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🐹 Skagit Springers 🎣🎣

🐹 Skagit Springers 🎣🎣

April 23, 2025

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

Please email me if anyone has recommendations for a magical shape-shifting Hamster Coat that can keep up with this weather! Yesterday, on our walk, we went from basking in the sun to huddled up, hands in armpits, trekking for the car. April Showers…

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Val & Evan

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

Adult Easter Egg Hunt - 📷 by Cliff Knitter

Trucking 73 Tons Down Cornwall Ave - 📷 by Amy Bowhay

Barkley Spring Blossoms - 📷 by Cathy Miller

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

Weather Forecast

Wednesday: 62°F 🌡️ 43°F | ☀️ Sunny | 🌧️ 0% | 💨 N 1 to 6 mph

Thursday: 70°F 🌡️ 47°F | ☀️ Sunny | 🌧️ 30% | 💨 N 1 to 5 mph

Moon Phases

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

Turn Back! Turn Back!!

Holy moly, there’s a mess on Chuckanut Drive. Spring always seems to dislodge a few smaller rockfalls along our scenic highway, but the one currently blocking traffic in both directions just north of Blanchard Road is a doozy. Check out the shots below from WSDOT 👇️

Interestingly, this rockfall’s location is the same as one that we bumped into in March. It was much smaller but was dislodged from the very same Greenschist outcrop:

Heading south on Chuckanut Drive is off the table while the roadway is cleared and repaired. Luckily, there’s another option for a scenic drive with DOT’s announcement that the North Cascades Highway has reopened for the season. 👇️

WDFW Opens Skagit for Springers

Fisherman Alert!! The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has announced a sports fishing opening on the Skagit for hatchery spring Chinook. Harvest will be permitted from the Highway 536 bridge in Mount Vernon to Gilligan Creek east of Sedro-Woolley, from April 24 through May 14, with a potential extension through May 31 pending approval.

This fishery targets robust “springers” destined for WDFW’s Marblemount Hatchery on the Cascade River, known for their exceptional size. Anglers may keep up to two hatchery Chinook daily, with a minimum size of 12 inches, but must release wild Chinook and all other species. WDFW will actively monitor the fishery, with creel personnel collecting catch data to maintain conservation guidelines. Get details.

In other news…

🥕 The Whatcom Council on Aging announced the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) is back for 2025. The program provides lower-income seniors (60+, or 55+ for Native American/Alaska Native) in Washington State with an $80 benefits card for fresh produce, honey, and herbs at approved farmers markets and farm stores. Eligible Whatcom and San Juan Counties residents with incomes below $27,860/year (1 person) or $37,814/year (2 people) can apply starting April 29th via the Council on Aging website or at a senior center.

🏡 The Whatcom County Charter Review Commission meets tomorrow (April 24) in the Cordata Elementary School cafeteria at 6 pm. If you’re the kind who likes to watch the sausage be made, start watching the Charter Commission meeting videos in order from the beginning. I’m about halfway through… way better than Netflix. 😉

Food & Drinks

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Test Your Knowledge

Bellingham & Whatcom Trivia

What unusual geologic formation, formed from cooled volcanic lava, can be found near Heather Meadows and along the Mount Baker Highway?

The correct answer to the last question: “Which Whatcom County community hosted a rodeo in the 1920s that attracted up to 35,000 attendees at its peak?” was Sumas.

The Sumas Roundup, premiered on September 21, 1923. Born from the ashes of a burned-down fair building, the Roundup was sparked by Canadian cowboys returning from a Vancouver bucking contest, who proposed a rodeo to replace the town’s fair. Organized by the Sumas Roundup Association, formally incorporated in 1927 by local businessmen, including C.M. Eneix and A.W. Linn, the event grew from a modest junior rodeo into a significant attraction. At its peak in the 1920s, it drew up to 35,000 attendees.

The Roundup evolved into a three-day extravaganza by 1924 with the slogan “See ‘Em Buck.” Events included high-stakes competitions like bulldogging (steer wrestling), where cowboys tackled steers, alongside bucking contests, steer roping, chuck-wagon races, and the crowd-favorite pony express.

The Great Depression halted the Roundup from 1930 to 1936, and its revival in 1937 faced challenges, including lawsuits and rain-soaked events. Returning as a smaller two-day rodeo, it struggled financially, with 1938’s receipts partly covering 1937’s debts, delaying payments to winners. World War II dealt the final blow: Canada’s involvement restricted cross-border attendance, a critical loss given the event’s Canadian fanbase, and U.S. mobilization sapped talent and interest. The 1940 Roundup marked the end.

Performance Arts This Week

Dance of The Hamsters

THEATRE - DANCE - FILM

BAAY Theatre:
Out of the Woods | Fri, Sat 7 pm; Sat, Sun 2 pm

FireHouse Arts & Events Center:
Bellingham Repertory Dance: If Not Now | Fri 7:30 pm; Sat 5:30 pm

iDiOM Theater:
Heroes of the Fourth Turning | Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun 7:30 pm

Mount Baker Theater:
Swan Lake | Thurs 7 pm

Mount Baker Theater:
Cascadia Women’s Film Fest - VIVA VERDI! | Fri 9 pm

New Prospect Theatre:
Bellingham Story Hour – Hot to Trot 18+ Event | Fri 8 pm

WWU: College of Fine and Performing Arts:
Untitled Tempest Project | Wed, Thurs, Fri 7:30 pm; Sat 2pm

WWU: Old Main Old Main Theater:
Bill Bowers - It Goes Without Saying | Sat 7:30 pm

COMEDY

The Blue Room:
Fun & Flirty w. Zahnae Aquino | Thurs 8 pm

PARTICIPATORY DANCE

Tango : Tango Practica @ The Majestic Ballroom | Wed 6:30 pm
Bachata : Bham Bachata @ ‘ONO Kitchen & Bar | Thurs 7:30 pm
Social Partner Dance : Flow Fusion @ Karate Church | Thurs 7 pm
Belly Dance : Baby-Wearing Belly Dance@ Boom Elite Martial Arts | Thurs 9:30 am
Line Dancing : Country Night @ Bar 211 | Fri 8 pm
Belly Dance : Belly Dance Fusion @ Bellingham Senior Center | Sat 10:30 am
Contra : Dan Carollo, Brandon Vance, Eliot Grasso + Laura Mé Smith @ Fairhaven Library | Sat 7 pm
Salsa : The Salsa Collective @ The Majestic Ballroom | Sun 5:30 pm

Help Spread The Word

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Music & Nightlife

Spinning Into The Night

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To All Our Readers

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Have a great Wednesday!!