🐹 Race The Tide 🏰🏰

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. 📧

Besides it being the best time of year to be a kid, (no school, sunshine, and sleepaway camps) the city of Bellingham has two additional events this weekend to top off the fun quota.

Bring the whole family down to Lee Memorial Park (the big lawn behind the Central Library) on Saturday, August 1, between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm for a Children’s Craft Fair. You’ll find 50 young entrepreneurs at booths selling hand made crafts for under $5. Bring small bills as it’s a cash-only affair.

Also on Saturday, August 1, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, the city is hosting the 2026 Kids Fest at the Civic Stadium. There will be games, live entertainment, and creative workshops. Plus, there will be informational booths about children’s programs and services from all around Whatcom County.

I got an exciting note this week from Frank Catalano, who recently left Cascadia Daily News as a business contributor and columnist. Frank has decided to forge his own path by starting a local newsletter called Franksplaining Business. And it’s SO GOOD!

As of my writing this, there are two editions posted. In the first, Frank delves into the challenges facing our sweet little BLI airport, reviews trends in local home prices, and recaps some of the messiness in our local news landscape. The most recent edition compares B’ham office vacancy rates with those of larger Puget Sound cities.

Reading Frank’s newsletter reminded me to hunt down another newsletter I’d heard had recently launched. This one is by former CDN executive editor Ron Judd, who wrote my favorite Bellingham commentary in his The Hammer column. Luckily for us, his smart, witty, and always hilarious take on local happenings is back as The BellingHammer. 😁

Be sure to subscribe to both publications!

https://franksplaining.substack.com/
https://ronjudd.substack.com/

Birch Bay’s annual Sand Sculpture Competition returns on Saturday, August 1, turning the exposed shoreline at Birch Bay Beach Park into a temporary gallery of castles, creatures, and whatever else teams can shape before the tide comes back in. The free event is open to all ages and skill levels, with both individuals and groups working against the clock.

Day-of registration opens at 9:00 am with building beginning when the tide allows around 10:30 am, so bring friends and family to build your own sand sculpture. Judging is expected to start around 2:00 pm, though the schedule may shift with the tides. Spectators are welcome to watch the work take shape throughout the day.

Checkout some of last year’s rad creations in this video produced by the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce. 👇

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Friday-Sunday
Olsen Creek: Join the Washington Trails Association as they develop this multi-use recreation opportunity just outside of Bellingham. Part of the Baker to Bellingham Recreation Plan adopted in 2018, this will be the first sanctioned non motorized recreation in Whatcom County on DNR managed lands. Resister

427 N. Garden St (Fri-Sun 10 am)
This one sounds promising. It’s a downsizing sale from the former owners of a La Conner Vintage & Antiques store. She is a gourmet chef. He is an avid sportsman. Something for everyone!

The Bellingham Dockside Market is open tomorrow (Saturday), from 10 am to 2 pm at GATE 5 in Squalicum Harbor.

They are pairing fresh seafood with the fourth annual Dog Days of Dockside this weekend. Jean C Family Fisheries will bring in groundfish aboard the F/V Last Chance, while Brigadoon Service Dogs will be on hand to introduce some of their dogs and share more about their work in the region. Bring your own pup for a photo and small prize, or stop by the craft table to make a dog-themed shell keepsake.

4821 Lookout Avenue (Open Fri 1-3 pm)
This house is painted my favorite exterior home color. It’s that blue of the Puget Sound when the sun first peeks out on a cloudy fall day. Also, this home’s a beauty, and deceptively big at 2600 square feet! Listing

1371 W Axton Road, Ferndale (Open Fri 4-6 pm)
Check out the wrap around balconies on this gorgeous c1900 Victorian country home. Whomever did the restorations on this home put a lot of love and attention into their work. It’s a showpiece. Listing

Agnes of God (theatre) | Thurs-Sun

FHS Performing Arts Center
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (theatre) | Thurs-Sat

BAAY
Exorcism Gone Awry (theatre) | Fri & Sat

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 7:30 pm
Beginner Ballet - Karate Church - Sat 10 am
Beginner Contemporary - Karate Church - Sat 11:30 am
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Open Floor Conscious Dance - Bellingham Fitness - Sun 10:30 am

Bellingham singer-songwriter Veronica North takes the Boulevard Park Stage tonight, July 31, from 6 to 8 pm for the Boulevard Park Concert. North has released two albums and an EP, building her work around candid lyrics, reflection, and narrative songwriting.

Joe Whitney & The StreetLIVE Family perform at Station 49 in Blaine on Friday, July 31, at 6 pm. The group blends funk, soul, and rock with tightly arranged ensemble playing shaped by more than 1,500 international performances.

Trackside Beer Garden hosts the fifth Acid Ball Psych Fest on Saturday, August 1, from 5 to 11 pm. Death Valley Girls headline a five-band bill that also includes Black Ends, Mega Cat, Denim Genie, and Checker Bloom.

Laughs at Larrabee Comedy Night, Larrabee Lager Company – Seattle stand-up comic Richard Bowen performs from 8 to 9:30 pm, bringing rapid-fire wordplay, one-liners, and absurdist material to a show hosted by Zack Gene and Venus Comedy.

Enter Project Cazimi, Allied Arts – Project Cazimi shares its vision for a waterfront amphitheater from 6 to 9 pm, with a DJ set by Cory of Ritual Records, zero-proof cocktails from Bloomhaven Bottle Shop, and pizza from Tam Tam Pizza.

Victoria HarbourCats vs. Bellingham Bells, Joe Martin Field – First pitch is at 6:35 pm, with Youthnet receiving $3 per ticket purchased through its fundraiser link.

Friday Music & Trivia →

Bigfoot Festival, Maple Falls – A free arts and crafts fundraiser from 9 am to 4 pm features more than 60 local vendors, food trucks, live music, a beer garden, root beer floats, and Bigfoot bingo, with proceeds supporting Maple Falls Park.

Creative Corner Artisan Market, Railroad Avenue and East Chestnut Street – A free market from 10 am to 2 pm features locally made jewelry, vintage clothing, loose-leaf tea, body care products, resin and glass art, and original paintings.

Texwech Tayeawlh: The Canoe Race to Eliza Island, Lummi Stommish Grounds – The Bellingham Bay Outrigger Paddlers is hosting an outrigger canoe race that begins at 9:30 am with a five-mile novice and youth course, followed by 14-mile women’s, coed, and men’s races around Eliza Island, with awards around 3:30 pm.

Lummi Island Saturday Market, Nugent Road – A free market from 10 am to 2 pm features produce, plant starts, baked goods, pottery, jewelry, quilts, paintings, live music, and activities for children.

Flower Crowns with Lacey, El Sueñito Brewing – A hands-on workshop at 3 or 5 pm includes instruction and materials for making a fresh flower crown. Tickets priced at $30.

Books and Brews Book Sale, Wander Brewing – A pop-up sale from noon to 5 pm offers fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, cookbooks, puzzles, games, and books for all ages, with proceeds supporting the Bellingham Central Library renovation.

Open Barn, Blossom Farm (379 W Wiser Lake Rd) – An indoor animal visit from noon to 4 pm features runner ducks, turkeys, a miniature zebu, kittens, piglets, and bunnies, with some available for holding and photos.

Saturday Music & Trivia →

Naked in the Now Workshop with Marijke McCandless, Village Books – Author and mindfulness coach Marijke McCandless leads a mini writing workshop from 2 to 3 pm focused on fast, unedited writing, sharing, and listening, with a $5 ticket that includes a $5 voucher.

Rollback Weekend Car Show, Birch Bay Beach Park – Classic, custom, and vintage vehicles are on display from 10 am to 4 pm, with a beer garden, food trucks, live music by Category 5 from noon to 3 pm, an awards ceremony, and a closing cruise along Birch Bay Drive.

Sunday Music & Trivia →

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