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Solar Power Meets Traditional Ways on Legoe Bay | Reef Netting Salmon with Lummi Island Wild

Legoe Bay sits on the western side of Lummi Island, the long, low strip of land that Bellinghamsters see when they look across the water from downtown. Being something of an Indoor Girl, I never expected to go anywhere near a commercial salmon fishery, but when Ian Kirouac of…

Finding the Fun in Fashion | Sojourn

The Shop Sandwiched between Avenue Bread and The Bagelry, Sojourn is the perfect lunch break shopping stop. Sojourn first opened in 1994, when Owner Peggy Platter saw a lack of boutiques in town and an empty lot on Railroad Avenue, and had a vision. Tired of the big- name stores that once occupied Bellingham’s downtown,…

Rooted in Place: A Craftsman’s Life on Lummi Island | Thomas Lutz

Thomas Lutz is the craftsman behind Uisce Irish Pub’s 36-foot mahogany bar in Bellingham, the custom dining furniture at the now-defunct Willows Inn, and dozens of bespoke pieces of fine furniture all over the Pacific Northwest. After 32 years living on Lummi Island, he finds it difficult to imagine living anywhere else. Lutz grew up in the New York suburbs and studied engineering at…

Culinary Couple Begins New Chapter | Next Chapter Cafe

Bellingham residents may be familiar with the stories of Jennifer Worthley and Bryan Matamorosa, the culinary couple who own It’s The Sweet Things and Bry’s…

Since Time Immemorial | Squad’dam’a’hon Terry Phair

Since Time Immemorial is a recurring series featuring community members whose families have been here since time immemorial. The ancestral knowledge carried by Lhaq’temish, Nooksack, and other Coast Salish peoples is knowledge about how to live in our shared home in a good, life-sustaining way. We live in a time when we need to restore our relationship…

Preserving Heritage, Feeding Community | Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms

Every October, Skagit farms open their gates for the annual Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms, a two-day celebration of agriculture and heritage. This year’s event takes place Oct. 4–5 and features around 14 participating farms across Bow, Burlington, Concrete, Mount Vernon, Rockport, Sedro-Woolley, and La Conner, where visitors can wander orchards, meet animals, sample fresh produce,…

Buried Voices and The Man Who Uncovers Them | Northern State Hospital

The grounds look like something one might see in Tuscany—creamy stucco buildings topped with terracotta roofs, with the Cascade mountains as a backdrop. The faces who peered from the windows during the…

Providing a Happy Place to a Close-Knit Community | WildFibers

“It was my happy place,” WildFibers Owner Brooke Jones says, gazing fondly at the colorful skeins of yarn and beautifully-knitted sample garments that surround us. “My birthday trip would be to come to WildFibers by myself, so I could be here for a long time…and at one point, I just asked [then-owner Sarah Parker]: ‘is there ever any need…

The Best Banh Mi On the Block | Banh Mi & Bubble Tea

For most, a gas station parking lot may not come to mind when looking for a bite to eat. But Vinny and Ruby La, the owners of Banh Mi & Bubble Tea, are trying to challenge that. They’ve operated their food truck out of the parking lot of a 76 since 2022, and they have no plans to move. By word-of-mouth alone, their food has become a Bellingham staple in the three…

The Family-Farmed PNW Crop You Don’t Know About | Holmquist Hazelnut Orchards, Washington Hazelnut

We show a lot of appreciation for our agriculture around here, and everyone knows fall means fresh apples and pumpkins. But there’s another fall crop thriving in the PNW that’s delicious, nutritious, and ready for your holiday recipes:…

Where History Lives and Legacy Endures | The Shields Home

Photographs by Bellingham Media Group Staging by Sandra Hurtley and Solveig Johnson Some homes speak in whispers—of stories long lived and lives well loved. The Shields home, nestled in the heart of Ferndale, is one of those rare places….

A New Orleans Monday in the Pacific Northwest | Chef Matthew’s Corner

In New Orleans, Mondays have long carried the scent of simmering red beans and woodsmoke—an aroma woven into the rhythm of the week. Red Beans & Rice isn’t just a dish; it’s tradition, brought to Louisiana in the 1700s by French-speaking Haitian immigrants who blended their Caribbean beans and rice with local ingredients and slow-cooking techniques. The result is a dish…