🐹 Tis the Season 🍾🍾

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

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

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Whatcom Weather

The Raindrop Report

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

A Whatcom New Year

As the year winds down, Bellingham has a host of venues gearing up to toast 2026 in Whatcom style. The options below include dance parties, live music lineups, and cozy gatherings. There’s no shortage of ways to celebrate. A few require advanced tickets so jump on those early.

Whatcom Museum: Enjoy live music by local band Baby Cakes, two cash bars with cocktails and beer courtesy of Chuckanut Bay Distillery and Structures Brewing, sweet treats from Pure Bliss Desserts, and three museum galleries turned into dedicated lounges. Get tickets.

Hotel Leo: Ring in 2026 at Hotel Leo with Robert Sarazin Blake and the High, Wide & Handsome Band for a festive New Year’s Eve celebration filled with great music and good vibes. Get tickets.

Birch Bay Ring of Fire & Hope: A stunning Birch Bay tradition that lights up the shoreline of Birch Bay from Birch Bay Village to Birch Bay State Park. At 7:00 PM shap on Wednesday, December 31st, 2025 families and visitors are invited to line the shores of Birch Bay to light a red flare. Details.

The Shakedown: It's an 80s NYE party with a Blondie tribute by Atomic Blondie, pole dancing with Cvnt Coven, Gallowmaker plays the Cure/Joy Division, and a vinyl set by DJ Mandy Moorhol. Tickets.

Recovery Café Bellingham: Welcome in new beginnings on New Year’s Eve with a special sober event hosted by Recovery Café Bellingham and Mental Health Court! 6 to 9:30 pm.

Wild Buffalo: Beats Antique fuses musical worlds, pulling on global sounds for experiments on the fringes of cinematic cabaret, informed by electronic mash-ups and inspirations who have joined them on the journey such as Les Claypool, Alam Khan, The Glitch Mob, Too Many Zooz and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Tickets.

Chuckanut Bay Distillery: Step into a different decade for the biggest New Year’s Eve celebration in Bellingham. Dress from any decade that mattered—50s through 90s—and dance your way into 2026. Tickets.

The Den: Ring in the New Year at The Den with advanced tickets guaranteeing entry and include a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. Tickets.

Stones Throw: Ring in the New Year with a double dose of live music: Lost at Last plays from 6–9pm, followed by Andy “Badd Dog” Koch with Daddy Treetops and Yogoman from 9:30-midnight!

The Beach at Birch Bay: Ring in 2026 East Coast Time with live music by Sunset Superman in 5 Star Dive Bar style. Music starts at 6:00 and we count down on the East Coast Time Zone with the ball dropping at 9:00 pm.

Local Read: In a very cool feature for Salish Current, news editor Sam Fletcher explores how communities across Whatcom and Skagit Counties celebrate the winter season in varied and meaningful ways. From pagan rituals, to Lynden’s Dutch-descended families adapting the Sinterklaas tradition, to Fairhavenites walking a labyrinth in quiet contemplation. It’s a neat piece about how old customs evolve and coexist during darkest days of the year.

CIVIC CORNER

Tuesday
Whatcom County Council (Special Meeting: authorizing the use of Healthy Children’s Fund dollars for flood relief assistance for families with vulnerable children.), 4:30 pm, Council Chambers Agenda, Zoom.

Food & Drink

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Performance Arts This Week

Dance of The Hamsters

LIVE ARTS & FILM

Uisce Irish Pub
Guffawingham (comedy) | Mon 9:00 pm

Mount Baker Theatre
The Book of Mormon | Mon, Tues

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Train Trip Dances (dance) | Fri

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

PARTICIPATORY DANCE

Salsa & Bachata - Viking Union - Mon 7 pm
Bellingham Embodiment Collective - Majestic Ballroom - Mon 6:30 pm
Contact Improv - Aikido Peace Education Center - Mon 7 pm
Beginning Cuban Salsa - Cof& - Tues 6 pm
B’ham Hop - Crystal Ballroom - Tues 8 pm
Taster Tuesdays (hip hop) - Lost Giants Cider Co - Tues 6 pm
Int. Cuban Salsa - Cof& - Tues 7:15 pm
Tango Practica - The Majestic - Wed 6:30 pm
New Years Eve Contra Ball - Fairhaven Library - Wed 8 pm
Flow Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 4:00 pm
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm

Events & Nightlife

Spinning Into The Night

FEATURED

Stones Throw Brewery hosts its final Good Neighbor Night of 2025 tonight, December 29, from 5 to 9 pm, spotlighting the Working Waterfront Coalition. Ten percent of sales during the evening will support the nonprofit’s efforts to strengthen Bellingham’s maritime trades, waterfront industries, and local workforce development. The event also features the Coalition’s quarterly Blue Drinks meetup, an open gathering for those interested in connecting around the region’s working waterfronts.

Island Improv brings neighbors together for an evening of creativity and laughter on tomorrow, December 30, from 6 to 7:30 pm at The Gathering Place on Lummi Island. Open to all experience levels, this biweekly session invites participants to explore improvisation in a relaxed, supportive setting. Drop-ins are welcome, and registration is available for those who’d like reminders or updates.

MONDAY

It’s a quiet night. 🤷‍♂️
That Christmas tree won’t undecorate itself.

Monday Music & Trivia →

TUESDAY

It’s a quiet night. 🤷‍♂️
Bring out the vice and restock your supply of Woolly Buggers. Springtime is around the corner.

Tuesday Music & Trivia →

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Hakuna matata

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