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.
Food, spirits and fun. Enjoy live music out on the patio. Come enjoy an evening on the farm!
Food, spirits and fun. Enjoy live music out on the patio. Come enjoy an evening on the farm!
Food, spirits and fun. Enjoy live music out on the patio. Come enjoy an evening on the farm!
Join Allegra Women’s Ensemble and the Whatcom Sound Jazz Singers for their annual musical benefit at the elegant Lairmont Manor. Doors open at 7:00pm with music by Hadassah McGill.
The Holiday Port Festival is a free, family-friendly event held the weekend of December 2, 3, and 4, 2016 at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal. The festival is open to the public Friday from noon – 8:00 p.m., Saturday from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. This is the Port’s signature event for the community and includes:
- Performances by local choirs, bands, and dancers Friday through Sunday, see performance times below.
- Gingerbread house display, Friday through Sunday, see event hours above for times.
- Free cookies and hot apple cider Friday through Sunday, see event hours above for times.
- Non-perishable food items will be accepted to benefit the Bellingham Food Bank.
- Alaska Ferry Tours. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to take the Ferry up to Alaska, this is your chance to step aboard and get an inside look at one of the AMHS ferries that departs Bellingham each week. Tour the observation lounges and theater; get a look inside a couple of different cabin types; walk up to the heated solarium where the heartier camp out for the journey north; and be sure to sign up at the Purser’s desk to take a tour of the bridge. While you meander through the ship, enjoy cookies prepared by the onboard chefs. If you would like a bit more to eat, purchase lunch in the café; choose from a variety of options including expertly prepared Alaska seafood dishes. Take home some ferry memorabilia.
- Visit and take photos with Santa
- Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides
- Kids Art Activities
- Winter Princesses
Holiday Port Festival Schedule: Friday, Dec. 2
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Alaska Ferry Tours – Please bring ID to tour the ferry
12:00 – 8:00 p.m. Music & Dance Performances, Gingerbread House Display, Gingerbread Silent Auction for Home
Port Learning Center, free cider and cookies donated by Haggen
4:00 – 8:00 p.m. Visit with Santa & Mrs. Claus, with the option of purchasing photos from Turner Photographics
4:00 – 7:00 p.m. Visits with Winter Princesses
6:00 p.m. Alaska Ferry Send Off
Performance Schedule
12:00-12:50 p.m. Mount Baker High School and Nooksack Valley High School
12:00-12:30 p.m. Mount Baker Blendz and Mount Baker Junior High 8th Grade Choir
1:00-1:20 p.m Blaine High School Chamber Choir
2:00 -2:20 p.m. Meridian Middle School Jazz Band
2:30-2:55 p.m. Sehome Chamber Orchestra
3:15-3:35 p.m. Meridian Jazz Ensemble and Chamber Choir
4:00-4:50 p.m.Squalicum HS Chamber Orchestra
4:00-4:50 p.m. King Singers and King Consort
5:00-5:25 p.m. Roosevelt Elementary Choir
5:30-5:50 p.m. Bellingham High School Showstoppers
6:00-6:25 p.m. Bellingham Damakor
6:00-6:50 p.m. Heroes
6:30-6:50 p.m. Bellingham Community Chorus
7:00-7:50 p.m. Squalicum High School Concert Orchestra
7:00-7:20 p.m. Parkview Panda Singers
7:40-8:00 p.m. Ferndale HS Swing Choir
The Holiday Port Festival is a free, family-friendly event held the weekend of December 2, 3, and 4, 2016 at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal. The festival is open to the public Friday from noon – 8:00 p.m., Saturday from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. This is the Port’s signature event for the community and includes:
- Performances by local choirs, bands, and dancers Friday through Sunday, see performance times below.
- Gingerbread house display, Friday through Sunday, see event hours above for times.
- Free cookies and hot apple cider Friday through Sunday, see event hours above for times.
- Non-perishable food items will be accepted to benefit the Bellingham Food Bank.
- Alaska Ferry Tours. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to take the Ferry up to Alaska, this is your chance to step aboard and get an inside look at one of the AMHS ferries that departs Bellingham each week. Tour the observation lounges and theater; get a look inside a couple of different cabin types; walk up to the heated solarium where the heartier camp out for the journey north; and be sure to sign up at the Purser’s desk to take a tour of the bridge. While you meander through the ship, enjoy cookies prepared by the onboard chefs. If you would like a bit more to eat, purchase lunch in the café; choose from a variety of options including expertly prepared Alaska seafood dishes. Take home some ferry memorabilia.
- Alaska Ferry Tours- Friday
- Visit and take photos with Santa
- Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides
- Kids Art Activities
- Winter Princesses
Schedule for Saturday, December 3
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Music & Dance Performances, Gingerbread House Display, Food Drive, free cider and cookies donated by Haggen
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Tractor Wagon Rides with Cramer Classics Wagon Rides
12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Kids Art Activities with Allied Arts of Whatcom County
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Visits with Winter Princesses
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Visit with Santa & Mrs. Claus, with the option of purchasing photos from Turner Photographics
4:30 – 6:20 p.m.* Lighted boat parade put on by the Bellingham Yacht Club. The boat parade route goes from Squalicum Harbor to the Bellingham Cruise Terminal. *Times listed here are estimates only. Boats will leave Squalicum Harbor at 4pm. Bad weather will cancel the boat parade.
Performance Schedule:
9:00 Tuba Christmas rehearsal
11:00-11:20 a.m. Mount Baker Blendz
11:00-11:20 a.m. Tuba Christmas
11:30 -12:00 p.m. Squalicum HS Chamber Orchestra
11:30-11:50 a.m. Blaine High School Brass Ensemble
12:00-12:20 p.m. Reserve for Bellingham Bay Gymnastics to warm up
12:00-12:50 p.m. Bellingham Bay Gymnastics
1:30-1:50 p.m. Squalicum High School Jazz Band
1:30-1:50 p.m. Sehome Chamber Choir
2:00-2:50 p.m. Squalicum High School Storm Singers
2:00-2:50 p.m. Kulshan Middle School
3:00-3:50 p.m. Boundary Bay Brass Quintet
4:00-4:50 p.m. Kid’Sax Ensemble
4:30-4:50 p.m. Music Studio of Jane Perkins
The Holiday Port Festival is a free, family-friendly event held the weekend of December 2, 3, and 4, 2016 at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal. The festival is open to the public Friday from noon – 8:00 p.m., Saturday from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. This is the Port’s signature event for the community and includes:
- Performances by local choirs, bands, and dancers Friday through Sunday, see performance times below.
- Gingerbread house display, Friday through Sunday, see event hours above for times.
- Free cookies and hot apple cider Friday through Sunday, see event hours above for times.
- Non-perishable food items will be accepted to benefit the Bellingham Food Bank.
- Alaska Ferry Tours. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to take the Ferry up to Alaska, this is your chance to step aboard and get an inside look at one of the AMHS ferries that departs Bellingham each week. Tour the observation lounges and theater; get a look inside a couple of different cabin types; walk up to the heated solarium where the heartier camp out for the journey north; and be sure to sign up at the Purser’s desk to take a tour of the bridge. While you meander through the ship, enjoy cookies prepared by the onboard chefs. If you would like a bit more to eat, purchase lunch in the café; choose from a variety of options including expertly prepared Alaska seafood dishes. Take home some ferry memorabilia.
- Alaska Ferry Tours- Friday
- Visit and take photos with Santa- Friday
- Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides
- Kids Art Activities
- Winter Princesses
Schedule for Sunday, December 4
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Music & Dance Performances, Gingerbread House Display, Food Drive for Bellingham Food Bank, free cider and cookies donated by Haggen
11:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Gingerbread Silent Auction for Home Port Learning Center
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Horse-drawn Wagon Rides with Cramer Classics Wagon Rides
12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Kids Art Activities with Allied Arts of Whatcom County
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Visits with Winter Princesses by Simply Magical Parties
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Visit with Santa & Mrs. Claus, with the option to purchase photos from Turner Photographics 4:00 p.m. Gingerbread House Silent Auction Closes. Winners will be called using the phone number provided on the auction sheet. Gingerbread winners may pick up houses from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, and Monday, Dec. 7 through Wednesday, Dec. 9 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Port staff will be on site to coordinate payment and pick up. If your gingerbread creation is NOT in the silent auction, you may pick it up any time after 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. All houses not picked up by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9 will be discarded or donated.
Performance Schedule:
11:00-11:50 a.m. Bellingham youth Jazz Band
11:00-11:50 a.m. Bellingham Alumni Band
12:00-12:50 p.m. Dancing for Joy
1:00-1:20 p.m. Ferndale Dance
1:30-1:50 p.m. Christmas Songsters
2:00-2:20 p.m. Eagleridge elementary School Choir
2:00-2:50 p.m. Con Spirito Brass Quintet
2:30-2:50 p.m. Fairhaven Middle School Choir
3:00-4:50 p.m. Marimba Christmas
3:00-3:50 p.m. Evergreen Music Studios
4:00-4:20 p.m. Whatcom Horns
Help support the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation by shopping at Whole Foods Market on Thursday, December 15th.
5% of the store’s sales will be donated to the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation to help them reach their goal of building a commissary kitchen, so children across the district can receive healthier meals.
Help support the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation by shopping at Whole Foods Market on Thursday, December 15th.
5% of the store’s sales will be donated to the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation to help them reach their goal of building a commissary kitchen, so children across the district can receive healthier meals.
Help support the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation by shopping at Whole Foods Market on Thursday, December 15th.
5% of the store’s sales will be donated to the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation to help them reach their goal of building a commissary kitchen, so children across the district can receive healthier meals.
Sustainable Connections and the Happy Valley Neighborhood Association will be hosting two events that invite residents from Happy Valley and surrounding neighborhoods to determine how to build more affordable and accessible housing in their neighborhood and to re-invent the way the neighborhood can develop (and continue to be) one of the best places in Bellingham to live and play. For the first event, enjoy the premier of a local short film about the Happy Valley Neighborhood by NAM Films before the feature film: A Man Called Ove, a full length movie about an ill-tempered, isolated retiree who spends his days enforcing block association rules has finally given up on life just as an unlikely friendship develops with his boisterous new neighbors (PG-13).
Sustainable Connections and the Happy Valley Neighborhood Association will be hosting two events that invite residents from Happy Valley and surrounding neighborhoods to determine how to build more affordable and accessible housing in their neighborhood and to re-invent the way the neighborhood can develop (and continue to be) one of the best places in Bellingham to live and play. For the second event, learn from Planning Director Rick Sepler & Architect Bill Kreager on designing sustainable communities. Engage in interactive sessions to explore density, design, and community connections over lunch. Explore creative housing and see how it works in the context of our neighborhood – optional tour.
Bellingham High School’s Creepy Cabaret is back, but don’t be scared! This Halloween talent show and fundraiser dinner has become a favorite for families and music lovers alike. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for the event, now in its seventh year, on Friday, October 27 in the BHS Commons. Enjoy a pizza buffet from Pizza’zza while talented students from the award-winning BHS choir program entertain in a true cabaret setting. Costumes are encouraged and a cash prize raffle is part of the evening fun.
Tickets at the door and in advance from BHS choir students and the school ASB window, 2020 Cornwall Avenue, Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Warm up your holiday season with an evening of “Wine, Women & Song.” Join Allegra Women’s Ensemble directed by Dr.Timothy Black and Whatcom Sound Jazz Singers directed by Michael-Paul Gurulé for an intimate evening of sparkling music, delicious light hors d’oeuvres, fine wine and delightful company. $25. Donation includes one complimentary glass of wine. Tickets in advance at Brown Paper Tickets- “Wine, Women and Song,” any singer or at the door. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Whatcom Chorale, led by Deborah L. Brown, Artistic Director and Conductor, offers “Bach and Forward”— works by two very different Bachs! Refresh your spirit with the beauty of J. S. Bach’s “Jesu, meine Freude” (Jesus, my joy) and “Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf” (The Spirit gives aid to our weakness), and then laugh at P.D.Q. Bach’s “Liebeslieder Polkas,” a satirical homage to the romantic Brahms by the elder Bach’s “only forgotten son.”
Tickets available: (1) online at Brown Paper Tickets; (2) starting three weeks before the concert, at both locations of the Community Food Co-op and Village Books; and (3) at the door. Adults $20, Students/Seniors (65+) $15, Children (under 18) $5.
Whatcom Chorale and Whatcom Sinfonia present the premiere of Scott Henderson’s evocative new song cycle, “Ordinary Prayers,” and two works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — the “Coronation” Mass, K. 317 and “Vesperae solennes de confessore,” K. 339, which includes the beautiful “Laudate dominum.”
Tickets are available at the door and online through Brown Paper Tickets, and starting three weeks before the concert, at both Community Food Co-ops (Bellingham and Cordata), and at Village Books (Fairhaven and Lynden). Adult $20, Senior (65+)/Student $15, Under18 $5.
You’re invited to a Clean Water Happy Hour at Overflow Taps in Barkley, and your first drink’s on us!
The event benefits charity: water, a non-profit organization that has funded and coordinated over 40,000 water projects in 27 countries. From 12-2PM on Saturday, January 25th, we’ll sponsor your first drink at the Barkley Village Overflow Taps.
It’s a chance to have a pint with friends, family, neighbors, business partners, and community members. We also do a few giveaways each month, sponsored by local businesses – potted plants, snack baskets, massage certificates, coffee cards – you never know what you might walk away with!
This is a 21+ event.
Join us for an eclectic and uplifting program of spiritual music from diverse congregations throughout Whatcom County, ending with an exuberant finale involving all singers with the audience! A Bellingham tradition for many years, this concert showcases diverse choral and instrumental music, and usually attracts a full house. Adding to individual selections by choirs ranging from intimate to majestic, the grand finale will be the 200-voice festival choir singing “Bright Morning Stars Are Rising,” an Appalachian hymn of hope and promise. Interfaith Coalition is a group of 40 Whatcom County congregations working together to end family homelessness in Whatcom County. An opportunity to donate will be available.
Bellingham Tonight and Bellingham Public Schools will broadcast graduation ceremonies for all four Bellingham high schools (Bellingham, Sehome, Squalicum, and Options) on June 12. These are the first online graduation ceremonies for the district. Ceremonies will include a message from Superintendent Dr. Greg Baker, speeches from high school staff and students, senior musical performances, and a roll call of names.
The broadcasts will be open to the public and go live on YouTube at 6:00 p.m. Each ceremony will be premiered on bellinghamtonightshow.com as well as the district websites for each high school.
Ceremonies were produced by Veritas Media Productions. Veritas Media is a Bellingham-based video production company that also produces the Bellingham Tonight Show.
BMC brings the world-famous Rastrelli Cello Quartet to Bellingham for their exclusive West Coast engagement!
Their program will cover a wide and exciting repertoire, from Russian folk tunes to the Beatles song book, by way of favorite works by Edvard Grieg, Johannes Brahms, and Astor Piazzolla, plus film scores by Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer, and Henry Mancini!
Come hear Peer Gynt; Hungarian Dances; Oblivion and Libertango; and excerpts from The Mission, Pirates of the Caribbean, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and The Pink Panther! And then, the Rastrellis celebrate John Lennon and Paul McCartney!
Tickets on sale at Village Books in Fairhaven, online, and at the door. $30 general; $10 age 12-18 and students with ID.
Combining for the first time, VOX PACIFICA and CHOIR OF THE SALISH SEA will be presenting a theme of powerful music about the ocean and universe by many talented composers, on Friday, Dec 2nd, 7:30pm and Saturday, Dec 3rd at 3 pm. at the acoustically delightful First Congregational Church, 2401 Cornwall, Bellingham.
Tickets are available online at our website, voxpacifica.org/events , at Village Books and the door. General audience price is $20, students 12 yrs and under, $10.
Opening our 2022–2023 season of live concerts, Whatcom Chorale and Sinfonia return to the Mt. Baker Theatre with a powerful and uplifting presentation of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah! Messiah stands as a pinnacle of choral composition, overshadowing virtually everything else the baroque master wrote during his fifty-year career. In 280 years of presentations by all manner of ensembles, grandiose, intimate, professional, and improvised, this glorious work has retained its popularity and quite possibly ranks as the most performed piece of classical music in history.
Enjoy performances by the WCC Contemporary Music Ensemble and student soloists from the Associate in Music degree program. Original compositions by students in mixed chamber music ensembles including graphic scores and music for live film.
Free admission
Singing the World into Balance
Bellingham’s premiere tenor/bass choir presents a musical montage to a mountain bike and trail running mecca. The driving rhythms and lofty harmonies of their singing reflect the energy and camaraderie of the mountain that brings the world to Bellingham.
Songs include: Bicycle Race (Queen), White Winter Hymnal (Pentatonix),
Here Comes the Sun (Beatles), Seven Bridges Road (The Eagles) and songs from BRAVEHEART, CHARIOTS OF FIRE, LION KING, TARZAN and THE HOBBIT
Prizes from local bike and running shops and clubs to be raffled off at each concert.
Ticket holders are automatically entered into the raffle. Must be present to win..
In October of 1998, Matthew Shepard, a young gay student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie was kidnapped, severely beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die in a lonely field under a blanket of stars. Five days later, when Matt passed away, the world was watching. Approaching the eve of the 20th anniversary, Craig Hella Johnson has responded with his first concert-length work, Considering Matthew Shepard.
This three-part fusion oratorio speaks with a fresh and bold voice, incorporating a variety of musical styles seamlessly woven into a unified whole. Johnson sets a wide range of soulful texts by poets including Hildegard of Bingen, Lesléa Newman, Michael Dennis Browne, and Rumi. Passages from Matt’s personal journal, interviews and writings from his parents Judy and Dennis Shepard, newspaper reports and additional texts by Johnson and Browne are poignantly appointed throughout the work.
Considering Matthew Shepard joins the ranks of many significant artistic responses to Matthew Shepard’s legacy. Most noteworthy is The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project, which has been seen by more than 30 million people. Jason Marsden, Executive Director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation calls Considering Matthew Shepard “by far the most intricate, beautiful, and unyielding artistic response to this notorious anti-gay hate crime.”
Matthew Shepard’s story must never be forgotten.
—Craig Hella Johnson, Composer
This is an independent event promoted by a renter of the facility. Any comments or opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Mount Baker Theatre.
