🐹 Slamming Buildings 🍏🍏

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. 📧

This weekend in Bellingham: energy-efficient buildings 🏡 and fermented apples 🍎. Tonight is Sustainable Connections’ annual Green Building Slam at the Wild Buffalo, followed tomorrow (Saturday) by Shifting Gears’ sixth annual Sippin’ on Cider Festival at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal.

The Green Building Slam starts at 5 pm tonight, Oct 16, with each speaker getting 10 slides and 10 minutes to explain a project or idea. This year’s lineup ranges from Whatcom County flood resilience and the Port of Seattle’s approach to sustainable capital projects to community solar, universal design, and the Swinomish Tribe’s work on solar, battery storage, and energy sovereignty. Local legislators Alex Ramel and Lisa Parshley will also talk about thermal energy networks, essentially shared systems that move heating and cooling between buildings instead of having every building produce its own. Tickets include dinner, and the whole thing is 21+.

Then it’s time to let loose at Sippin’ on Cider which runs from 2 to 7 pm at the Cruise Terminal, with Northwest cider producers including Lost Giants, Bellingham Cider Co., Terramar, Greenwood Cider, and Offset Cider Works pouring samples. There will also be live music from Veronica North, DJ Hundo, a hip-hop dance lesson, yard games, and pumpkin painting. General admission is $40 and includes eight drink tickets, with proceeds supporting Shifting Gears’ outdoor recreation programs for women in Whatcom and Skagit counties.

The WWU Biology Department and Entomology Club are opening up the university’s insect collection this Saturday afternoon, giving you a look at the largest public insect collection in Western Washington.

Among the specimens are Northern Giant Hornets from the first nest discovered in the U.S. here in Whatcom County, along with butterflies, beetles, pollinators, fossils dating back roughly 50 million years, and some of the region’s larger oddballs, including Giant Water Bugs, Green Darner dragonflies, and Western Giant Ichneumon wasps. It’s free, family-friendly, and runs from 1 to 4 pm in rooms 151 and 139 of Western’s Biology Building, with free parking available in Lot C.

LOCAL READS

Southern resident killer whales out, Bigg’s in, according to new data
By Margaret Baumgartner · Salish Current
Southern resident killer whales are appearing less often in Puget Sound while Bigg’s killer whales are showing up more frequently, including a record 320 Bigg’s sightings in August with no southern residents. Margaret reports that researchers are examining prey availability, vessel noise and shifting salmon runs to understand the change. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Is it already the 5th quarter for U.S. democracy?
By Ron Judd · The BellingHammer
A recent Bellingham discussion with historian Johann Neem centered on whether Americans are defending democracy or trying to recover norms already lost. Ron explains why he sees local news, civic trust and in-person participation as part of that larger democratic question. Read more →

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Saturday
Birchwood Park/Squalicum Park: Join Recreation Northwest Trails Coalition and its partners for trail stewardship near Birchwood Park and Squalicum Park. You will help care for the Bay to Baker Trail as part of the fall work parties. Register
Cordata Park: Join Bellingham Parks Volunteer Program at Cordata Park. You will remove invasive plants and plant native trees and shrubs near East Bear Creek to support riparian and meadow restoration and celebrate Orca Recovery Day. Register
Lower Kenny Creek: Join Whatcom Land Trust, Whatcom Conservation District, and Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association to plant native trees and shrubs that build a riparian buffer and support healthy Chinook salmon habitat. You will also mulch the plants and remove invasive species, helping improve conditions for the salmon that Southern Resident orcas depend on. Register

Sunday
Whatcom Humane Society Wildlife Rehab Center: Join Whatcom Million Trees Project to plant trees at the Whatcom Humane Society Wildlife Rehab Center. You will help continue a multi-year reforestation project on a 12-acre former hayfield and plant a future forest. Register

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

At the market this week: Crab Bellingham returns to the market now that the Puget Sound commercial crab fishery has started up again. Besides live crab, they will have frozen-at-sea tuna loins, bellies, and whole fish. Plus, Lummi Seafood Market is bringing in freshly-caught green sea urchin for all of you uni lovers!

7910 Birch Bay Drive #14, Blaine (Open Sun 12-2 pm)
This little Birch Bay condo may look simple from the outside, but someone took the time to make the interior of this two bed, one bath, sparkle. I have to imagine that the window to scoop up one of these sweet little costal homes at a reasonable price is soon to close. I know absolutely nothing about the real estate market, 🤣 but every time I think I might want to buy in a community the prices seem to double! This one looks like a score at the moment. Listing

3164 Chuckanut Drive, Bow (Open Sat 10:30 am-12 pm)
I’ve always wondered about the handful of houses nestled between Chuckanut Manor and the Chuckanut Drive bridge over Colony Creek. This home is one of those. Check out the photos on the listing. That view!! 🌊 Listing

Lucas Hicks Auditorium
Laughing Hamster Comedy Festival Finale (comedy) | Sat

Mainstage Theatre, Western Washington University
Masks Play III: Return of the Masks (theatre) | Fri, Sat, Sun

Mount Baker Theatre
Randy Rainbow: National Freakin' Treasure (comedy) | Fri

Mount Baker Theatre
Maria Bamford (comedy) | Sun

Bellingham Circus Guild
Vaudevillingham (circus) | Thu

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Ballroom, Latin and Swing - Cordata Senior Center - Fri 6:30 pm
Foundations: Hip Hop, House, Shuffle - Lost Giants - Fri 5:45 pm
Ballroom, Swing, Latin - The Majestic - Fri 6:30 pm
Square Dance - CTK Downtown (Norway Hall) - Sat 6 pm
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 5:30 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

Yogoman Burning Band performs at Bellingham Center for Spiritual Living on Friday, October 16, from 7 to 9 pm for the first fundraiser supporting DanceIn Schools. The new nonprofit plans to organize live dance music for school assemblies and events, with an emphasis on movement, creativity, wellness, and getting students away from screens for a while. The concert also doubles as a release night for Jordan Rain/Yogoman’s new song “I Am Free.” There are no formal tickets, with a suggested donation of $25 or more and no one turned away.

Joan Penney brings a five-piece jazz band to the FireHouse tonight, October 16, from 7 to 9 pm. Penney is joined by Cary Stevens on drums, John Anderson on saxophone, Simeon Billick on bass, Andy Carr on keys, and Jamie Findlay on guitar. The set moves through jazz standards, pop interpretations, and period jazz pieces, with Penney adding some of the stories behind the songs along the way. Tickets are $20.

Charlie Partin performs at The Thirsty Badger in Lynden tonight, October 16, from 8 to 10 pm. The Pacific Northwest-born singer-songwriter and combat veteran plays solo acoustic music, drawing on his own experiences for a straightforward, personal approach to songwriting. With just voice and guitar, the evening puts the focus on Partin’s stories and the perspective behind them.

Bar 211 hosts Seattle’s Girls N’ Roses on Saturday, October 17, for a 21+ tribute to one of rock’s most recognizable catalogs. Doors open at 8 pm and the show starts at 9. Rather than treating Guns N’ Roses as a costume piece, the group emphasizes the band’s swagger, energy, and personality while bringing its own style to the songs. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

Beets & Brews, Stemma West – A free family event from 4:30 to 7:30 pm celebrates Common Threads Farm’s new name, Project Beetroot, with live bluegrass, vegetarian burrito bowls, garden activities, a smoothie bike, and face painting.

Dungeons & Drag Queens, Wild Buffalo – Three drag queens play Dungeons & Dragons live at 9 pm, guided by comedian Dungeon Master Paul Curry and improvisational violinist Carson Cutter, with audience participation shaping the adventure.

Friday Music & Trivia →

Nightmare Runway: Halloween Fashion Show, The Blue Room – Local creature and SFX designer Kris Carroll presents a 9 pm runway show of horror-inspired characters, creatures, and theatrical fashion, with doors at 8 pm and $15 admission.

Shoulder Season Makers Market, Kulshan Roosevelt Taproom – More than 30 local makers, artists, creatives, and small businesses gather from 4 to 8 pm with fall goods, food, clothing, and self-care items, with participating sales supporting the Bellingham Food Bank.

Saturday Music & Trivia →

Come for the Drama: Dark Academia Wall Art, Whatcom Art Center – A 1:30 to 4:30 pm hands-on workshop with Harmony Thiessen Art guides ages 16+ through paper tearing, ink staining, stencil texture, and gold-leaf distressing to create a dimensional “Archivist’s Relic” wood-panel piece. Tickets

Movie Jeopardy, Sliced Restaurant – A free movie-themed trivia game from 6:30 to 9 pm covers films, quotes, and soundtracks on the bar and patio side.

Sunday Music & Trivia →

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