🐹 Seasonal Blooms 💐💐

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

Fellow fungi spotters, are you seeing what I’m seeing? Spring mushrooms are flushing in gardens and lawns around town. 😁 Submit a photo if you spot anything beautiful or unusual!

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

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

If you can slip away for a few minutes, this morning is an opportunity to fill your home or office with locally grown cut spring flowers brought to you by the growers and designers from the North Sound Flower Cooperative who host a flower market each Wednesday at the Ohio Street Work Studio.

From 9:00 am until noon today, growers like Annika McIntosh, Emily Hazlip-Haese, Nicole Huson, Lorraine Sullivan, and others, will offer seasonal blooms directly from their regional farms.

The cooperative is focused on building a sustainable marketplace for cut flowers in the region with the mission of connecting more people with local blooms. You can stop by the market today (and every Wednesday through September) to snag some flowers, or prepare for the week ahead by preordering on the Rooted Farmers website.

Based on the latest update from WSDOT, crews are working on final clearing, and reestablishing drainage at the site of the March slide.

They remain “on track to reopen both lanes by 5a Thurs (4/16), pending a final inspection of the slope.”

LOCAL READS

Lynden High School’s Blair Dowdy Helped Capture the First-Ever Flag Football State Title
By Tony Moceri · WhatcomTalk
Lynden High School junior Blair Dowdy helped lead her team to an undefeated 18–0 season and the first-ever Washington state girls flag football championship after the sport was officially sanctioned in 2025. Tony reports that many players were new to football and adapted quickly, building on years of competing together in other sports. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

After pandemic hiatus, Cub Scouts eyes return to Blaine
By Nolan Baker · The Northern Light
A new Cub Scout pack may launch in Blaine this April after the local chapter shut down during the pandemic, part of a broader nationwide effort to rebuild scouting programs. Nolan reports that organizers are partnering with the Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District to host a kickoff event and recruit families. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Wednesday
Ferndale City Council, 8:00 am, City Hall
Ferndale Planning Commission, 6:00 pm, City Hall
Bellingham Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission, 6:30 pm, City Hall, agenda

Thursday
WTA Board, 8:00 am, WTA's offices
Bellingham Planning Commission, 6:00 pm, City Council Chambers, agenda

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Saturday
Happy Valley Park: Connelly Creek, which runs through this neighborhood park and flows into Padden Creek, needs help! Join the city to remove harmful invasive vegetation and spread some mulch to improve riparian habitat. Register to participate
Lower Kenney Creek: Join Whatcom Land Trust, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA), and Whatcom Conservation District to protect and enhance critical salmon habitat along Kenney Creek, where the creek meets the North Fork of the Nooksack River. Register to participate
Jensen Family Forest Park: Join Whatcom Million Trees Project to maintain the 23-acre multi-generational Jensen family property held under a conservation easement by WLT and Whatcom Parks. Register to attend

iDiOM Theatre
All Our Tragic (theatre) | Multiple

Bellingham Circus Guild
Vaudevillingham (circus) | Wed

Firehouse Arts & Events Center
Trail Running Film Festival (film) | Wed

Bellingham Theatre Guild
Kodachrome (theatre) | Thurs-Sun

Jansen Art Center
Swept Away (musical theatre) | Thurs-Sun

Mount Baker Theatre
Alice (theatre) | Fri

New Prospect Theatre
The Importance of Being Earnest (theatre) | Fri

Firehouse Arts & Events Center
Bellingham Repertory Dance - Hindsight (dance) | Fri-Sun

WWU DUG Theater
Failure: A Love Story (theatre) | Fri-Sun

BAAY
Seussical JR (theatre) | Fri-Sun

New Prospect Theatre
O Pole Spring Showcase (dance) | Sat

Bellingham TheatreWorks @ The Upfront
New Play Cafe (theatre) | Sat-Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Tango Practica - The Majestic - Wed 6:30 pm
Revolution Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
Potluck & Square Dance - CTK Downtown - Sat 6:00 pm
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Open Floor Conscious Dance - Bellingham Fitness - Sunday 10:30 am

An evening of smooth, vibrant sounds with jazz and jazz-fusion from Sam Harris. Performing a mix of timeless jazz standards, creative covers, and original compositions, their piano and bass set brings a rich, soulful energy to Stones Throw from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Tomorrow evening, April 16 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Aslan Depot it’s Give a Shuck. Live music on the patio with Aslan beer flights and 3 curated, fresh oysters from Queen Tide Raw Bar.

Since his earliest infatuations with guitar, Buffalo Nichols has asked himself the same question: How can I bring the blues of the past into the future? After cutting his teeth between a Baptist churchand bars in Milwaukee, it was a globetrotting trip through West Africa and Europe during a creative down period that began to reveal the answer. He plays The Shakedown tonight, April 15, at 8:00 pm.

Brewer’s Night Benefiting Max Higbee Center, Kulshan Brewing Sunnyland Taproom – A 4 to 7 pm community event featuring guest taps from Boundary Bay and Kulshan, with brewers on site and a portion of sales supporting the Max Higbee Center.

Wednesday Music & Trivia →

Native Plant Walk in Arroyo Park, North Chuckanut Trailhead Parking Lot – A 6 pm to dusk guided walk through mixed forest, wetland, and riparian habitats focusing on identifying native plants and understanding local microclimates.

Tide Talks Speaker Series, The Wheelhouse – A 6:30 to 7:30 pm talk featuring Kolby LaBree on the history of Harris Bay, with local maritime stories, audience Q and A, and community discussion. Register

Thursday Music & Trivia →

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