🐹 Driving a Watermelon 🍉🍉

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

👹 👻 Happy Halloween!! 🎃 👺 

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

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Moon Phases

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

Halloween Night Outlook

Based on the current weather forecast from the National Weather Service, I’d factor galoshes and a poncho into your costume. ☔️ Below is the hourly forecast tool with an orange bar (my addition) over normal trick-or-treating hours. It’s showing between 95–98% chance of rain, with a moderate 14 mph breeze and gusts as high as 32 mph. 🙄 

Since that’s kind of a bummer, here’s a picture of a pumpkin driving a watermelon with apple slice wheels.

There are oodles of indoor and outdoor Halloween events tonight! Here are a few that tickled my fancy. I’m including links when possible so you can check for updates.

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Mount Baker Theatre. Details

• Downtown Trick-or-Treat in downtown Bham. Details

• HOWL-O-WEEN PARTY at the FIG. Details

• Spooktacular Mall-O-Ween at Bellis Fair. Details

• Barkley Boo-Levard in Barkley Village. Details

• Cordata Place Trick or Treat at Cordata Place shopping center. Details

• WWU Car Club Trunk or Treat in the Upper C Lot on WWU Campus. Details

• Fearhaven - Brick or Treat in historic Fairhaven. Details

• Sleepy Alligators Halloween at the Elks Lodge on Samish Way. Details

• Halloween Party at Bar Two Eleven. Details

• Halloween Party at Kulshan Brewing. Details

🦈 Local Read: In a new Salish Current feature, reporter Sam Fletcher explores how PNW researchers seek comprehensive dogfish data. Researchers from WDFW, NOAA, and Oregon State University are using innovative techniques—from satellite tagging to radiocarbon dating shark eyes—to better understand spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) age, migration, and sustainability. Extremely cool article; it’s worth a read. 👍️ 

If you’re hankering for an adventure next week, head for the coast where Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is opening several beaches to razor clam digging from Monday, November 3 through Sunday, November 9.

The open beaches are Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, and Mocrocks Beach. “The upcoming digs have some of the lowest tides of the season,” said Bryce Blumenthal, a WDFW coastal shellfish biologist. “Fall weather has arrived with high winds and seas, so be sure to check the forecasted weather and prepare accordingly before coming out to dig.”

⛏️ Volunteer Opportunities This Weekend:

• 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! Sunday, November 2, noon to 3 pm. Registration.

• Fishtrap Creek: Help Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) finish up planting in a newly restored section of Fishtrap Creek to improve habitat for coho, chinook, chum, pink, and steelhead. Saturday, November 1, from 9 am to noon. Register to join the work party.

• Oyster Creek: Join Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) for a salmon spotting event at Taylor Shellfish Farms from noon to 3 pm, this Saturday, November 1. Info.

• Happy Valley Park: Work with the City of Bellingham to remove harmful invasive vegetation and plant native trees and shrubs to improve riparian habitat. Saturday, November 1, from 9 am to noon. Details and registration.

Garage & Estate Sales

Your Source For Vintage Can Openers

I almost didn’t include the G-sale section today because I could only find three. But all three are so rad looking I couldn’t pass them up. 😂 Treasure hunter awesomeness below: 👇️ 

7901 Valley View Rd, Custer (Fri, Sat, Sun 10 am)
Full house and multiple outbuildings PACKED with decades of accumulation. Antiques, ephemera and local history from here to Michigan and beyond! Tons of vintage advertising, American made furniture, primitives and rustic treasures.

306 Potter Street (Sat, Sun 10 am)
A Queen Anne home in the York neighborhood hosts an estate sale full of antique treasures, including elegant walnut and marble furniture, vintage glassware, sterling silver, a massive WWII 48-star flag, jewelry, art, books, quilts, and garden décor.

• 2269 Timon Rd, Sat, Sun, 8 am

Bellingham Dockside Market

Seafood From The Salish Sea

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

FRESH AT DOCKSIDE

Crab Bellingham
💙(Fresh) Live Dungeness crab

Slack Tide Fisheries
💙(Fresh) Live Dungeness crab

Drayton Harbor Oyster Co
💙(Fresh) Pacific oysters, 💙(Fresh) Taylor Shellfish clams and mussels

Lummi Seafood Market
💙(Fresh) Local coho salmon, 💙(Fresh) Live green sea urchins

Plus, many frozen, and preserved options from various vendors.

Food & Drink

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Because it’s fun to be a lookie-loo

Crash an Open House

3905 Idaho Street (Open Sun 1-4 pm)
Holy moly, this home is a dream. It was built in 1917, with a stone and brick exterior on more than two acres in the Silver Beach hood. It has two ADUs and a gorgeous interior that mixes original surfaces with modern amenities. Listing.

2988 Unick Road (Open Sat 1-3 pm)
Privacy, land, a sweet home with views of baker and the Sisters, this one has all that plus a 30’x60’ shop with concrete floor. It sits on 20 acres, separated into two nearly 10-acre parcels. Live the dream. 😁 Listing.

Performance Arts This Week

Dance of The Hamsters

LIVE ARTS & FILM

Bellingham Circus Guild
Circus of Doom | Thurs-Sun

Stones Throw Brewery
Salish Sea Poetry Festival Qualifier Slam (poetry) | Thurs-Sun

BAAY Theatre
 Noises Off | Thurs, Sat, Sun

New Prospect Theatre
O Pole Studios Fall Showcase (dance) | Sun

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
The Sea (film) | Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances
Hellingham

PARTICIPATORY DANCE

Dance Fusion - Senior Activity Center - Sat 10:30 am
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 6:00 pm
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Open Floor Movement - Presence Studio - Sun 10:30 am

Events & Nightlife

Spinning Into The Night

Feature an Event. Reach out.

FEATURED

Kulshan Chorus presents “Beyond the Veil,” a spine-tingling concert including music from The Omen, Poltergeist, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, and other haunting selections. Costumes are optional, but encouraged! You are invited to show off your Halloween attire in a pre-concert costume catwalk event, then enjoy an evening of spooky songs directed by Dustin Willetts and accompanied by the Salish Sea Orchestra. Tomorrow, November 1, at the MBT.

The Before I Die Festival invites you to explore death, grief, and living with greater intention. Hosted by Life’s Fleeting Nature and Wildflower Funeral Concepts, the free two-day event takes place this Sat & Sun, from 1–5 pm at Wildflower Funeral Concepts in Ferndale. Expect workshops, music, film, and open discussions led by local end-of-life professionals, including sessions on care planning, body disposition, and the role of death doulas, plus a screening of The Last Ecstatic Days. Registration is free but required.

Assistance League of Bellingham’s annual Yule Boutique returns to the Grace Center at Trinity Lutheran Church, this Saturday, November 1, from 9 am to 2 pm. Look forward to handcrafted gifts, vintage collectibles, and charming holiday décor made throughout the year. A highlight of the boutique is its 15-foot table of homemade cookies, cakes, and candies, perfect for sharing or gifting.

FRIDAY

Ryan Sandholm, Stones Throw Brewery – Bellingham-based singer-songwriter Ryan Sandholm brings his signature blend of 90s pop-rock revival and modern country flair to Stones Throw Brewery from 6–8 pm.

Friday Music & Trivia →

SATURDAY

Girl Winter Ski Film Tour, The Majestic – Celebrate women in snow sports at The Majestic with the Girl Winter Ski Film Tour, a night of inspiring short ski films featuring athletes like Megan McJames, Julie McGuire, and Janina Kuzma. Doors open at 6 pm, with screenings beginning at 7 pm.

Listen Deeply: Community Voices Film Fest, Hotel Leo Crystal Ballroom – Experience the power of storytelling through 16 self-authored short films highlighting local advocates and changemakers. This free event, presented by Bellingham Public Library, explores themes of healing, belonging, and community connection. 10 am to 12:30 pm; registration required.

Saturday Music & Trivia →

SUNDAY

Plant Medicine Study Group, The Art Café – Learn to identify seasonal plants and explore their healing properties in this hands-on study group focused on natural wellness. Participants will take notes, share insights, and later learn to craft tinctures, salves, and teas. 11 am to noon. Learn more.

Sunday Music & Trivia →

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Hakuna matata

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