Community Calendar and Information Hub

The WhatcomTalk Events Calendar shares things to do around Whatcom County including Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine and beyond. Find fun activities and adventures throughout the region on our comprehensive events calendar. Have an event that isn’t listed? Click the green “Post your Event” button and our editors will review and approve within two business days.

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Agenda
October 2016 – July 2021 Oct 2016 – Jul 2021
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Oct
13
Thu
Author Talk: Deborah Jiang-Stein @ Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship
Tickets
Oct 13 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Author Talk: Deborah Jiang-Stein @ Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship | Bellingham | Washington | United States

Jill Bernstein, co-chair of the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force, will interview Deborah Jiang-Stein, author of the memoir PRISON BABY and founder of the unPrison Project, a nonprofit serving incarcerated women and girls.

Discussion will include Deborah’s insights from work inside prisons across the country, why we have mass incarceration, community alternatives that work, and more about her story as an example of the collateral damage that happens when mothers are incarcerated.

Prison Baby is described as “One woman’s struggles—beginning with her birth in prison—to find self-acceptance, proving that redemption and healing are possible, even from the darkest corners.”

The event is free of charge. Donate $20 or more to the unPrison Project and receive a signed copy of Prison Baby.

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Categories: Arts and Entertainment Author Talk Tags: author talk
Nov
19
Sat
Meeting in the Margins @ WCLS Ferndale Library
Tickets
Nov 19 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Meeting in the Margins @ WCLS Ferndale Library | Ferndale | Washington | United States

In her new book, Meeting in the Margins: An Invitation to Encounter Society’s Invisible People, Cynthia Trenshaw takes us with her when, as a chaplain in a Midwestern hospital room, she holds a man with AIDS who becomes her inspiration to learn massage therapy. We go with her to the San Francisco streets, homeless encampments, and shelters where she practices the art of caring touch, offering seated massage to homeless people right where she encounters them. In a private home in Washington she “massages” an amputated limb for a woman experiencing phantom pain; in a hermit’s shack on Saratoga Passage she learns about silence as she cares for a classics scholar dying of lung cancer. Not many of us go where Trenshaw dares to go. And of those who do go to the margins, few are able to express, as she does, the profound reciprocal effect that encounters of intentional presence can have.

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Categories: Adult Focused Events Tags: Author author event author talk library literature
Meeting in the Margins @ WCLS Lynden Library
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Nov 19 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Meeting in the Margins @ WCLS Lynden Library | Lynden | Washington | United States

In her new book, “Meeting in the Margins: An Invitation to Encounter Society’s Invisible People,” Cynthia Trenshaw takes us with her when, as a chaplain in a Midwestern hospital room, she holds a man with AIDS who becomes her inspiration to learn massage therapy. We go with her to the San Francisco streets, homeless encampments, and shelters where she practices the art of caring touch, offering seated massage to homeless people right where she encounters them. In a private home in Washington she “massages” an amputated limb for a woman experiencing phantom pain; in a hermit’s shack on Saratoga Passage she learns about silence as she cares for a classics scholar dying of lung cancer. Not many of us go where Trenshaw dares to go. And of those who do go to the margins, few are able to express, as she does, the profound reciprocal effect that encounters of intentional presence can have.

Whatcom Talk editor, Please note: This event also occurs at the Ferndale Library at 10:30 AM on the same day. This is not a mistake or a duplicate listing. Thanks

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Categories: Adult Focused Events Author Talk Tags: Author author event author talk literature
Jun
8
Fri
Book Talk: Peter Donahue’s THREE SIDES WATER @ Village Books
Tickets
Jun 8 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Book Talk: Peter Donahue's THREE SIDES WATER @ Village Books | Bellingham | Washington | United States

Join us in celebrating award-winning author Peter Donahue’s new book Three Sides Water at Village Books in Bellingham on Friday, June 8, 2018. Author Peter Donahue will read from his new book Three Sides Water at Village Books in Bellingham on Friday, June 8, 2018 at 7:00 PM. In his latest work of literary fiction, Donahue distills the raw and vivid world of the Olympic Peninsula into a stunning work that challenges what it means to live life with purpose and integrity.

THE BOOK
Across the dramatic landscape of the Pacific Northwest’s Olympic Peninsula, Donahue’s characters take extraordinary actions to transcend the limitations imposed upon them. Marguerite struggles with the emotional aftermath of sexual assault amidst the mysticism and untamed wilderness of the Pacific coast in the 1920s. Avery navigates life as a “juvenile delinquent” while the social and political convulsions of the 1960s transform the world around him. Chris escapes the present-day mill town where he grew up, only to find he must reconcile his true self with the troubling persona he’s taken on.

THE AUTHOR
Peter Donahue is the author of the novels Clara and Merritt and Madison House, winner of the 2005 Langum Prize for American Historical Fiction, and the short story collection The Cornelius Arms. He is co-editor of the 2016 edition of the memoir Seven Years on the Pacific Slope and the anthologies Reading Seattle and Reading Portland. His Retrospective Review column on Northwest literature has appeared in Columbia: The Magazine of Northwest History since 2005. He teaches at Wenatchee Valley College at Omak and lives in Winthrop, Washington.

In addition to reading passages from each of the short novels in Three Sides Water, Peter will be spending some time discussing Olympic Peninsula literature and fielding questions from the audience.

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Categories: Author Talk Tags: author event author signing author talk Bellingham book fiction literary fiction short stories
Jun
9
Sat
Whispers of the Dead – Book Talk with Local Author Spencer Kope @ WCLS Lynden Library
Tickets
Jun 9 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Whispers of the Dead - Book Talk with Local Author Spencer Kope @ WCLS Lynden Library | Lynden | Washington | United States

Join us for an afternoon book talk and book signing with local author Spencer Kope, a crime analyst currently assigned to the detectives division at the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. Spencer will discuss his new book Whispers of the Dead, the sequel to Collecting the Dead. Village Books will be on hand if you would like to purchase a copy of Spencer’s books and have it autographed.

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Categories: Author Talk Tags: author talk book talk local author
Jun
23
Sat
Mount Baker Theatre Presents: Seven Things I’ve Learned: An Evening with Ira Glass @ Mount Baker Theatre
Tickets
Jun 23 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Mount Baker Theatre Presents: Seven Things I’ve Learned: An Evening with Ira Glass @ Mount Baker Theatre | Bellingham | Washington | United States

MOUNT BAKER THEATRE PRESENTS:
Seven Things I’ve Learned: An Evening with Ira Glass

Iconic Storyteller: This American Life Star

Ira Glass is the creator, producer and host of This American Life, the iconic, weekly public radio program with millions of listeners around the world. Using audio clips, music and video, Glass delivers a unique talk, sharing lessons from his life and career in storytelling: what inspires him to create? What drives his passion? How have failures and successes informed his decisions? During his presentation, Ira Glass will mix stories live on stage and help his audience better follow the creative process of one of our foremost storytellers.

MBT Field Guide Insights:

Dig deep into everyday joy with Ira Glass, whose radio show is enjoyed weekly by 2.2 million people and has won five Peabody Awards. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to witness the storyteller become the story and offer you what he’s picked up in that familiar, friendly voice.

“These stories float right into your brain and lodge there.” – The Nation

“It’s hard to make something that’s interesting.” – Ira Glass

Saturday, Jun 23, 2018 7:30 p.m.
Premier – $59.50
Section A – $50.50
Section B – $41.50
Value – $25.50
plus applicable fees – Group discounts available – call 360-734-6080

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Categories: Arts and Entertainment Author Talk Tags: American author talk Ira Glass Mount Baker npr talk theatre
Sep
29
Sat
Author Visit – Backyard Fairies @ WCLS Deming Library
Tickets
Sep 29 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Author Visit - Backyard Fairies @ WCLS Deming Library | Everson | Washington | United States

Step into the enchanted world of fairies with local author-illustrator Phoebe Wahl reading her new book Backyard Fairies. A little girl searches tirelessly for the fairies she is sure live in the woods beyond her garden. But the magical creatures seem to dance just out of sight. This beautifully illustrated book leads the reader on a delightful exploration of the magic to be found in our own backyard. Enjoy the story and make a fairy craft at this special program. For grades K-5.

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Categories: Author Talk Kids Tags: author talk fairies
Author Visit – The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter @ WCLS Everson Library
Tickets
Sep 29 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Author Visit - The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter @ WCLS Everson Library | Everson | Washington | United States

In Skein: The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter, author Christen Mattix recounts how she stumbled upon an unusual way of meeting her Fairhaven neighbors when she decided to knit a half-mile blue rope from a public bench to Bellingham Bay. During those three and a half years of knitting at the bench, Mattix meets her loveable and quirky neighbors, visits a Trappist Monastery, falls in love and transforms from introverted artist to a catalyst for community connections.

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Categories: Author Talk Tags: author talk knitting
Oct
6
Sat
Author Visit: The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter @ Blaine Library
Tickets
Oct 6 @ 11:00 am
Author Visit: The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter @ Blaine Library | Blaine | Washington | United States

In “Skein: The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter,” author Christen Mattix recounts how she stumbled upon an unusual way of meeting her Fairhaven neighbors when she decided to knit a half-mile blue rope from a public bench to Bellingham Bay. During those three and a half years of knitting at the bench, Mattix meets her loveable and quirky neighbors, visits a Trappist Monastery, falls in love and transforms from introverted artist to a catalyst for community connections.

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Categories: Author Talk Tags: author signing author talk books knit knitting
Oct
11
Thu
Author Visit: Peace Weavers of the Salish Coast @ WCLS Deming Library
Tickets
Oct 11 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Local author Candace Wellman speaks about her book Peace Weavers: Uniting the Salish Coast through Cross-Cultural Marriages. Peace-weaving marriages between Salish families and pioneer men played a crucial role in mid-1800s regional settlement. Author Candace Wellman illuminates this hidden history and shatters stereotypes surrounding these relationships. The four exceptional women she profiles left a lasting legacy in their Puget Sound communities.

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Categories: Author Talk Tags: author talk Candace Wellman local author
Oct
20
Sat
Author Visit: The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter @ WCLS Ferndale Library
Tickets
Oct 20 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

In “Skein: The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter,” author Christen Mattix recounts how she stumbled upon an unusual way of meeting her Fairhaven neighbors when she decided to knit a half-mile blue rope from a public bench to Bellingham Bay. During those three and a half years of knitting at the bench, Mattix meets her loveable and quirky neighbors, visits a Trappist Monastery, falls in love and transforms from introverted artist to a catalyst for community connections.

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Categories: Author Talk Tags: author event author talk knit knitting local author
Oct
23
Tue
Author Visit: The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter @ WCLS Lynden Library
Tickets
Oct 23 @ 6:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Author Visit: The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter @ WCLS Lynden Library | Lynden | Washington | United States

In Skein: The Heartbreaks & Triumphs of a Long Distance Knitter, author Christen Mattix recounts how she stumbled upon an unusual way of meeting her Fairhaven neighbors when she decided to knit a half-mile blue rope from a public bench to Bellingham Bay. During those three and a half years of knitting at the bench, Mattix meets her loveable and quirky neighbors, visits a Trappist Monastery, falls in love and transforms from introverted artist to a catalyst for community connections.

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Categories: Author Talk Tags: author event author talk knitting local author
Oct
30
Tue
Author Visit: Peace Weavers of the Salish Coast @ WCLS Everson Library
Tickets
Oct 30 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Author Visit: Peace Weavers of the Salish Coast @ WCLS Everson Library | Everson | Washington | United States

Local author Candace Wellman speaks about her book “Peace Weavers: Uniting the Salish Coast through Cross-Cultural Marriages.” Peace-weaving marriages between Salish families and pioneer men played a crucial role in mid-1800s regional settlement. Author Candace Wellman illuminates this hidden history and shatters stereotypes surrounding these relationships. The four exceptional women she profiles left a lasting legacy in their Puget Sound communities.

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Categories: Author Talk Tags: #history author event author talk local author
Dec
8
Sat
Close Encounters of the Literary Kind @ Van Zandt Community Hall
Tickets
Dec 8 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Close Encounters of the Literary Kind @ Van Zandt Community Hall | 0

Romance and history and mystery, oh my! Meet and chat with a panel of local authors over refreshments in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Where do they get their ideas and inspiration? How do they ply their craft? How did they come to be writers, and what are they working on now?

Of course, there will be ample time to purchase signed copies of their works; a great way to stock up on your winter reading and take care of some of that holiday gift-giving!

Yes! It’s the second annual Close Encounters of the Literary Kind Meet Your Local Authors Presented by the South Fork Valley Community Association and the Deming Library.

Featured Authors:
• Barbara Davis-Pyles, doctor (not the usual kind) and author of children’s books
• Kathleen Kaska, maven of mystery, protector of critters
• Debu Majumdar, tales of India and tales for kids
• Jennifer Mueller, weaver of stories of romance and suspense
• Matthew Thuney (your co-host), humorist, essayist, purveyor of bucolic lore

With an introduction by Katrina Carabba, Deming Library Branch Manager.

Admission is free, refreshments provided, all are welcome (as are donations to support the Friends of the Deming Library and to assist with the renovation and community outreach of the Van Zandt Community Hall).

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Categories: Author Talk Non-Profit Fundraising Events Tags: author signing author talk book sale
Jul
27
Tue
Helen Macdonald, Vesper Flights @ VILLAGE BOOKS EVENTS
Tickets
Jul 27 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Helen Macdonald, Vesper Flights @ VILLAGE BOOKS EVENTS

Helen Macdonald is a writer, poet, illustrator and naturalist, and an affiliated research scholar at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of the bestselling H Is for Hawk, as well as a cultural history of falcons, titled Falcon, and three collections of poetry, including Shaler’s Fish. Macdonald was a Research Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge, has worked as a professional falconer, and has assisted with the management of raptor research and conservation projects across Eurasia. She now writes for the New York Times Magazine.

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Categories: Author Talk Tags: author talk village books
October 2016 – July 2021 Oct 2016 – Jul 2021