🐹 Spirited Garden 🌷🌷

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

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

Puzzlers: A new game section is in the works. The first games are three daily Sudoku puzzles that range from easy to hard. I’m still debugging the solver-based difficulty validation and I need your feedback. Try solving a Sudoku and let me know how it goes.

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

The Whatcom Horticultural Society hosts Oregon photographer Doreen Wynja at the Whatcom Museum tomorrow, May 21, for an evening presentation focused on her new book, The Spirited Garden: Creative Private Retreats. The lecture begins at 7 pm, featuring photographs and stories from 17 distinctive gardens across the Pacific Northwest, stretching from the Willamette Valley to the Salish Sea.

Wynja has spent more than two decades photographing plants, landscapes, and private gardens, developing a reputation for images that capture not only the design of a space but also its atmosphere and personality. Her work has appeared in publications including Garden Design, Fine Gardening, and Landscape Architecture, and she has collaborates extensively with nurseries, garden designers, and artists throughout the region.

Co-written with garden writer Lorene Edwards Forkner and published by Rizzoli earlier this year, The Spirited Garden explores the ways gardeners shape outdoor spaces into places of refuge, creativity, and expression. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event. Tickets are $10 for society members and $15 for the general public.

This one looks really cool to me. ✨ Lucy Ritter, a student at Western majoring in Marine and Coastal Science, has been working as the bioluminescence intern at the Community Boating Center. Tomorrow at 6:30 pm, she’s presenting a introductory talk about marine bioluminescence, with a focus on examples of bioluminescence found here in the Salish Sea.

“Bioluminescence, the production of light by a living organism, has been observed across a diverse range of species around the world. Marine bioluminescence in particular has a remarkably widespread distribution, and is used by many different types of organisms, from microscopic plankton to deep-sea sharks and squid. “

Check out this sweet video about Lucy, and bioluminescence in Bellingham Bay. 👆 Then book a seat for the full presentation here.

The Springtime Friends of the Bellingham Public Library Book Sale starts today and runs through Saturday.

Most books are $2, with all genres available. Books are full price today and tomorrow, then half-price on Friday and $5/bag on Saturday. The sale it in it’s normal location in the Central Library Lecture Room across from the children’s section downtown.

LOCAL READS

Sustainably Stylish
By Elena Delgado · The Front
Two Bellingham businesses, Madrona Wear and Worn Again Thrift, are helping reduce textile waste through clothing repair, resale, and sewing workshops that encourage reuse over fast fashion. Elena reports that Madrona Wear alone estimates it has kept more than 7,000 pounds of clothing out of landfills in the past year. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Post Point incinerator upgrades spark backlash from environmentalists
By Ethan Hunting · The Front
Planned $40 million upgrades to the Post Point wastewater incinerators have intensified debate in Bellingham over how sewage sludge should be managed in the future. Ethan reports that environmental advocates are urging the city to pursue alternatives like temporary landfilling or gasification technology instead of continuing incineration. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Wednesday
Downtown Neighborhood Meeting with Mayor Lund, 6:30 pm, Structures Brewing
Whatcom County Council Community Conversations, 6:00 pm, Birch Bay Community Bible Church

Thursday
Bellingham Planning Commission, 6:00 pm, City Council Chambers
Meet-A-Truck, 1:00 pm, Downtown Library
WTA Board Meeting, 8:00 am, WTA's office

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Wednesday
Sven Hoyt Community Garden: Help the city tend to community spaces at Sven Hoyt Community Garden. Register
Stream Team: Help Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) maintain older sites that need love. Meet at NSEA’s campus by 8 am and your group leader will shuttle everyone to the site. You can expect to be back to NSEA at 12 pm. Register

Bellingham Christian School
Little Women: The Musical (theatre) | Thurs, Fri

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Ha Ha Da Vinci (theatre) | Fri

Sehome High School
Anything Goes (theatre) | Fri-Sun

BAAY
Honk! Jr. (theatre) | Fri-Sun

iDiOM Theatre
All Our Tragic (theatre) | Sat, Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Tango Practica - The Majestic - Wed 6:30 pm
Revolution Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
Ballroom, Swing, Latin - The Majestic - Fri 6:30 pm
Foundations: Hip Hop, House, Shuffle - Lost Giants Cider Co. - Fri 6 pm
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 7:30 pm
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Belly Dance - Karate Church - Sun 1 pm
Open Floor Conscious Dance - Bellingham Fitness - Sunday 10:30 am

Jazz vocalist Linnea DeVange comes to Honey Moon Mead & Cider tomorrow, May 21, from 8 to 10 pm. Known for performances at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and JazzAscona in Switzerland, DeVange brings a wide-ranging background in live jazz performance.

The 4TENS Band performs at Zeeks Pizza Bellingham tomorrow, May 21, from 7 to 9 pm. Made up of local Bellingham musicians, the group plays a mix of classic rock party songs.

Roots & Rivers, a benefit fundraiser for RE Sources, is at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal tonight from 6 to 8:30 pm. The evening centers on clean water and environmental stewardship in Northwest Washington, with storytelling from Healing Through Hope and Nooksack community members alongside live music, small plates, drinks, and dessert. Tickets

Backpacking Basics with Her Backpacking Prep, Backcountry Essentials – A free 7 pm workshop introduces backpacking basics, from gear and trail preparation to planning an overnighter, with guidance from local outdoor educator Kate of Her Backpacking Prep. Register

Wednesday Music & Trivia →

Native Plant Identification Workshop, NSEA Campus – A free family-friendly workshop from 3:30 to 4:30 pm introduces native plants of Whatcom County and their role in supporting healthy salmon habitat, followed by a plant identification scavenger hunt. RSVP

Paint it Forward, COMPASS Real Estate Office – A creative community fundraiser from 6 to 8 pm features a collaborative round-robin painting experience with curated drinks, light snacks, and take-home artwork, with proceeds supporting Blue Skies for Children. Register

Thursday Happy Hour Jazz with Cheryl Hodge, Hotel Leo – Cheryl Hodge brings live jazz to Hotel Leo every Thursday from 4 to 6 pm.

Introduction to Watercolors: Night Skies with Annika Sheck, The Lightcatcher Studio – A 5 to 8 pm watercolor workshop for adults of all skill levels covers techniques like wet-on-wet painting, gradient blending, silhouettes, and splatter effects while creating two night sky landscapes. Signup

Thursday Music & Trivia →

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