The Hamster Wheel
Posts
🐹 Bitter in Bellingham 🍸️🍸️

🐹 Bitter in Bellingham 🍸️🍸️

March 24, 2025

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

Driving home from the grocery store yesterday, I was struck by the explosion of color from the flowering cherries lining Monroe Street. There’s no denying that spring has arrived. 🙂 Send us a note if you have a favorite early spring blossom location in the county.

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Val & Evan

🍰 Birthday Shoutout 🍰

Happy birthday: Nora Ibrani Sell 🎉

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

Moonset over Bellingham Bay from Post Point - 📷 by Elaine Thompson

Birch Door Café French Toast - 📷 by Karen Allen

Rocket Sculpture - 📷 by Duffy Brook

Tag @bellinghamsterwheel on Instagram or reply to this email to get your photos in The Hamster Wheel.

Bellingham Festival of Music

Surrounded by Beauty, Inspired by Music

2025 Season

The Festival of Music kicks off its 31st season June 29–July 20, turning Bellingham’s summer into a symphony. Since 1993, this Pacific Northwest treasure has showcased top North American orchestra players and world-class soloists. In his second season, Artistic Director Marcelo Lehninger brings a fresh brilliance and expressivity to music from world capitals from London to Paris to Vienna, St. Petersburg and finally New York City.

Season tickets unlock all five orchestra performances, featuring brilliant soloists including pianist Simon Trpceski, cellist Sterling Elliott, violinist Simone Porter, flutist Christina Smith and harpist Sophie Baird-Daniiel. The Calidore String Quartet also returns for its annual recital.

Tickets are now available-–with discounts available for WWU faculty/staff, students, and young adults. Immerse yourself in a festival of the finest symphonic music.

Weather Forecast

Monday: 56°F 🌡️ 49°F | 🌧️ Light Rain | 🌧️ 100% | 💨 SSE 6 mph

Tuesday: 64°F 🌡️ 49°F | 🌧️ Light Rain | 🌧️ 50% | 💨 NE 3 mph

Bellingham Bay Tides

Day	Time	H/L	FT
Mon	3:58 AM	H	7.99
Mon	10:01 AM	L	6.34
Mon	11:45 AM	H	6.76
Mon	8:11 PM	L	0.07
Tue	4:22 AM	H	8.12
Tue	9:48 AM	L	5.83
Tue	1:19 PM	H	6.80
Tue	9:06 PM	L	-0.02

Moon Phases

Weather & Tides from NOAA. Moon data astronomyapi.

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

Warm Hearts at the Bellingham Story Hour

Bellingham Story Hour is a monthly live storytelling event—also available as a podcast—where locals share true, personal stories. Each session is inspired by a theme, echoing The Moth Radio Hour but with Bellingham’s own subdued flair. Tomorrow’s “Warm Heart” themed edition takes the stage at the New Prospect Theatre. Anyone can sign up to tell a 5-10 minute story or enjoy listening, with the show starting at 7:00 PM.

The “Warm Heart” theme invites entertaining, heartwarming, educational, or even cringe-inducing stories—always true and from your own experience. Bellingham Story Hour loves the small stories between “big moments,” creating a place for quieter narratives that might not involve high stakes. Details and tickets.

Bitter in Bellingham

This one’s a Wednesday event but I noticed that tickets are selling fast and it looks fun! 🍸️ Galloway's Cocktail Bar in Fairhaven is holding All About Bitters - An Evening Making Your Own Creative Bitters from 6-8 PM.

During this special hands-on evening class, Galloway’s bartender Amanda Shoemaker, will take you on a flavorful journey into the art of crafting your own bitters using aromatics, florals, citrus, and herbs. Supplies and ingredients are included in the price of admission. Details and tickets.

In other news…

🦅 Today marks 25 years since Deming Homestead Eagle Park became a Whatcom County park, thanks to a donation from Henry Resink in 2000, facilitated by Whatcom Land Trust. To celebrate this milestone, a work party is planned to remove invasive blackberries from 10 AM to 11 AM, followed by a community gathering from 11:30 AM to 12 PM.

If you’ve not been to Eagle Park before, it’s worth the short drive to experience. There’s a parking lot on the south side of Truck Road, with picnic tables and facilities at the entrance. Look for eagles in the fall and winter when ghost salmon are in the Nooksack, and there might be Morels in the springtime. 🤷‍♂️

🏙️ The Bellingham City Council meets today (March 24) at 10 AM, with the Regular Meeting at 7 PM. You can review the agenda online. This public meeting is held in the Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall or watch online. This meeting will include a public hearing “on an ordinance relating to land use and zoning, adopting an interim zoning ordinance [allowing] infill housing in all areas that are zoned predominantly for residential use.”

🚜 The Whatcom County Council meets tomorrow (March 25) at 8:30 AM, with the committee of the whole meeting at 6 PM in the Council Chambers at the County Courthouse or watch via Zoom. You can review the agenda online.

Food & Drinks

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Monday Food Trucks
A Que Tacos @ Goods Local Brews
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Calcutta by Simmering Tava @ K2
El Tapatio @ 4124 Strider Loop Rd
Falafel Feast @ 4370 Meridian St
Luchadora @ Wander Brewing
Outpost Eats @ Kulshan Brewery (James St.)
Tacos El Tule @ West Marine (Meridian St)
Tezpoteco Taco @ Stemma Brewery

Tuesday Food Trucks
A Que Tacos @ Goods Local Brews
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Calcutta by Simmering Tava @ K2
El Pollo Feo @ Kulshan Brewery (Roosevelt K2)
El Tapatio @ 4124 Strider Loop Rd
Falafel Feast @ 4370 Meridian St
Galley 2 Go @ Stones Throw Brewery
Luchadora @ Wander Brewing
Outpost Eats @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
Tacos El Tule @ West Marine (Meridian St)
Tam Tam Pizza @ Fringe Brewing
Tezpoteco Taco @ Stemma Brewery
The Galley @ Ponderosa Beer + Books

Test Your Knowledge

Bellingham & Whatcom Trivia

What Whatcom community was home to the county's first normal school called Northwest Normal School?

The correct answer to the last question: “What Bellingham destination was built on the demolition debris from the razing of the old Fairhaven Hotel?” was Boulevard Park.

Constructed in 1890 by the Fairhaven Land Company at the northeast corner of Harris and 12th streets, the Fairhaven Hotel operated for 63 years until its demolition in 1956 following a fire several years prior. It was built with local materials—Chuckanut sandstone, Fairhaven-sourced brick, and timber from nearby forests. While initially serving as a hotel, the building became the Larrabee family home and was later still leased to various businesses.

The area now occupied by Boulevard Park was once a center of industrial activity along Bellingham Bay. From the late 19th century, canneries, lumber mills, and a gas plant lined the shore. As industry declined and railroad lines merged by the mid-20th century, the waterfront’s purpose shifted.

Debris from the Fairhaven Hotel’s demolition mingled with industrial remnants, persisting until community efforts in the 1970s—led by the Rotary Club and YWCA Eco-Action—pushed for public use, securing land for a park by 1980.

Dedicated on June 14, 1980, Boulevard Park repurposed the former industrial site, including the hotel’s rubble, into a public space connecting downtown Bellingham to Fairhaven. A 2013 shoreline restoration removed debris, adding gravel and sand to form a beach near the playground.

Advertise in the #1 Newsletter in the Ham
Want to include a note in the Wheel? Let’s Chat.

Performance Arts This Week

Dance of The Hamsters

THEATRE - DANCE - FILM

BAAY Theatre:
Snoring Beauty | Sat, Sun 11 AM

BAAY Theatre:
Farewell to the Hundred Acre Wood | Fri, Sat 7 PM; Sat, Sun 2 PM

iDiOM Theater:
Serial Killers | Sat, Sun 7 & 9 PM

Options High School:
Working a Musical | Fri, Sat 7:30 PM; Sun 2 PM

Pacific Northwest Opera:
Rusalka | Fri 7:30 PM; Sun 1:30 PM

New Prospect Theatre:
The Blazing World | Fri, Sat, Sun 7:30 PM; Sun 2:30 PM

WCC Pavilion 201:
Modern Dance Class Showing | Tues 2 PM

COMEDY

Uisce Irish Pub:
Guffawingham | Mon 8:30 PM

Larrabee Lager Co.:
Laughs at Larrabee | Fri 8 PM

Nacho Problems:
Nacho Average Comedy Open Mic | Thurs 8:30 PM

The BlueRoom:
Dr. Brady Smith | Sat 7 PM

PARTICIPATORY DANCE

Bachata : WWU Salsa and Bachata Club @ Viking Union MPR | Mon 7 PM
Tango : Urban Salon Tango @ The Majestic Ballroom | Mon 7 PM
Swing : B’ham Hop @ Hotel Leo Crystal Ballroom | Tues 7 PM
Cuban Salsa : Beginning Cuban Salsa @ Cof& | Tues 6 PM
Cuban Salsa : Intermediate Cuban Salsa @ Cof& | Tues 7:15 PM
Tango : Tango Practica @ The Majestic Ballroom | Wed 6:30 PM
Party : Eros Party @ Wild Buffalo | Thurs 8 PM
Party : CVNT Rave @ The Shakedown | Thurs 8 PM
Bachata : Bham Bachata @ ‘ONO Kitchen & Bar | Thurs 7:30 PM
Social Partner Dance : Flow Fusion @ Karate Church | Thurs 7 PM
Belly Dance : Belly Dance Workshop @ FireHouse A&E Center | Sat 12 PM
Silent Disco : Sunset Silent Disco @ Zuanich Point Park | Sat 6:30 PM
Salsa : The Salsa Collective @ The Majestic Ballroom | Sun 5:30 PM

Help Spread The Word

Refer three Bellingham friends to join our newsletter community, and we’ll include a birthday callout to one person you specify on their B’day 🎂. Get your referral link here. Your current referral count is: 0. You’re so close!.

Music & Nightlife

Spinning Into The Night

Monday Games & Trivia
Trivia Night @ Ono Kitchen & Bar | 7 PM
Trivia Night @ Paws for a Beer | 6:15 PM
Trivia Night @ Zeeks Pizza & Fountain Brewing | 6 PM
Trivia Night @ Overflow Taps | 6:30 PM

Tuesday Games & Trivia
Cribbage Tournament @ Kulshan Brewing K2 | 6 PM
Trivia Night @ Corner Taphouse | 7 PM
Trivia Night @ Uisce Irish Pub | 7 PM
Trivia Night @ Thirsty Badger | 7 PM

Hakuna matata

To All Our Readers

Thanks for reading today’s edition. If you found something helpful, please forward it to a friend 🙏, and tell them to follow this 👉️ link to sign up.

You can reply to this email if you have something we should know about or want to send us a love note.

Have a great Monday!!