Summer Fun & Camp Guide | 2025
Don’t miss our 2025 Summer Fun & Camp Guide! From farmer’s markets to art festivals to plain old community fun, our guide has it…
History, Fantasy, and Everything in Between at Skagit Valley’s New Renaissance Faire | Faire du Well
Clashing swords, roasting turkey legs, magical creatures, and royals holding court. Where can you find all these things in the 21st century? At a renaissance faire, of course! Earlier this summer, Skagit County hosted its first full-weekend renaissance faire, a novel event called Faire du Well. Organized by the Washington Shakespearean Festival (WSF), it took over Skagit County Fairgrounds from June 13–14, much to the excitement of local ren faire fans. The…
New Bistro Opens in Historic Mount Vernon Building | Union Block Bistro
Upon entering the Union Block Bistro, you’re immediately greeted by a friendly face. The Union Block Bistro is homey. The interior boasts a variety of colors, from lime green to black to ‘80s-disco-teal; the painted-over brick walls reflect the stories and age of the 1906 building. Although the features of the room are hard, the lighting is softened by the white linen cloth…
Backyard Beekeeping | Northwest Apiary Services
Have you ever thought of providing local pollination from your own home? Whether you want to hardly lift a finger or go all in and be one with the bees, Northwest Apiary Services makes this possible. Co-Founders…
A Worry-Free Way to Wet Your Whistle | Beverages by Boel
“I know we give people the gift of time, because we’re experts in putting together the beverage part of people’s special events,” says Boel Laxfoss, owner and operator of Beverages by Boel. Through her beverage catering company, Boel not only provides custom cocktails and mocktails, wine, beer, coffee, hydration stations, all the accouterments like ice, cups, napkins, and portable bars—she bartends, too! Beverages by Boel began in 2008 when Boel gifted her bartending…
Collective, Infectious Joy—and Great Hair! | Beauty Collective
Elspeth Palmby laughs and looks a little bit uncomfortable when I ask if she’s the owner of Beauty Collective, a small salon tucked back from the sidewalk on Fairhaven’s Harris Avenue. “Technically, yes, I own Beauty Collective—the name,” she says, “but everyone booth-rents and it’s more like a co-op.” Miranda…
Wine Pick of the Month | Niccolo Coturri’s High Diving Sparkling 2023
PRODUCER: Niccolo Coturri WINE: High Diving Sparkling 2023 GRAPES: Madeleine Angevine and Siegerrbe from Lopez Island Vineyards We love this wine from our friends at Piquenique and Niccolo Coturri Wines—they’re some of the only natural wines being made in Washington state. Nic and Tess farm this organic vineyard themselves on Lopez Island, using no preservatives or chemicals in the winery…
A Taste of the Okanagan | Kelowna, British Columbia
Calling the Pacific Northwest home goes hand-in-hand with a perk many of us may take for granted: being just a short trip away from our neighbors to the North. Whether you’re looking for a picturesque weekend getaway or an action-packed weeklong vacation, I have a location to suggest that you may not have considered: Kelowna, BC. Nestled on Okanagan Lake and in close proximity to Big White Ski…
Mixing Family and Business for Delicious Results | Hedlin’s Family Farm
Farming, specifically on the La Conner land his family has owned for four generations, has always been in Kai Ottesen’s blood. But…
Spring Spot Prawn & Asparagus Risotto | Chef Matthew’s Corner
May in the Pacific Northwest is a time of abundance—farmers markets overflow with vibrant produce, and the Salish Sea offers some of the freshest seafood imaginable. One of the reasons I fell in love with this region is the unparalleled access to high-quality local ingredients—some of the best I’ve ever cooked with. Whether meeting farmers in the field or picking up seafood straight from the docks, sourcing ingredients is as much a passion as cooking itself. This month,…
Kickin’ It With the South Fork Country Kickers
The universal appeal of line dancing has led to a recent surge in popularity and frequent appearances at local venues. The South Fork Country Kickers combine rural charm with a mix of musical genres, bringing a vibrant energy to the dance floor while providing instruction on how to line dance. For Founder and Lead Instructor Tari Bussard, it’s not just about learning how…
Countryside Equestrian ‘Hipstoric’ Farmhouse Kitchen | TANNA BY DESIGN
With a nod to the English countryside, this farmhouse design combines old and new, mixing modern pieces and antique furniture with rough-and-ready European elements that everyone is gravitating toward—a ‘hipstoric’ farmhouse…
8 Great Tastes | May 2025
The Black Cat is known for its vintage, classy atmosphere and it’s delicious Mexican Street Corn Dip. From red brick walls to stained-glass Tiffany lamps, this is the perfect restaurant for fancy dining in historic Fairhaven. Who knows, maybe you’ll even catch a glimpse of the ghost who reportedly roams the halls of the building! Get the night…
Small But Mighty: Local Seafood Truck on Lummi Island | Legoe Bay Reefnetter
Legoe Bay Reefnetter has been operating for around two years and is a one-man operation run by Kevin Castellanos. Though the menu is short, it will not fall short of your expectations. Coming from Guayaquil, Ecuador, where the salmon had to be imported, Castellanos says, “I think maybe one or two times I tasted it, but it never was this flavor.” The salmon and halibut Castellanos uses…
52 Perfect Saturdays
Ever wake up on the weekend and feel a tug to get out of the house and do something fun, but you have no idea what fun thing to do? Sometimes, you can waste a whole beautiful day languishing around trying to figure out a plan. Well, we’re here to help, with 52 ideas for a great day out and about in the…
New ADHD Center Opens in Bellingham | Hallowell Todaro ADHD & Behavioral Health Center
March 3 marked the opening of the new Hallowell Todaro ADHD & Behavioral Health Center in Bellingham. The health center, an offshoot of the larger Seattle location, will initially serve as a place for new client consultations and therapy, with plans to eventually expand to patient and parent coaching. Nick Mabbutt, licensed marriage and family therapist and one of the two initial employees at the Bellingham office, briefly describes the…
A Hub for Thrift, the Heart of a Community | Worn Again Thrift
THE SHOP The beautiful Bellingham National Bank Building on Holly Street has a stylish new tenant: Worn Again Thrift, a curated vintage store that believes secondhand apparel is a gateway to sustainability, community, and self-expression. Worn Again began as a two-person team (Owner Miles Harlow and a co-founder), buying and selling vintage on the road, off porches, online, and at pop-ups. They opened their brick-and-mortar at the corner…
Keeping Bellingham Blooming
Strolling through downtown Bellingham, you’ll come across many treasured local haunts. And from May through October, you’ll find yourself face to face with something unique to the summer months: enormous flower baskets hanging from downtown lamp posts. The presence of these vibrant flower baskets is the result of the Adopt a Flower Basket program, a community giving campaign put in place by the Downtown Bellingham Partnership (DBP) in 2022. Through the program,…
New Restaurant Brings Dim Sum to the People | SOHO Bellingham Asian Kitchen & Bar
A new restaurant has moved into the previous K-Pop Chicken and Beer space in downtown Bellingham, and it’s serving up something that Bellingham’s been missing: dim sum! SOHO Bellingham Asian Kitchen & Bar serves “dim sum, Thai cuisine, and other Asian-inspired dishes in a dynamic fusion,” according to their website. It’s a new venture…
“Meant to Be” | Melissa Hatcher of Adored Boutique
Melissa Hatcher, 32, isn’t just the new owner of downtown Fairhaven’s Adored Boutique—she’s a legacy. Since Adored opened in August 2020, Hatcher has worked by the side of former owner Bridget Knutson. Helping to start up a new business during the peak of the pandemic, Hatcher was expecting the hard stuff while solely managing the boutique, but she wasn’t expecting a blast from the past. It wasn’t until after Knutson signed the lease for…
Great Places to Get Flowers for Mom | Five Faves
Flowers represent spring, which is associated with new life and motherhood—that’s part of what makes them such a popular gift on Mother’s Day. Here are…
Cornhole for a Cause
Excitement was in the air. Cornhole bags flew across the astroturf field of the Bellingham Sportsplex as players warmed up for the ensuing tournament. That was the scene at the first fundraising cornhole competition hosted by United Way of Whatcom County, a local non-profit, in partnership with Upper Left Cornhole. The competition cost $50 per team of two, with a max of 48 teams, and a first place prize of $500. All…
Since Time Immemorial | Teresa Taylor
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 with…
The Mixing Tin | Blackberry Jalapeño Margarita
BLACKBERRY JALAPEÑO MARGARITA Red Star Taco Bar: $12 Ingredients: Jalapeño-infused blanco tequila, blackberry jam, lime, and a salt and Tajín-rimmed glass A cold winter’s night, a warm summer’s day, tequila and blackberry have come to say hey. The Blackberry Jalapeño Margarita from Red Star Taco Bar is clean, refreshing, and sharp. In a short crystal glass…
A Tribute to Community | Blaine’s Blessing of the Fleet
Despite the constant flow of travelers passing through the Peace Arch border, the seaside city of Blaine maintains a distinct small-town charm. In the heart of downtown, residents call out greetings to familiar faces as they stroll streets…
Getting Market Season Running! | EN Valley Farmers Market 5k
The team behind EN Valley Farmers Market in Everson has teamed up with the Greater Bellingham Running Club to start the summer farmers market season off with…
Teaching Self-Care | Skagit Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique, which was created by Frederick Matthias Alexander in the late 1800s, is a method for improving posture and movement through self-awareness, with the aim of decreasing pain and increasing mindfulness. “The way I usually describe it is that it helps you learn to do things that you do every day, but with less tension, less…