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

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

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

Join MBT for one night with three incredible artists taking the stage together on The Coast to Coast tour.

Colin James is a blues-rock legend with 20+ albums, eight Juno Awards, 31 Maple Blues Awards, and a career that began with the fastest-selling album in Canadian history.

Matt Andersen commands the stage, backed by a global touring career, major festival appearances, multiple international blues awards, and tens of millions of streams across Spotify and YouTube.

Terra Lightfoot has built an international reputation through marathon touring, two Juno nominations, millions of global streams, and her latest album Healing Power, showcasing her dynamic range as a songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist.

There was good news on Friday for our friends on the Southside who have been weathering all variety of northbound I-5 overflow since the March 19 landslide. WSDOT announced that all lanes are scheduled to reopen this Thursday, April 16.

On Saturday WSDOT announced that all planned holes had been drilled and rock dowels grouted to stabilize the slope. Just imagine running a drilling rig on the side of a cliff face. 👆 Then on Sunday, crews dislodged a large, loose slab on the west end of the slide area that now needs to be anchored in three places. 👇

Despite that additional work, the projected reopening time of 5 am Thursday remains in place.

This evening, April 13 at 6:00 pm, the Whatcom County Parks and Recreation department is holding a community meeting about the Lagoon Bridge at Silver Lake Park. It’s an opportunity to learn about the results of a recent community survey and structural assessment of the bridge, and share your ideas.

The meeting is at the East Whatcom Regional Resource Center (8251 Kendall Rd, Maple Falls), where salad and sandwiches will be provided on a first come, first served basis (for about 30 attendees), courtesy of the Chuckanut Health Foundation.

Western Students: WTA and the university have reached an agreement to extend their universal bus pass program through September 2027, pending final approval later this month by WTA’s Board of Directors and WWU. Under the updated one year contract, WWU will pay WTA $700,000 annually, an increase of $100,000, while students will continue to receive unlimited rides without any additional cost through their existing transportation fee. The extension comes ahead of a planned systemwide fare increase in September 2026, when general fares will rise from $1 to $2.

LOCAL READS

Mount Baker Blues
By Byron Jordan · The Planet
Ski areas across the Pacific Northwest are facing shorter and less predictable seasons as warmer temperatures turn snowfall into rain and reduce snowpack. Byron explains that Mount Baker operators are adapting to extreme weather swings while considering costly options like snowmaking to stay open. Read more →

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Knitting a community: how a Bellingham fiber arts store is building connection
By Sydnee Chapman · Salish Current
Northwest Yarns & Mercantile in downtown Bellingham hosts weekly knitting classes and gatherings that bring together people across ages and professions in a shared creative space. Sydnee reports that the shop, purchased by its current owners in 2016, operates as a community hub offering free classes and a place for connection. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Monday
Blaine City Council, 6:00 pm, Council Chambers, agenda
Bellingham City Council, 1:00 pm with regular meeting at 7:00 pm, City Council Chambers, agenda

Tuesday
Everson City Council, 7:00 pm, Council Chambers, agenda
Bellingham Transportation Commission, 6:00 pm, Pacific Street Operations Center, agenda
Whatcom County Council, 8:30 am with regular meeting at 6:00 pm, Council Chamber, agenda
Port of Bellingham Board of Commissioners, 4:00 pm, Harbor Center
Bellingham Historic Preservation Commission, 4:00 pm, City Hall

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Saturday
Happy Valley Park: Connelly Creek, which runs through this neighborhood park and flows into Padden Creek, needs help! Join the city to remove harmful invasive vegetation and spread some mulch to improve riparian habitat. Register
Lower Kenney Creek: Join Whatcom Land Trust, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA), and Whatcom Conservation District to protect and enhance critical salmon habitat along Kenney Creek, where the creek meets the North Fork of the Nooksack River. Register
Jensen Family Forest Park: Join Whatcom Million Trees Project to maintain the 23-acre multi-generational Jensen family property held under a conservation easement by WLT and Whatcom Parks. Register

If you're like most people, no one talked to you about money growing up—much less told you that money is emotional. No one taught you how to have healthy money conversations with yourself, partner or kids. As a result, you may believe that you’re “bad with money” or can’t stick to a budget. You may feel ashamed, guilty, stressed or overwhelmed. All of that can change!

Financial therapy is a process that combines therapeutic and financial skills to help people think, feel, communicate, and behave differently with money. I’m Susan Fee, a Certified Financial Therapist™. I help individuals and couples change their money mindset by changing their money story.

Uisce Irish Pub
Guffawingham (comedy) | Mon 8:30 pm

iDiOM Theatre
All Our Tragic (theatre) | Multiple

Bellingham Circus Guild
Vaudevillingham (circus) | Wed

Firehouse Arts & Events Center
Trail Running Film Festival (film) | Wed

Bellingham Theatre Guild
Kodachrome (theatre) | Thurs-Sun

Jensen Art Center
Swept Away (musical theatre) | Thurs-Sun

Mount Baker Theatre
Alice (theatre) | Fri

New Prospect Theatre
The Importance of Being Earnest (theatre) | Fri

Firehouse Arts & Events Center
Bellingham Repertory Dance - Hindsight (dance) | Fri-Sun

WWU DUG Theater
Failure: A Love Story (theatre) | Fri-Sun

BAAY
Seussical JR (theatre) | Fri-Sun

New Prospect Theatre
O Pole Spring Showcase (dance) | Sat

Bellingham TheatreWorks @ The Upfront
New Play Cafe (theatre) | Sat-Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Salsa & Bachata - Viking Union - Mon 7 pm
Bellingham Embodiment Collective - Majestic Ballroom - Mon 6:30 pm
Contact Improv - Aikido Peace Education Center - Mon, class 5:30, jam 7 pm
Cuban Salsa - Cof& - Tues 6 pm
B’ham Hop - Crystal Ballroom - Tues 8 pm
Taster Tuesdays (hip hop) - Lost Giants Cider Co - Tues 6 pm

Bad Posture Club brings their intricate and experimental harmonies to The Admiralty Lounge tomorrow, April 14 from 7 to 9 pm. The duo, made up of Maren Day and Morgan Kavanagh, draw on roots in Northwestern Washington and years spent in the Midwest music scene, building songs around voice, banjo, guitar, and a century-old pump organ.

Step back in time at Tipsy Tales, an evening of storytelling and local history at Kulshan’s Sunnyland Taproom tonight, April 13 at 6:00 pm. Kolby LaBree, tour guide and researcher with The Good Time Girls, will share stories from Bellingham’s boozy past, from prohibition-era antics to the colorful characters who shaped the city’s early drinking culture.

Kenadie Lee: Handwritten, Village Books in Fairhaven – A 6 pm poetry reading in the Readings Gallery featuring local author Kenadie Lee sharing work from her collection Handwritten, exploring themes of connection, gratitude, and time in nature.

Monday Music & Trivia →

Bellingham Mountaineers PechaKucha Night, Backcountry Essentials – A series of fast-paced presentations from Mountaineers members and community participants at 7:30 pm covering topics like sailing, backpacking, climbing, and experiential learning.

Beer Release with Bellingham Homebrewers Guild, Stones Throw Brewery – A 5 to 9 pm gathering centered on a collaborative Berliner Weisse, brewed with input and participation from members of the Bellingham Homebrewers Guild.

Tuesday Music & Trivia →

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