🐹 Quilted Brisket 🐄🐄

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

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

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

As someone with a few quilting enthusiasts in the extended family, and one quilting master who’s especially near and dear, I know how much passion my quilt people have for the subject. This one is for y’all. Ferndale quilter Megan Best is opening The Best Quilt Show Friday evening at It’s About Time Cultural Arts Center, with a collection of quilted and embroidered wall pieces ranging from colorful geometric designs to florals, animals, and nature studies. The opening reception runs from 4 to 7 p.m., with live music from Aiden Fay and a chance to meet Best herself.

Best has been at this for a while. She made her first quilt in high school, went on to earn degrees in apparel design and merchandising/textiles, owned a quilt shop, and built a career as a professional longarm quilter and teacher. She has taught at colleges, guilds, retail shops, and national and international machine-quilting shows, while winning ribbons for both computerized and free-motion work. Her own website now includes patterns and digital quilting designs alongside a gallery of finished pieces like this fabulous cow 👇 titled Brisket. 😂

The show stays up at It’s About Time Cultural Arts Center, 2013 Main Street in Ferndale, through Dec. 20, with gallery hours Friday through Sunday. Most of the pieces will also be available for purchase.

If you’ve ever caught a performance by The Rhythm Belles, then you know it’s an absolute blast. So much energy, so much sparkle, and rhythm! It’s an all-around good time. This Saturday, Bellingham’s vintage dance troupe is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an evening of dancing, live music, and performances at the Bellingham Circus Guild. The Yeti Chaser Trio will handle the jazz, the dance floor will be open for both solo and partner dancing, and the Belles will mix in routines throughout the night along with a special performance from the Chorus Girl Academy.

If your swing steps are rusty or entirely theoretical, there’s a dance lesson at 6 p.m. before the main event gets rolling at 6:30. Vintage cocktail attire from the 1920s through the 1950s is encouraged, with a best-dressed contest for those willing to commit to the bit. Tickets are $30, or $25 for students and seniors, and the party runs until 9:30 pm.

How rad is this. Bellingham author and historian Todd Warger has a new book, The Mountain Runners, digging into the nearly forgotten Mount Baker Marathons of 1911, 1912, and 1913. The races started in Bellingham and sent competitors all the way to the 10,781-foot summit of Mount Baker and back, through darkness, snowfields, glaciers, and brutal weather.

Only five of the original 14 runners finished the inaugural race, yet thousands of spectators turned out to watch. Warger’s book reconstructs the story through oral histories, correspondence, government and newspaper records, and other archival material. Warger will talk about the book this Saturday from 5 to 6 p.m. at Village Books in Lynden. Reserve a seat

LOCAL READS

After a successful run, the Bellingman hangs up the cape
By Naveen McDermott · The Front
WWU student Caleb Denver turned a homemade superhero costume into a 12,000-follower local phenomenon, complete with allies, villains, donations and community appearances before retiring the Bellingman persona Nov. 1. Naveen reports how the joke grew into a loose network of costumed characters using attention for local causes. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

RIP, myth of bigfoo
By Ron Judd · The BellingHammer
A new documentary presents previously unseen footage that it says was a rehearsal for the famous 1967 Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film, along with admissions from people tied to the production. Ron details how the revelations challenge a decades-old regional legend and the confirmation bias that helped sustain it. Read more →

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Friday
Kelsey Reserve: Join Whatcom Land Trust and Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association at Kelsey Reserve. You will plant native trees and shrubs, help with trail work and invasive species removal, and learn about the reserve's wetlands, forests, meadows, and streams. Register

Saturday
Cornwall Memorial Park: Join the City of Bellingham and Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) at Cornwall Memorial Park. You will plant native trees and shrubs and remove invasive weeds near Squalicum Creek to improve water quality, restore salmon habitat, and support the urban forest and wildlife habitat. Register

Sunday
Whatcom Humane Society Wildlife Rehab Center: Join Whatcom Million Trees Project to plant trees in a 12-acre former hayfield. You will help continue the site's multi-year reforestation project. Register

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

Legoe Bay Reefnetter returns with salmon and chips, halibut and chips, and chowder, while Slack Tide Fisheries will have fresh coho and keta salmon and Jean C Family Fisheries brings back larger black cod fillets. Fisherman Austin Behnke is also giving a free How to Fillet a Salmon demonstration at 11 am.

3019 Northwest Avenue (Open Fri 4-6 pm, Sat 12-2 pm )
I’ve become enamored with squat houses. There’s something so cozy and warm seeming about a low-slung roofline. Plus, if someone reopens the Village Inn (which they should!), you’d be just steps away! 😁 Listing

2120 Knox Avenue (Open Sun 11-1 pm)
Love this house. It’s has all the 1970’s vibe you could wish for and a location in the heart of Happy Valley. The remodeler in my is twitching with excitement for what could be done with this house. 🏠 Listing

WWU PAC Concert Hall
Adapted (film) | Fri

BAAY Theatre
High School Musical JR. (theatre) | Fri-Sun

New Prospect Theatre & The Upfront
Bellingham Improv Festival (comedy) | Fri-Sun

The StrongBox @ Dancing For Joy
Critters! (dance) | Sat, Sun

BAAY Theatre
Robin Hood (theatre) | Sat, Sun

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
About Face: Disrupting Ballet (film) | Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

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

Three Pacific Northwest singer-songwriters share the bill at Honey Moon tonight, November 6, from 8 to 10 pm. Portland-based Arran Fagan brings his introspective folk songs. Claire Conway pairs intimate guitar melodies with personal songwriting. Rounding out the evening is Bellingham's Hannah Wyatt, a classically trained violinist whose indie-folk music blends layered strings.

Singer-songwriter duo Rachel Gauthier and Lynna Hall perform at The Admiralty Lounge tonight, November 6, at 9 pm. The newly formed pair shares a love of vocal harmonies, folk music, and songs that explore heartache and personal experiences.

Pacific Northwest singer-songwriter Jeffrey Slough performs at The Admiralty Lounge on Sunday, November 8, from 6 to 8 pm, bringing a mix of Americana, folk-rock, and acoustic storytelling. A longtime traveler and performer, Slough has played throughout the United States and Europe, drawing songwriting inspiration from places he's visited and people he's met along the way.

Bellingham Chamber Chorale opens its 2026-27 season with Endure, a program exploring perseverance through choral music, at the Church of the Assumption on Saturday, November 7, at noon and Sunday, November 8, at 5 pm. Led by artistic director Frederick B. Mabalot, the program features works by J.S. Bach, Anton Bruckner, Edvard Grieg, Herbert Howells, and contemporary composers including Jake Runestad. Tickets

In The Flesh: Group Art Show, Make.Shift Underground Gallery – An exhibition featuring work by approximately 10 local chronically ill and gender-nonconforming artists explores the experience of living in a human body through textiles, pyrography, and ceramic sculpture, with a free opening reception from 6 to 9 pm.

The Nature of Becoming, Allied Arts of Whatcom County – A free opening reception from 6 to 9 pm introduces an exhibition exploring art, perception, and change through painting, fiber, mixed media, and glass by five artists, curated by Meredith Patten.

Friday Music & Trivia →

Salmon Sighting at Oyster Creek, Taylor Shellfish – The Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association and Skagit Fisheries host a salmon-watching event from 11 am to 2 pm, with staff available to explain the chum salmon spawning cycle and local habitat restoration efforts. Details

26th Annual Nordic Fest, Ferndale Events Center – The Daughters of Norway host a celebration of Scandinavian culture from 10 am to 4 pm, featuring live entertainment, Nordic gifts and crafts, a Scandinavian bakery, and the Norsk Kafe, with $5 admission and free entry for children under 13.

Action League of Bellingham Yule Boutique, Grace Center at Trinity Lutheran Church – A holiday market from 9 am to 2 pm features handcrafted gifts, decorations, vintage collectibles, soup mixes, and a 15-foot table of homemade sweets, with live music and proceeds supporting local community programs.

Saturday Music & Trivia →

It’s a quiet night.

Sunday Music & Trivia →

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