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

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

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Celebrate 20 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Mount Baker Theatre with a Halloween tradition that has grown into a full Main Stage spectacle. Bellingham’s boldest shadow cast brings the cult classic to life alongside the film, with costumes, callbacks, and plenty of audience participation.

This anniversary screening also pays tribute to Tim Curry, with cast members dressed as characters from across his legendary career. Fishnets are encouraged, participation is part of the fun, and first-timers are welcome to join the mayhem.

There are gobs of fabulous and fun Halloween shenanigans transpiring this weekend. Far too many for this simple newsletter to cover, so I picked a few that looked especially fun to me. 😁

Tonight, Oct 30, BAAY (Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth) is unleashing its annual Zombie Dance 👆 from 6 to 8 pm, with groups of undead students performing “their haunting dance number” on rotation for two hours! 🤯 Admission is by donation, with proceeds supporting BAAY’s student financial aid fund. They’re also opening the haunted theater lobby for a no-scare visit and candy during Downtown Trick-or-Treat from 4 to 6.

This Saturday morning, the Bellingham Farmers Market gets spooky with trick-or-treating and a Great Pumpkin Hunt from 10 am to 2 pm. Pumpkins from Alluvial Farms will be hidden around the market, and if you find one, you get to take it home for free. Costumes are encouraged, which should make the usual hunt for local sundries more entertaining.

And if your ideal Halloween leans more mushroom than monster, Wild Whatcom’s Fungus Among Us field trip runs from 10 am to noon at Lake Padden. Naturalists from Wild Whatcom and mushroom experts Pam Borso and Fred Rhoades will cover basic fungi biology, identification, and responsible foraging before heading onto the trail to see what is popping up. It’s pay-what-you-can, family-friendly, and mushroom-themed costumes apparently earn extra candy, a strong incentive to make that Amanita muscaria hat. 🍄

A heads-up if Sehome Arboretum is part of your usual walking route. Next week, City Urban Forestry and Washington Conservation Corps crews will remove about an acre of invasive Siberian elms along Arboretum Drive. The trees spread aggressively and crowd out native plants, so crews are taking out the mature patch before it produces another round of seedlings next spring.

Arboretum Drive and nearby trails will be closed Nov. 2-5 and again Nov. 9-12 while the work is underway. Afterward, crews and volunteers will begin restoring the area with native trees, shrubs, and pollinator plants, while continuing to clear English ivy over the next few seasons.

If you’re a cat person like me, this one may perk your interest. If you’re a dog person… meh, go play fetch. 😉 Spray Neuter Northwest is starting a large scale spay/neuter effort in Whatcom County with the goal of treating 100 or more feral cats.

“ALL cats will be spayed/neutered, ear tipped, vaccinated for rabies, dewormed, provided a dose of Selamectin, and any necessary medical care,” but what really caught my eye was that kittens 👆 will be transferred into foster homes. If this is something you might be interested in you can follow the Whatcom Feline Alliance which is facilitating the placements. It looks like the first batch of kittens have already arrived. 😻

LOCAL READS

WWU grad student goes off the beaten path to classify Whatcom County’s legacy forests
By Jennifer Nerad · WWU News
WWU graduate student Finley Bell is surveying 44 DNR forest plots in Whatcom County to determine which are structurally complex enough to prioritize for conservation and which remain suitable for timber harvest. Jennifer details how tree measurements, core samples and LiDAR data are helping ground-truth state forest maps. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Samish Crest fires raise concerns about prevention in urban-adjacent woods
By Bodey Mitchell · Salish Current
A Samish Crest hiker recently found a still-burning campfire beside plastic chairs and called 911, prompting firefighters to hike in and extinguish it. Bodey details how embers, dry fuels and uphill terrain can increase wildfire risk in neighborhoods where homes and wooded slopes sit close together. Read more →

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Saturday
Cedar Creek: Join NSEA and the Whatcom Conservation District to remove invasive blackberry and replace it with native trees and shrubs along Cedar Creek. This creek runs through Cedar Creek Park and is a tributary of the Nooksack River. Register
Bay to Baker Trail (Sunset Pond): Join Bellingham Parks Volunteer Program and Recreation Northwest Trails Coalition to steward the Bay to Baker Trail corridor. You will help with ecological restoration, habitat restoration, invasive species removal, litter pickup, and planting at Sunset Pond. Register
Galbraith Mountain: Join Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition to build and maintain the Devilcross Traverse trail. You will help keep the trail in working order. 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. Register

Bellewood Farms & Distillery, Lynden (Wed-Sun 9-4)
Bellewood’s fall setup combines a U-pick pumpkin patch with apple picking, a free corn maze, farm store, bakery, cafe, and plenty of cider doughnuts. The pumpkin patch stays open through Oct. 31, and general admission is free.

Cramer's Western Town, Lynden (Fri-Sun 10-5)
If simply picking a pumpkin feels insufficiently Western, Cramer’s adds draft-horse wagon rides out to the patch, pony rides, a petting zoo, hay maze, tractor train, and other farm games. They grow more than 30 pumpkin varieties and are open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in October.

Haunted Habitat Tour, (Fri 10-12:30)
NSEA is putting a Halloween spin on habitat restoration with a bus tour of Goodwin Creek projects, including culvert removals, bridge installations, and large woody debris placements. Costumes are welcome, and they’re promising a few zombie salmon along the way. The tour is free, but registration is required.

Downtown Trick-or-Treat, Commercial Street Plaza (Fri 4-6)
Downtown Bellingham’s annual trick-or-treat brings more than 100 participating businesses into the candy circuit Friday afternoon. Costumed kids can wander the downtown core collecting goodies along the way, with Commercial Street Plaza serving as the central hub. It’s free and open to everyone.

Spooktacular Mall-O-Ween, Bellis Fair Mall (Sat 4-6)
Participating stores around Bellis Fair will hand out candy while supplies last, with costumes encouraged and live music from local teen artist Genelia in the food court at 5:30 p.m. Free.

Fearhaven Brick or Treat, Historic Fairhaven Village (Sat 3-6)
Fairhaven fills up with costumed kids, candy stops, and plenty of grown-ups playing along for the annual Brick or Treat. The whole village gets in on it, and Finnegan’s Alley will be set up for a suitably spooky photo stop. Free.

Ferndale Trick-or-Treat, Pioneer Park (Sat 3-5:30)
Pioneer Village turns into a trick-or-treat route with candy handed out from the porches of the historic log cabins, plus games, prizes, and a food truck. Free, and costumes encouraged.

Trackside Halloween Party, Trackside Beer Garden (Sat 4-10)
Trackside closes out the season with food and drink specials, DJ Aireekah from 6 to 9, and a 7 p.m. dance set featuring Thrillingham zombies and dancing witches. Free and all ages.

Buggy Boo Bash, Whatcom Museum FIG (Sat 10-5)
Bug out in the FIG this Halloween. Explore your favorite crawling critters and the wonderful world of entomology. Come in costume and bring your family for special crafts, activities, and dancing all day long! Don’t miss out on our special Bug-Tastic Storytime at 10:30 am.

43 Valley Crest Way (Open Sat & Sun 11-1 pm)
We haven’t looked at a Sudden Valley home in a while. Here’s a beauty. 🙂 It’s a newer home, built in 2005, but it has lots of classic details like a craftsman-inspired exterior and coffered ceilings. Very nice. Listing

955 Van Wyck Road (Open Sat & Sun 3-5 pm)
How cute is this house! The colors remind me of those old fashioned candies, pastel nonpareils. Plus it’s just off Van Wyck, one of my favorite ‘just out of town’ streets. Listing

BAAY Theatre
Zombie Dancers (dance) | Fri

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Handle with Care (dance) | Thu, Fri

Jansen Art Center
Rathskeller (theatre) | Thu-sat

Lucas Hicks Auditorium
Hellingham (comedy) | Fri, Sat

Mount Baker Theatre
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (film) | Sat

Bellingham Circus Guild
The Beastly Frightful Unspeakably Spooky Circus of DOOOOOM [21+], All Ages (circus) | Wed-Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Hellingham (comedy) | Thu, Fri, Sat

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Contra - Fairhaven Library - Sat 7 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

Linnea DeVang and Miles Harris bring their duo project to Skylark’s Hidden Cafe tomorrow October 31 from 6 to 8 pm. The two work with a deliberately spare setup, just voices and a single guitar, while moving through jazz, soul, pop, and R&B.

Karate Church hosts a three-band Halloween show this Saturday, October 31, at 9 pm with Harbor Day, The Hobby, and Satan’s Songbird. Harbor Day anchors the night with a single-release set, while Satan’s Songbird has been tapped as the opener.

Cascadia Groove plays Zeeks Pizza Bellingham tomorrow, October 31, from 7 to 9 pm with a set that moves between original jazz-funk and recognizable covers. Their repertoire draws from artists including Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Herbie Hancock, and Average White Band.

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