🐹 SS Gem State 🚢🚢

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

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

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A couple of South Hill readers sent me notes about an interesting ship arriving at the newly updated Bellingham Shipping Terminal this week, so down the rabbit hole I went. The SS Gem State is a 669-foot, steam-powered crane ship launched in 1965 as the President Monroe 👇 for American President Lines. It spent its early years hauling commercial cargo, then came back to Puget Sound in 1972, when Todd Shipyard in Seattle lengthened it by about 105 feet and converted it into a container ship.

The federal government eventually acquired the ship, renamed it Gem State in 1985, and converted it into an auxiliary crane ship with six 30-ton cranes arranged in three pairs. The idea behind these ships is pretty slick: they can pull alongside a commercial cargo vessel and unload containers even when a port has no working cranes, which makes them useful at undeveloped ports. Gem State was activated in 1991 following Operation Desert Storm and spent 136 days helping move military equipment, ammunition, and supplies out of the Middle East.

The Port says Gem State will stay in Bellingham for about a month before heading to Everett for dry dock work and painting, and its visit is giving the terminal’s upgraded shore-power system an early workout. That system lets docked ships shut down onboard generators and plug into the local electrical grid instead.

The Bellingham City Club has posted video from the second of its recent election forums, so if you missed the Sept. 23 gathering, you can now catch up from home. The forum includes candidates for 42nd Legislative District Representative Position 2, Joe Timmons and Justin Pike, along with Whatcom County prosecuting attorney candidates Ryan Swinburnson and Jesse Corkern.

The program also includes 42nd District State Senate candidate Michael Shepard. Erika Creydt did not attend. If you’re like me, and still sorting through the local races before ballots arrive, the full forum is a useful way to hear the candidates answer questions in their own words.

Tonight’s Birchwood Garden Club sounds like a fun one. Alison Kutz, founder of Bellingham’s Sound Horticulture, will talk about managing pests by building more biodiversity into the garden, including habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and bats. Kutz has been working with biological pest controls for decades, beginning with beneficial insects while running a Bellingham nursery and later founding Sound Horticulture in 2000 to help growers reduce their reliance on synthetic pesticides.

Her talk, Natural Pest Management Through Biodiversity in the PNW Garden, starts at 7 pm tonight, Oct. 7, in the Rotunda Room at Whatcom Museum’s Old City Hall. The meeting is free, and doors open at 6:30 pm.

LOCAL READS

Breaking Skin and the Status Quo
By Peyton Perdue · Klipsun Magazine
Bellingham’s underground tattoo scene runs through home studios, Instagram DMs, trades and informal referrals, with artists often tattooing one another and sharing clients. Peyton reports how that loose network supports independent artists whose work moves between illustration, fashion, painting and permanent ink. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Four Decades of Whatcom Land Trust and Whatcom County Working Together
By Claire Johnston · Whatcom Watch
Whatcom County has renamed Canyon Lake Community Forest’s main trail for conservationist Rand Jack, whose work helped protect nearly 20,000 acres, including the forest’s 1,000-year-old trees. Claire details how the Land Trust and county have spent four decades turning negotiated conservation deals into public parks and nature reserves. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Wednesday
Port of Bham Marina Advisory Committee (MAC), 3:00 pm, Harbor Center
Whatcom County Community Conversations, 5:00 pm, Bellingham Covenant Church

Thursday
Whatcom Co. Planning Commission, 6:00 pm, Northwest Annex

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Wednesday
Bellingham: Join NSEA to help maintain older restoration sites. You will remove blue tubes and cages that once protected newly planted trees and shrubs from animals and maintenance equipment. Register

Saturday
Terrell Creek: Join NSEA and the Whatcom Conservation District to clear invasive blackberry along Terrell Creek at a long-term restoration site. You will help restore stream habitat that supports local salmon and wildlife. Register
Big Rock Garden Park: Join the Bellingham Parks Volunteer Program and Friends of Big Rock Garden Park to clean sculptures and tidy this Bellingham park. You can help care for the grounds in a family-friendly work party. Details

Sunday
Whatcom Humane Society: Join Whatcom Million Trees Project to finish planting trees at the Whatcom Humane Society dog-walking field. You will help prepare the seedlings for winter as part of the planting project. Register
King Mountain Victory Garden: Join Bellingham Parks Community Gardens at King Mountain Victory Garden. You will gather final harvests, prepare garden beds for winter, and plant cover crop to grow food for the Bellingham Food Bank. Register

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
2026 Laughing Hamster Comedy Festival Opening Night (comedy) | Thu

Silver Reef Casino
Howie Mandel (comedy) | Fri

Wander Brewing
Cara Roselinni (comedy) | Fri

New Prospect Theatre
I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire (theatre) | Fri, Sat, Sun

Mount Baker Theatre
An Evening with Peter Sagal (theatre) | Fri, Sat, Sun

WinkWink
The Rocky Horror Picture Show! (theatre) | Fri, Sat, Sun

Mercato Delle Bonta
Scott Losse (comedy) | Sat

Aslan Depot
Lynette Manning (comedy) | Sun

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Breaking Form (film) | Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

B’ham Hop Swing - Hotel Leo - Wed 7 pm
Tango Practica - The Majestic - Wed 6:30 pm
Intermediate Hip Hop - Lost Giants - Wed 6 pm
Contemporary Dance - Aikido Dojo - 6:30 pm
Revolution Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
Dance for people with PD and other neurological conditions - Firehouse Arts Center - Thurs 11 am
Foundations: Hip Hop, House, Shuffle - Lost Giants - Fri 5:45 pm
Contra - CTK Downtown (Norway Hall) - Sat 7 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

Pianist Milica Jelača Jovanović opens Bellingham Music Club’s 2026–27 Classical Crossroads season at First Congregational Church with two performances: a free one-hour matinee today, October 7, at 10:30 am and a full-length Night Beat concert on Friday, October 9, at 7:30 pm. Her Romantic Masterpieces for the Piano program includes works by Scriabin, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff, alongside music by Clara Wieck, Florence Price, and contemporary Serbian composers.

The Lynden Music Festival presents An Evening with Strings at the Jansen Art Center on Thursday, October 8, from 5 to 7:30 pm. The Patio Players String Quartet will provide welcome music downstairs while refreshments are served, followed by the Nicolenco String Trio, siblings Alina, Elise, and Lukas Nicolenco on violin, violin, and cello. Details

Dogwood and Natural & The Bellfounders share the Oddfellows Temple Room tomorrow, October 8, with music starting at 7:30. Both bands come out of Bellingham’s folk and Americana scene, with Dogwood drawing from old-time and contemporary country and The Bellfounders building around Natural Israel’s songwriting, fiddle, harmonies, bass, and percussion.

Jam Night, The Blue Room – A free open mic-style jam session from 8 to 11 pm gives musicians of all experience levels a professional stage, full backline, and dedicated sound engineer, with sign-ups from 7 to 8 pm.

Trivia, Kulshan Brewing Roosevelt Taproom – Weekly trivia runs from 7 to 9 pm with teams of up to six, a $2 buy-in per person, cash prizes, and rotating themed rounds.

Trivia Night, Schweinhaus Biergarten – Weekly trivia from 7 to 9 pm features teams of up to six, a $2 buy-in per player, food prizes each round, and a cash pot for the top-scoring team.

Wednesday Music & Trivia →

Kim Richey, Mount Baker Theatre – The veteran singer-songwriter performs at 7:30 pm with songs from her three-decade Americana career and 2024 album Every New Beginning. Tickets

Trivia, Stones Throw Brewery – Weekly trivia runs from 7 to 9 pm with a $2 buy-in, teams of up to four, and a category clue posted before each game.

Thursday Happy Hour Jazz with Cheryl Hodge, Hotel Leo – Free live jazz from 4 to 6 pm with pianist and vocalist Cheryl Hodge during Hotel Leo’s weekly happy hour.

Thursday Music & Trivia →

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