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. 📧

Meet Jenna, a gifted pie-maker searching for a fresh start in Waitress, the uplifting Broadway musical filled with heart, humor, and unforgettable music by Grammy Award winner Sara Bareilles.

With a story about friendship, courage, motherhood, and finding the strength to change your life, Waitress serves up plenty of laughs alongside its most emotional moments. Catch this acclaimed musical on the Mount Baker Theatre Main Stage for two nights only.

If you’re walking past the former Mindport building on Holly Street after sunset, take a look down the alley because there’s something something magical sounding there. The Coast Salish Living Mural that covers the alley-facing wall has been updated with projections bringing movement and light to the artwork after dark. Setting Sun Circle introduced the nighttime animation last month.

Artists Tsx’vilum Free Borsey, Xwesultun Raven Borsey, and De’sh’he’um Roy Nicol created the mural which sits near an original Lummi village site along Whatcom Creek. Look closely and you’ll find eagles, salmon, and orcas alongside reef nets and clam gardens, connecting the animals of the Salish Sea with Indigenous ways of fishing and tending its shores. The nighttime projections animate those stories across the painted surface.

The mural also offers a preview of what’s planned inside. Setting Sun Circle is developing the building into a cultural center scheduled to open in 2027, with a Coast Salish gallery, theater and performance space, film and podcast studios, and a 50-foot curved video wall.

Fellow cat people: the Whatcom Humane Society’s community pet food bank is running short on cat food! Over the weekend they posted a plea for donations of dry food, canned food, and litter. The program runs entirely on donations and helps people with limited incomes feed their pets.

If your furry food critic has rejected a perfectly good bag of kibble, this could be its second chance: opened bags are welcome as long as the food is unexpired and still in its original packaging. Prescription diets aren’t accepted. Donations can be dropped off at the shelter at 2172 Division Street, Tuesday through Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm, or the shelter’s Amazon and Chewy wishlists offer an alternative way to help, with supplies shipped directly to the shelter.

LOCAL READS

Rising mountain biking star Chloe Bear refuses to slow down
By Lukas Prinos · Salish Current
World-class racing and a full course load make for a busy life. Lukas Prinos catches up with Bellingham mountain biker and WWU student Chloe Bear as she works through a setback and looks toward next season. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Author Heidi Beierle Brings Slow Travel to Bellingham
By Kristin Noreen · WhatcomTalk
A cross-country bike ride can change your life, but so can a walk around the block. Kristin Noreen talks with Bellingham author Heidi Beierle about slowing down, noticing more and finding adventure close to home. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Monday
Blaine City Council, 6:00 pm, Blaine City Hall Council Chambers
Sumas City Council, 7:00 pm, Sumas City Council Chambers

Tuesday
What. Co. Council Finance & Administrative Services Committee, 9:00 am, County Courthouse
What. Co. Council Committee of the Whole, 2:00 pm, County Courthouse
Port of Bellingham Marina Advisory Committee, 3:00 pm, Harbor Center
Bham Historic Preservation Commission, 4:00 pm, City Hall
Whatcom County Council, 6:00 pm, County Courthouse
Bham Transportation Commission, 6:00 pm, Pacific Street Operations Center

Thursday
Whatcom County Public Health Advisory Board, 7:00 am, What. Co. Health Department & online
Port of Bellingham Bond Financing Public Hearing, 11:00 am, Harbor Center
Whatcom County Council Community Conversations, 4:30 pm, Stemma Brewing
Bham Community Development Advisory Board, 6:00 pm, City Hall
Ferndale Planning Commission, 6:00 pm, City Hall Annex & Council Chambers

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Wednesday
Galbraith Mountain, Straw (Pig 1) Trail: Join the Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition for trail building and maintenance. Register

Saturday
North Fork Nooksack River: Join the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association to restore streamside habitat by cutting back Himalayan blackberry and planting native trees along the river. Register
Lowell Park: Help Bellingham Parks, WWU’s Ecological Restoration Club & WWU’s L.E.A.D. program remove invasive plants from this green space near campus. Register
Galbraith Mountain, Swirlz Trail: Volunteer with the Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition to help maintain the trail. Register

Sunday
Jensen Family Forest Park: Help expand the park’s forest habitat by planting trees with the Whatcom Million Trees Project. Register

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

Mount Baker Theatre
Waitress (theatre) | Tue, Wed
Warren Miller’s Days Off (film) | Sun

Bellingham High School PAC
Never After Happily (theatre) | Thu, Fri, Sat

Blaine High School Black Box Theater
A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes (theatre) | Thu, Fri, Sat

BAAY Theatre
High School Musical JR. (theatre) | Fri, Sat, Sun
Robin Hood (theatre) | Sat, Sun

Sehome High School Theater
Hamlet (theatre) | Fri, Sat

Judson Hall
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (theatre) | Fri, Sat, Sun

Mount Baker High School
James and the Giant Peach (theatre) | Fri, Sat, Sun

New Prospect Theatre
Family Furniture (theatre) | Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun

Nooksack Valley High School
Much Ado About Nothing (theatre) | Fri, Sat

Squalicum High School Forum
Radium Girls (theatre) | Fri, Sat, Sun

Dancing for Joy, The StrongBox
CRITTERS! (dance) | Sat, Sun

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Rising Through the Fray (film) | Sun

The Cirque Lab
Vaudevillingham (circus) | Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Salsa & Bachata - Viking Union - Mon 7 pm
Bellingham Embodiment Collective - Majestic Ballroom - Mon 6:30 pm
Country Line Dancing - Wild Buffalo - Mon 6:30 pm
Contact Improv - Aikido Peace Education Center - Mon, class 5:30, jam 7 pm
Cuban Salsa - Cof& - Tues 6 pm
Taster Tuesdays (hip hop) - Lost Giants Cider Co - Tues 6 pm
Contemporary Dance - Aikido Dojo - 6:30 pm
B’ham Hop Swing - Hotel Leo - Wed 7 pm
Tango Practica - The Majestic - Wed 6:30 pm
Revolution Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
Square Dancing (Chuckanut Squares) - Bellingham Senior Center North - Thurs 6:30 pm
Dance for people with PD and other neurological conditions - Firehouse Arts Center - Thurs 11 am
Contra - CTK Downtown (Norway Hall) - Sat 7 pm
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 4:00 pm
Beginner Ballet - Karate Church - Sat 10 am
Beginner Contemporary - Karate Church - Sat 11:30 am
Dance Fusion - BSAC - 10:30 am
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Open Floor Conscious Dance - Bellingham Fitness - Sun 10:30 am

Violinist and multi-instrumentalist Ira Echo brings the Orca-Stra to the Odd Fellows Temple Room tomorrow, November 10, at 8 pm for an evening of live swing music and dancing. Echo's musical background spans jazz, classical, folk, and improvisation, shaped by years of performing and traveling internationally. Admission is $10 to $20, with no one turned away for lack of funds.

Nooksack Nordic Ski Club Meeting, Backcountry Essentials – A free meeting from 7 to 8:30 pm covers ski trails, work parties, trips, lessons and loaner gear, with a dessert social.

Movie Trilogy Mondays, Stones Throw Brewery – A free, all-ages screening of The Fellowship of the Ring runs from 6 to 9 pm, with popcorn included with a beverage.

Stemma Run Club, Stemma West – Runners of all paces meet at 6 pm for a choice of 3- or 6-mile routes.

Monday Music & Trivia →

Donna Miscolta in Conversation with Jane Wong, Village Books – Miscolta discusses Ofelia and Norma with Wong at 6:30 pm, with $5 tickets.

Brews & Board Games, Stones Throw Brewery – A free, all-ages game night runs from 6 to 8 pm, with a group game and prize at 7:30 pm.

Trivia Night at Sunnyland, Kulshan Brewing – Teams of up to six compete for cash prizes from 6 to 8 pm, with a $2 entry fee per person.

Trivia Tuesday, Penny Farthing at Chuckanut Bay Distillery – A free trivia night runs from 7 to 9 pm.

Karaoke Night, Schweinhaus Biergarten – Paige hosts a free night of karaoke from 8:30 to 11 pm.

Tuesday Music & Trivia →

Advertise in Bham’s #1 Newsletter
Email me to include a note in The Wheel

Thanks for reading today’s edition. If you found something helpful, please share it with a friend and encourage them to click here to subscribe. 🙏

Reply to this email if you have news to share, an event you’d like me to know about, or to send me a love note. 💘