance - Fairhaven Library - Sat 6 pm
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Belly Dance - Karate Church - 1 pm

Blues music is one of the foundational traditions of American culture, rooted in Black American experience and expression. In this four-session course with musician and educator Joe Seamons, explore the early recorded history of the blues alongside the work songs, spirituals, ragtime, gospel, and Creole influences that shaped it. Hear historic recordings and examine how the blues first rose to popularity through female singers whose voices helped define the genre.

A combination of virtual and in-person sessions offer an introduction to the richness and diversity of this living tradition while highlighting the role of music in bringing people together and calling out the ongoing injustice and systemic oppression that helped spawn blues music.

Neighborhood Songwriters Showcase returns to Stones Throw tonight, February 20 from 6 to 8 pm for an evening of original music from local musicians. Hosted by High Mountain String Band’s Andy Bunn, this month’s lineup features Rob Pratt, Celine Parton, Cascade Cody, and Jane Dove.

Cytrus brings its Light the Night Tour to the Wild Buffalo tomorrow, February 21 at 9 pm, joined by Seattle’s Eldridge Gravy & The Court Supreme. The eight-piece ensemble blends psychedelic funk, disco, electronic, rock, soul, and hip-hop into layered, brass-driven grooves.

The Lonesome Town Painters bring their bluegrass sound to Honey Moon Mead tonight, February 20, 2026, from 8 to 10 pm. They are a tried-and-true, bona fide bluegrass band hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia. These fellas have a look, style and sound that harkens back to the raw and ragged edge of the genre.

Junction Trio performs tomorrow, February 21, at 7:30 pm in the Performing Arts Center Concert Hall at Western. Violinist Stefan Jackiw, pianist Conrad Tao, and cellist Jay Campbell bring their collaboration to Bellingham for a program featuring John Cage’s Melodies 1–6, Beethoven’s “Ghost” Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1, and Schubert’s Trio in B-flat Major, D. 471.

Southside Comedy Hour, Corner Taphouse – Live stand-up from 8 to 9:30 pm with Kate Carlson Carlsen, Rich Snyder, John Deming, Brandon White, and host Nikki Kilpatrick for an evening of local and regional comics.

Friday Music & Trivia →

5CC Wrestling - Cupid’s Clash: Emotional Damage, The Majestic Ballroom – A live, all-ages pro wrestling event at 6:00 pm featuring Zeb Saint One defending the 5CC Championship, Heartbreaker Club facing Re:Loaded for the Tag Team titles, and additional matchups showcasing returning and rising regional talent. Tickets.

Winter Twigs and Buds, Lookout Mountain Forest Preserve – A 9 am guided winter walk led by the Washington Native Plant Society focuses on identifying deciduous trees and shrubs by their twigs and buds, with field keys provided and time to explore native and non-native species along the trails. Contact Allan Richardson at [email protected] to sign up.

Saturday Music & Trivia →

Badd Dog Birthday Bash, Wild Buffalo – A 7 to 10 pm blues celebration honoring Andy “Badd Dog” Koch features a full band including Adrian Clark, Shakti Hayes, Rick Haykin, and Roger Baldwin for an evening of high-energy blues and hometown camaraderie on the Buffalo stage.

Sunday Music & Trivia →

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