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🐹 Sail Like a Mother ⛵️⛵️

🐹 Sail Like a Mother ⛵️⛵️

March 26, 2025

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

Driving down Chuckanut on Monday, we encountered a massive boulder just before the Bow turnoff—it sluffed loose from the hillside, blocking part of the roadway.

It was HUGE!! I got close enough to hear the rocks still shifting above and retrieved a small piece. Not sandstone… maybe a greenschists? Geologist and fellow rock nerds let me know if you have the deets.

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Val & Evan

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

West toward Point Roberts - 📷 by James Carneiro

Paragliders over Oyster Dome - 📷 by Kelly Lange

Crab Pots at Squalicum Harbor - 📷 by Kevin Klatt

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

Pacific Northwest Opera

A Hauntingly Beautiful Fairytale

2025 Season

Experience Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka, a hauntingly beautiful opera based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tragic “Little Mermaid,” at McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon, WA, with four performances starting March 2025. Unlike Disney’s cheerful twist, this Czech fairytale—sung in Czech with English subtitles—follows a mermaid’s doomed love for a prince. Pacific Northwest Opera brings this global favorite to life with Puget Sound’s finest singers, a Bellingham-packed chorus, and rising stars making their big debuts.

Opera is for everyone! Tickets start at $25 (just $10 for students), and subtitles make every word accessible. Join the Pacific Northwest Opera for a romantic, affordable night of world-class music and drama. Grab your seats now and see why Rusalka enchants audiences worldwide!

Weather Forecast

Wednesday: 66°F 🌡️ 48°F | 🌧️ Showers & Thunderstorms | 🌧️ 100% | 💨 NE 2 to 7 mph

Thursday: 58°F 🌡️ 47°F | 🌧️ Light Rain | 🌧️ 100% | 💨 SSE 13 to 16 mph

Bellingham Bay Tides

Day	Time	H/L	FT
Wed	4:41 AM	H	8.22
Wed	10:10 AM	L	4.99
Wed	2:41 PM	H	6.99
Wed	9:53 PM	L	0.09
Thu	4:59 AM	H	8.32
Thu	10:41 AM	L	3.86
Thu	3:55 PM	H	7.26
Thu	10:37 PM	L	0.52

Moon Phases

Weather & Tides from NOAA. Moon data astronomyapi.

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

Unusual Weather Possible In Whatcom County

Here’s one we don’t often see. The Storm Prediction Center at the National Weather Service has upgraded today’s outlook for parts of our region (currently Seattle and south) to a Level-2 on their Severe Risk Category scale. Randy Small, who runs the Whatcom County Weather Facebook page, mentioned yesterday that “this is the first time since July 13, 2012 that the Seattle area has had a [Level-2] category.”

While Whatcom County remains in the Level 1 (marginal risk) category, NOAA includes us within the range of risk for large hail. As I write this on Tuesday afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center’s 2-day outlook map 👇️ shows our county with a 5% chance of “one inch diameter hail or larger.” 5% isn’t much risk, but any chance of one-inch diameter hail is pretty wild in Bellingham!

Making things even more bizarre, NOAA has included a 2% risk of tornado activity along the I-5 corridor from Seattle south through Washington and well into central Oregon. This map shows the regions impacted by the tornado outlook. 👇️

Randy’s page is the best resource I’ve found for thoughtful, in-depth weather coverage in our region, and I expect he’ll have some interesting takes as the storm rolls through today. ⚡️🌩️

Another Reason to Avoid I-5

Remember the mudslide that closed northbound I-5 by Sunset last October? It sounds like there’s still some work to be done, as WSDOT posted that the right lane will be closed for slope repairs from 4 AM - 2 PM today.

I-5 between James to Sunset feels like running the gauntlet on a good day. A lane closure is likely to make things worse. Find an alternative if you can! 👍️

In other news…

⛵️ Today from 6-7 PM, the Community Boating Center hosts Sail Like a Mother: Tales from a Crew of Mothers in the Race to Alaska. Katie Gaut, a cartographer and seasoned sailor with over 20 years of experience, and Melissa Roberts, an aquatic ecologist turned ER nurse with a knack for tough adventures, will recount their journey as part of a trio of moms who tackled the Race to Alaska. With Gaut’s Coast Guard license and Roberts’ summers on the Inside Passage, they bring a wealth of perspective to this challenging 750-mile voyage from Port Townsend to Ketchikan.

The talk will cover their decision to join the race, the planning and preparation, and the gritty reality of sailing through gnarly currents and remote coastlines. They’ll share insights from the experience and reflect on what it meant to compete as a team of women in a wilderness survival test. Details and registration.

🐟️ At 5 PM today, the City of Bellingham presents Fish Passage Restoration in Bellingham at the Central Library Lecture Room. Sara Brooke Benjamin, the City’s Environmental Coordinator, will detail efforts to enhance salmon outcomes in local waterways.

She’ll cover completed projects like the Little Squalicum Estuary restoration and outline upcoming fish passage initiatives, offering a clear view of the City’s work to revive salmon habitat. Details.

Food & Drinks

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Wednesday Food Trucks
A Que Tacos @ Goods Local Brews
Big Stick Barbecue @ Stemma Brewery
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Calcutta by Simmering Tava @ K2
Dumpling Girls @ Goods Local Brews
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
Mobile Mouth Hole @ Lowes Parking Lot
New Public Vegan @ Evil Bikes (700 Harris Ave)
Outpost Eats @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
Sammies Vegan @ Wander Brewing
Tacos El Tule @ West Marine (Meridian St)
The Galley @ Ponderosa Beer + Books

Thursday Food Trucks
A Que Tacos @ Goods Local Brews
Big Stick Barbecue @ Stemma Brewery
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Calcutta by Simmering Tava @ K2
Dumpling Girls @ Goods Local Brews
El Pollo Feo @ Kulshan Brewery (Roosevelt K2)
El Tapatio @ 4124 Strider Loop Rd
Falafel Feast @ 4370 Meridian St
Galley 2 Go @ Stones Throw Brewery
Greektown @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
Luchadora @ Wander Brewing
Mobile Mouth Hole @ Lowes Parking Lot
New Public Vegan @ Evil Bikes (700 Harris Ave)
Sammies Vegan @ Wander Brewing
Tacos El Tule @ West Marine (Meridian St)
Tam Tam Pizza @ Lost Giants Cider Co.
Tezpoteco Taco @ Stemma Brewery
The Galley @ Ponderosa Beer + Books

Test Your Knowledge

Bellingham & Whatcom Trivia

The name of what local body of water comes from the Nooksack word meaning "place of noisy rumbling waters?"

The correct answer to the last question: “What Whatcom community was home to the county's first normal school called Northwest Normal School?” was Lynden.

Founded in 1886 by Phoebe Judson in Lynden, Northwest Normal School was a private teacher-training institution. Built on land donated by Phoebe and her husband Holden Judson, it operated for seven years without state support. Despite its petition for public funding, the school closed in 1892, reflecting the challenges of sustaining private education in a young Washington state still developing its public school system.

In 1893, the state established New Whatcom State Normal School, signed into law by Governor John H. McGraw, relocating teacher training to New Whatcom (later Bellingham). Construction of Old Main began in 1895 on a 10-acre Sehome Hill site, and opened to students in 1899. The school’s name evolved with the town—becoming State Normal School at Whatcom in 1901, then Washington State Normal School at Bellingham in 1904.

By 1937, the institution transitioned to Western Washington College of Education, reflecting its growth into a four-year degree-granting college amid expanding educational needs. It became Western Washington State College in 1961, and in 1977, it achieved university status as Western Washington University.

Sunnyland Acupuncture

Acupuncture Community Clinic

Thursdays

Sunnyland Acupuncture invites you to experience the gentle power of community acupuncture, where the body’s natural drive for harmony gets a nudge toward healing. Acupuncture taps into your innate ability to restore balance, easing symptoms you might not even realize have crept in.

Step into a welcoming space where Clare Lynam LA’c blends her Middle Way Acupuncture training with a love for Qi Gong’s ancient flow. No stuffy appointments—just drop in for a session that reminds your mind and body how to thrive.

Drop-in only, 3-6 PM Thursdays,
$25-60 Suggested Price
1405 Fraser Street F101

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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

COMEDY

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

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

The BlueRoom:
Dr. Brady Smith | Sat 7 PM

PARTICIPATORY DANCE

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

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Music & Nightlife

Spinning Into The Night

Hakuna matata

To All Our Readers

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Have a great Wednesday!!