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🐹 Bivalves & Butterflies 🦪🦋

🐹 Bivalves & Butterflies 🦪🦋

April 11, 2025

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

Fellow mushroom nerds, are you seeing what I’m seeing? Spring fungi are flushing in gardens and lawns around town. 😁 Send us a photo if you spot anything beautiful or unusual!

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Val & Evan

🍰 Birthday Shoutout 🍰

Happy birthday: Sylvia Bernstein 🎉

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

Alley Art - 📷 by Cynthia Mason

Lightcatcher Museum - 📷 by Duffy Brook

Turkey Tail Fruiting on a Stump - 📷 by Holly Roger

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

Mount Baker Theatre

A Tramp In The Big Top

Saturday, April 12

Join Mount Baker Theatre (MBT) for a special screening of Charlie Chaplin’s classic film The Circus, with a live score by the brilliant Dennis James. Experience one of Chaplin’s funniest features as his iconic tramp, wrongfully pursued by the police, finds himself unexpectedly recruited by a circus ringmaster.

Between lion’s cages, high-wire escapades, and a blossoming romance with a captivating show rider, this cinematic big top is packed with thrills, romance, and mischievous monkeys.

Weather Forecast

Friday: 54°F 🌡️ 42°F | 🌧️ Chance of Rain | 🌧️ 40% | 💨 SW 6 mph

Saturday: 54°F 🌡️ 39°F | 🌧️ Chance of Rain | 🌧️ 40% | 💨 WSW 2 to 6 mph

Sunday: 58°F 🌡️ 42°F | 🌤️ Mostly Sunny | 🌧️ 0% | 💨 NNW 2 to 6 mph

Moon Phases

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

Rare Island Marbled Butterfly

I LOVE stories where a species, thought to be extinct, is rediscovered in some remote location. That's exactly what happened with the Island Marble Butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus), a rare subspecies of the large marble butterfly. Last seen in 1908 on Gabriola Island in British Columbia, this beautiful yellow and white butterfly was rediscovered 90 years later (in 1998) at American Camp on San Juan Island during a butterfly survey.

The adult Island Marble Butterfly has a wingspan of about 1.75 inches, with striking yellow-green marbling on its underwings 👆️, and white or cream dorsal wings with black-patterned wingtips.

Its life cycle begins as bluish-white eggs that turn orange, red, and then brown before hatching after about 10 days. The caterpillars grow to nearly an inch in length and feed exclusively on three mustard species—tall peppergrass (Lepidium virginicum var. menziesii), field mustard (Brassica rapa) and tumble mustard (Sisymbrium altissimum)—before pupating into a light brown chrysalis, overwintering for 11 months, and then emerging as adults in early spring.

I learned about this species from a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) draft report, released last month recommending classifying the Island Marble Butterfly as a Washington state endangered species. They are accepting feedback on this report until June 25th. It’s long, but worth a read! 🦋

Beautiful Bivalves: A Culinary & Cultural Exploration of Shellfish

Shuck yeah, fellow bivalve fans—this one’s for you! 🦪 Scoot out to Drayton Harbor Oyster Co. on Saturday where Bellingham SeaFeast and Whatcom Watersheds Information Network are hosting an afternoon of talks from local shellfish experts, exploring the culinary, ecological, and cultural significance of oysters and other bivalves.

The presentations begin at 2pm, but you can come early and join a beach clean-up at Blaine Marine Park at 11am before the event.

The event features speakers like Adam Schleicher, Chef at Drayton Harbor Oyster Co., and Katherine Garrah, a restoration ecologist focused on sustainable shellfish management. Come for the clean-up, stay for the shellfish. A portion of the proceeds from food purchases will support SeaFeast’s ocean conservation efforts.

In other news…

🎣 Yeager's Sporting Goods is holding its annual Family Fishing Day on Saturday from 10am - 4pm.

They’re promising “casting lessons for the kids and casting buckets for prizes. Prize Drawings in all departments, a Scavenger Hunt, a Coloring Contest, Corn Hole games, Candy Guessing Jars, Refreshments and of course, a special Fishing Gift Bag for the first 50 families to sign in.”

⛏️ Volunteer Opportunities This Weekend: There are three outdoor work parties this weekend if you want to get out and sweat with your neighbors.

📷️ COB

Samish Crest Trail: The City is holding a community work party to improve trailside habitat within the Samish Crest Open Space on Saturday from 9-noon. Details & registration.
Ladies of the Lake: Whatcom Land Trust is meeting at the Ladies of the Lake property on the south side of Lake Whatcom to remove invasive Himalayan blackberry and care for native trees on Saturday from 9-noon. Details & registration.
Blaine Marine Park: Bellingham SeaFeast is meeting for a beach clean-up at Blaine Marine Park on Saturday at 11 AM. Details & registration.

📜 WECU is holding its bi-annual Shred Day event today from 10am to 1pm. Open to the public, look for a truck in the parking lot of the WECU Community Resource Center on Birchwood Ave. Bring up to two file-sized boxes or grocery bags of sensitive documents for shredding. Junk mail, metal clips, wet items, or bulky/bound materials will not be accepted. Details.

Garage & Estate Sales

Your Source For Vintage Can Openers

216 4th Street, Lynden (Fri, Sat 9-4, Sun 1-4)
I’m a sucker for a Friends of the Library book sale. 🤷 There's really nothing better in the world. The community donates books, so there's a lot of variety. And the already low prices tend to get lower as the weekend progresses. map

3717 Cowgill Ave, Sat, Sun 9 AM, map
1600 22nd St, Fri & Sat 9 AM, map
2921 Haggin St, Sat 9 AM, map
4496 Rural Ave, Fri & Sat 9 AM, map
7515 Roblee Dr, Birch Bay, Sat 10 AM, map

Live at the Mount Baker Theatre

Seattle Men’s Chorus Salutes Dolly!

Sunday, April 13

Celebrate the legacy of iconic Dolly Parton with a brand-new show featuring her unforgettable hits. Don your cowboy boots and hats and enjoy fresh arrangements of “Honky Tonk Angels,” “Jolene,” “Islands in the Stream,” and a dynamic mashup from “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” Head to Mount Baker Theatre for an uplifting, music-filled experience that captures the heart and soul of Dolly’s timeless artistry.

Food & Drinks

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Sunday
Brunch at Roe

Sunday brunch every weekend from 10 AM to 2 PM. Look for fancy eggs, crispy potatoes, brunch libations, and maple French toast!

Sat, Sun
Brunch at Rock & Rye

Starting April 12, Rock & Rye will serve weekend brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 10am-2pm.

Because it’s fun to be a lookie-loo

Crash an Open House

2670 Lake Whatcom Boulevard (Open Sun 12-2 PM)
Holy dream home batman!! This one might be out of most of our price range, but it’s fun to go look. 😉 Vaulted ceilings, outdoor gas firepit, your very own 60 feet of Lake Whatcom waterfront. Not bad, not bad at all. Listing.

1512 Humboldt Street (Open Fri 4-6 PM, Sat 10-12 PM, Sun 2-4 PM)
This Victorian-style home on Humboldt is smack dab in the center of the York neighborhood, and York is rad. The front yard has been nicely landscaped with native plants and there appears to be an old carriage house in the back. 🐴 Listing.

Performance Arts This Week

Dance of The Hamsters

THEATRE - DANCE - FILM

Bellingham Theatre Guild:
Play On! | Fri, Sat 7:30 PM; Sun 2 PM

New Prospect Theatre:
Twisted Short Tales | Fri, Sat 7:30 PM

New Prospect Theatre:
To Whom It May Concern | Sun 7:30 PM

COMEDY

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

The Upfront Theatre:
D&D | Fri 7:30 PM
D&D After Dark | Fri 9:30 PM
D&D | Sat 7:30 PM
Punch Line | Sat 9:30 PM

PARTICIPATORY DANCE

Belly Dance : Belly Dance Fusion @ Bellingham Senior Center | Sat 10:30 AM
Contra : Pachelbel’s Bazooka (with Dave Bartley) + Morna Leonard @ Fairhaven Library | Sat 7 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

Friday Games & Trivia
None Scheduled

Saturday Games & Trivia
Happy Tails Trivia Night @ Corner Taphouse | 7 PM

Sunday Games & Trivia
Bingo @ Paws For A Beer | 3 PM
Trivia Night @ Stemma Brewing Co. | 5:30 PM

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Hakuna matata

To All Our Readers

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Have a great Weekend!!