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

Working on a backyard project this weekend I found one last pocket of apples on my espalier apple tree. There’s nothing better than an apple that’s soaked up every ounce of sun the summer has to offer. 🍎 Until next year.

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

Tag @bellinghamsterwheel on Instagram or reply to this email to get your photos in The Hamster Wheel.

Academy for Lifelong Learning

Stories of PNW Missionaries & Local Tribal Families

Friday, November 21

Finding time to explore a curious topic can be a challenge, especially heading into the holidays. That’s why WWU’s Academy for Lifelong Learning offers courses via Zoom, tapping top-notch expertise from across the country so you can learn something new from the comfort of your home. Feast your mind on the first of three diverse deep-dives.

Join Bob Vinatieri, a Road Scholar and lecturer at City College of Chicago, to learn about the wave of emigrants that followed the PNW explorers, the lesser-known Presbyterian, Methodist & Catholic missionaries and the Indigenous families with whom they interacted. Watch the preview video 👆️, and register to join the Zoom lecture.

Moon Phases

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

The Skatepark Under A Bridge

Progress continues on Bellingham’s waterfront skatepark project under the Roeder Avenue Bridge, with the City of Bellingham and the Northwest Skate Collective now seeking community input on its conceptual design before progressing to a technical design phase. In July we looked at how this community-driven project began as a grassroots effort by local skaters transforming an overlooked space.

As it’s currently envisioned, 👇️ the new skatepark will convert the under-bridge area into a year-round, weather-protected space for skating, art, and music. Grindline’s design depicts a flowing, concrete park inspired by destinations like Boise’s Rhodes Skatepark and Portland’s Burnside. With a total budget capped at $3 million, the City and NSC have committed to splitting costs, with the City managing construction and NSC supporting ongoing maintenance and community engagement.

The community is invited to attend a Design Meeting tonight, November 17 at 6 pm at Depot Market Square. It’s an opportunity to meet the design team from Grindline, review early concepts, and share their vision for features and flow. If you’re unable to attend in person, an online design survey is open (but closes tonight, so jump on it 🛹).

Last week, the Whatcom Museum shared an extraordinary photo from their archives showing downtown Bellingham in the 1890s. It’s well worth clicking through to the full-size image to take in all the details. I spent a good hour zooming in on shop signs and hunting for familiar landmarks. 😁

“Photographer Beverly B. Dobbs captured this southward view from the tower of the New Whatcom City Hall around 1892. Downtown is still taking shape, with Sehome Hill rising in the distance. At the bottom right, the Reveille newspaper office and printing plant sit right in the middle of Prospect Street at Champion, holding down the corner in true frontier fashion. The triangle of land on the left, bordered by Bay Street, is where the Bellingham Bay Furniture Co. will later build its seven-story headquarters in 1907.”

Janicki Logging announced this week that Galbraith Tree Farm will temporarily close all public access from December 11–14, for wildlife management activities aimed at restoring ecological balance within the working forest. The closure will allow a small-scale, professionally managed bow hunt to address the growing deer population, which has begun to impact forest regrowth and native vegetation. “This is not recreational hunting—it’s part of a broader forest management strategy,” said owner Rob Janicki. Coordinated with the City of Bellingham and the Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition, the closure will be clearly marked at all trailheads, and recreational users are urged to respect the restrictions to ensure safety and support sustainable forest management.

🏙️ Civic Corner:

Monday
Bellingham City Council, 7 pm, agenda, watch online
Lynden City Council, 7 pm, City Annex Building
Waterfront skatepark open house, 6 pm, Depot Market Square  

Tuesday
Whatcom County Council, 6 pm, agenda, watch online
Port of Bellingham, Board of Commissioners, 4 pm, agenda, watch online

Wednesday
Open House Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan, 5:30 pm, Bloedel Donovan Park, Multi-purpose Room

Thursday
Planning Commission Meeting, 6:00 pm, watch online
Community Engagement Workshop for the Justice Project, 6 pm, Pioneer Pavilion Community Center

⛏️ Volunteer Opportunities This Week:

• Wednesday - Stream Team: Help Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) maintain older sites that need love. Meet at NSEA’s campus by 8 am and your group leader will shuttle everyone to the site. You can expect to be back to NSEA at 12 pm. Register.

• Saturday - Cornwall Park: Join the city in continued efforts to remove invasive Himalayan Blackberry and English Ivy. They will also be replanting with pollinator-friendly native trees and shrubs near Squalicum Creek. Register.

• Saturday - California Creek Estuary: Join the Land Trust, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, and Whatcom Conservation District to make a lasting impact by planting new trees and caring for last year’s plantings. Register.

• Sunday - WHS’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center: Join Whatcom Million Trees, this Sunday, as they continue work converting a 12-acre former hayfield into a complex forest of native trees and undergrowth! Register.

Food & Drink

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Performance Arts This Week

Dance of The Hamsters

LIVE ARTS & FILM

Uisce Irish Pub
Guffawingham (comedy) | Mon 9:00 pm

Mount Baker Theatre
Mrs. Doubtfire | Wed

iDiOM Theater
Twelfth Night | Thurs-Sat

New Prospect Theatre
Bellingham Improv Festival | Fri-Sat

Bellingham TheatreWorks
Bigfoot | Fri-Sun

WWU Performing Arts Center
A Streetcar Named Desire | Fri-Sat

BAAY Theatre
Ferdinand and the French Fry Factory | Sat, Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

PARTICIPATORY DANCE

Salsa & Bachata - Viking Union - Mon 7 pm
Bellingham Embodiment Collective - Majestic Ballroom - Mon 6:30 pm
Beginning 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
Int. Cuban Salsa - Cof& - Tues 7:15 pm
Tango Practica - The Majestic - Wed 6:30 pm
Flow Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
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

Feature an Event. Reach out.

FEATURED

The Diane Leigh Trio brings an afternoon of jazz, blues, and boogie to the FireHouse Arts & Events Center tonight, November 17, at 3:30 pm. Featuring Diane Leigh on vocals and piano, Jeff Reier on guitar, and Ray Wolpow on bass and vocals, the trio blends classic styles with originals for an easygoing, toe-tapping set. The event is free to attend, with cash donations welcome in support of the musicians.

Flutist Julin Cheung, Assistant Principal Flute and Piccolo of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, leads a free masterclass at Western Washington University’s Performing Arts Center tomorrow, November 18, at 6:30 pm. A Curtis Institute graduate and winner of the 2024 Maxence Larrieu International Flute Competition, Cheung brings international acclaim and experience performing with orchestras from Seattle to Switzerland. Open to all at no cost, the class offers an opportunity to learn from one of the Northwest’s most accomplished young musicians.

Lightnin’ Luke, Asa Menlove, and Spider Cult are bringing a mix of blues, folk, and country to The Shakedown on tomorrow, November 18, with doors opening at 7:30 pm and music at 8:00 pm. Known for his soulful vocals and fiery fiddle playing, Lightnin’ Luke has performed with acts like Bridge City Sinners and Tejon Street Corner Thieves, blending roots and raw energy into every set.

MONDAY

Art Off the Clock: A Group Exhibit by Library Staff, Deming Library – A multi-genre art exhibit featuring the creative works of Whatcom County Library System staff, showcasing paintings, mixed media, textiles, and ceramics. This exhibit opens today and runs through December 31 in the Deming Library Meeting Room and is sponsored by the Friends of the Deming Library.

Monday Music & Trivia →

TUESDAY

2025 United Way ALICE Breakfast, Silver Reef Casino Resort – Learn about the economic challenges facing Whatcom County households at this annual breakfast hosted by United Way. The event features insights from the latest ALICE Report (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) and includes a hot breakfast, coffee, and the “Impossible Choices” interactive financial hardship experience. Doors open at 7:30 am, with the program running from 8:00 to 9:00 am. Registration.

Tuesday Music & Trivia →

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Hakuna matata

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Have a great Monday!!