The winners are in. Years of tradition. Your chosen winners. Welcome to the 17th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards. For 17 years, our readers have been telling us where they eat, shop, play, sip, self-pamper, and spend their time. This year’s winners represent the businesses, people, and places that make Whatcom and Skagit Counties as wonderful as they are. This year’s contest drew 393 winners across 171 categories,…
Whether you’re stocking a candy dish, filling Halloween treat bags, or just looking for a fun fall activity, making candy from scratch is surprisingly approachable. With a handful of pantry ingredients and a little patience, you can create hard candies and chewy gummies in nearly any flavor, shape, and color….
Embedded deep within downtown La Conner is a new Italian restaurant that goes by the name Moltobello Ristorante Italiano. There’s nothing like an authentic, locally-owned and run restaurant, with Italian food that is bursting with flavor in a cozy setting with soft lighting. As their website says, Moltobello has “no attitude” and “just great Italian…
Taxidermy art. Vintage goods and oddities. Potion bottles and antique uranium glass juicers. Nothing combines witchy and whimsy better than Morii Mercantile, created in 2024 by Katie Donner…
Death in the Afternoon is a hauntingly strong cocktail with an eerie green hue and black licorice flavor. Rather than being fruity, candy-themed, or ornately garnished (as many Halloween drinks are), this drink captures its spectral appearance and distinct flavor with just two ingredients: absinthe and Champagne. Photograph by Kristen Boehm It was fathered by Ernest Hemingway, shares a name with one of his novels, and first appeared in 1935’s “So Red the Nose or Breath…
For Shelly Whan and Kelly Fellers, dance has never been just about pirouettes, pointe shoes, or polished performances. It’s been about community, friendship, and building a second home for generations of Skagit Valley families. Photograph courtesy of Skagit Valley Academy of Dance This year, the lifelong friends and co-owners of Skagit…
There’s a new destination for barbecue lovers in Lynden, and the experience goes well beyond the smoker. Rustic Bar & Grill opened for business on May 13 at the Cobblestone Hotel & Suites, adding an elegance to Whatcom County’s dining scene. The restaurant serves up fresh and refined dishes with an established…
Some houses have very strong identities. This bright blue home is one of those houses, appearing like a bright tropical fish with rooflines reminiscent of gills. Those rooflines are responsible for a…
Fairhaven Mill recently welcomed Philip Fraley as the new general manager. The Mill has been an active, organic mill since 1974, serving businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest. Fraley has an…
As autumn settles over the waterfront, the Blaine OysterFest returns to celebrate the city’s aquaculture roots on Oct. 10. “It’s a very hometown fair kind of vibe with the seafood and harbor feeling to it. It’s a lot of fun,” says Olea Mills, the Event Coordinator at Blaine-Birch…
ReLaced, located in downtown Bellingham, prioritizes selling new, used, authentic, and well-made shoes to sneakerheads at great prices. The Shop This family-run streetwear shoe store, founded and owned by Lidija and Jesse Reading, first opened in March 2024 on Bay Street. In May, the business moved to a place on Holly Street. Helped by their central location and friendly demeanor, more and more people have been discovering ReLaced, and it’s fast…
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 (Lummi), Nooksack, and other Coast Salish peoples is knowledge about how…
