Fall has officially arrived, bringing with it gorgeous foliage, crisp mornings, warm afternoons and a slightly slower pace. Relax and recharge at The Spa at Semiahmoo, where you can unwind after a busy summer with seasonal spa specials.
The long days with countless hours in the summer sun may have left your skin a bit parched and in need of some detoxifying. Using the very effective Jan Marini skin research, you can renew and revitalize the skin of face, neck and décolleté in just 30 minutes with a Resurfacing Peel to help improve surface texture, fine lines and overall signs of aging, the sun and acne.
Or, be sure to keep your sun-kissed skin with a sunless tanning treatment. The Spa’s Continuous Glow will hydrate and firm the appearance of your skin with COOLA’s ultra-moisturizing and deep-soothing eco-certified Sunless Tanning Body Lotion. This 70 percent + organic Sunless Tan Body Moisturizer offers a buildable, natural-looking radiance that lasts up to three – five days.
For those looking for a midweek pick-me-up, you can also visit The Spa Monday through Thursday and indulge in a Midweek Retreat, which includes up to a $30 savings on a 50-minute customized facial or integrated massage.
Whatever your preference to unwind after long summer days, you can rest assured that you will find it at The Spa at Semiahmoo.
Call 360-318-2009 for more information or to book an appointment.
Recognizing that socks are the most requested clothing item at homeless shelters, Peoples Bank launched its inaugural “Share a Pair During Socktober” campaign with the goal of donating 5,000 new pairs of socks to nonprofit organizations serving homeless communities in the state.
Starting on October 1 and continuing through the end of the month, Peoples Bank will accept donations of new pairs of socks at its 23 branches. The Bank will also donate socks on behalf of customers who share and tag photos of people wearing fun, crazy socks using #shareapair on Instagram and Facebook, and customers who visit a branch wearing fun socks and agree to have their photo taken and shared on social media.
In Whatcom County, donated socks will be sorted and delivered to Lighthouse Mission, Lydia Place and Northwest Youth Services in early November. Other recipients in the state include the Seattle Union Gospel Mission, Everett Gospel Mission, Skagit Community Action, Haven of Hope in Wenatchee and the Whidbey Homeless Coalition.
“We walk alongside hundreds of people a day experiencing homelessness in Whatcom County, taking them from suffering to flourishing with outcome-based programs, friendship, dignity and hope that they too can break the cycle of homelessness in their lives,” said Hans Erchinger-Davis, Executive Director of Lighthouse Mission. “New socks are among the greatest material needs for our people, and we are grateful to Peoples Bank for spearheading this big-hearted campaign.”
Addressing Homelessness in Whatcom County
According to the Whatcom County Coalition to End Homelessness 2018 Annual Report, 815 people are experiencing homelessness in the county, and hundreds more are believed to be at risk of losing their homes and becoming homeless throughout the year due to a lack of affordable housing, economic difficulties, family break up, mental illness, addiction and domestic violence.
“The goal of our Socktober event is to raise awareness of homelessness in our communities and be a part of the solution to help those in need,” said Michelle Barrett, Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking & Marketing Officer. “Every night in Washington State, an estimated 22,000 people live on the streets or in shelters or transitional living. Donating socks can make a difference in the lives of our homeless neighbors.”
Peoples Bank was founded in Lynden nearly 100 years ago and today has 285 full-time employees at its nine branches across Whatcom County. Peoples Bank encourages employees to volunteer in their local communities by providing regular opportunities for involvement and paid time off for eligible employees. Through its “Community Involvement Day” program, employees are offered up to eight paid hours annually to use their skills and knowledge to improve their communities.
Peoples Bank is a locally owned and operated, independent full-service community bank with $1.7 billion in assets. Headquartered in Bellingham, Washington, the Bank was founded in 1921 and operates 23 branches located throughout Washington. In its most recent rating, Bauer Financial, a leading independent bank rating firm, awarded Peoples Bank its highest five-star superior rating. This rating recognizes Peoples Bank’s strong financial management practices, dedicated employees and long-standing customer relationships. Learn more about Peoples Bank at https://www.peoplesbank-wa.com/.
Gretchen is particularly concerned that the mural conveys motion and energy to break up the hard lines of the long wall and corrugation of the building. Photo courtesy: Nick Hartrich.
In an effort to reduce or eliminate maintenance and graffiti clean-up costs, Puget Sound Energy will be installing art pieces on a number of its properties. PSE launched ARTility this year, which is a beautification project aimed to saving customers money while beautifying its public spaces.
The first facility that will feature the artwork is PSE’s Encogen facility in Bellingham. Local artist Gretchen Leggitt of Bellingham is leading the art project, which is a 21,600 square foot mural that represents PSE’s commitment to wind and other renewable energy.
“We saw an opportunity to integrate our facilities into the community through art,” said Nick Hartrich, PSE outreach manager. “Not only will these projects help to make our properties more aesthetically pleasing, but our research shows that the art has the potential to reduce maintenance costs by deterring graffiti or illegal dumping.”
The Encogen facility, which is expected to have its mural completed by October 1, is the first of nine projects that will be completed by the end of the year.
“Creating attractive public spaces to address costly clean-up is one way PSE can continue to support a more healthy and vibrant community,” added Hartrich.
For over a century, Fairhaven's Carnegie Library has stood at the top of the Historic District. Photo courtesy: Steven Arbuckle.
The year is 1883. Daniel J Harris files the first plans for a town in the northwest corner of Washington State that he calls Fair Haven. The infamous volcano on Krakatoa erupts, and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show brings the romance of the untamed west to urban audiences. The writer Franz Kafka is born and the composer Richard Wagner dies. And the wealthy American steel magnate Andrew Carnegie opens a library in his hometown of Dunfermline, Scotland.
In a campaign that lasted until 1929, Carnegie went on to fund the building of 2,509 libraries in over a dozen countries. He was an avid reader from a young age and, after emigrating from Scotland with his family as a youth, grew to believe that reading and learning allowed people to improve themselves and their lives. He also held the belief that the best thing he could do with his incredible wealth, amassed from his investments and the sale of his massive steel company, was best used to serve others.
The trademark Carnegie staircase and lantern lead visitors to the library’s entryway. Photo courtesy: Steven Arbuckle.
One way he put his beliefs into action was to donate funds for the construction of public libraries. He had a few demands for those that asked for his help, including that the library must be publicly funded and open to all, and that the community must donate the land on which the library would be built.
And so at the beginning of the 1900s, local philanthropist CX Larrabee agreed to donate part of the land he owned in the brand new town of Fairhaven. But he also added an interesting provision of his own. According to local historian Jeff Jewel at the Whatcom Museum, Larrabee’s father had been an alcoholic and, as a result, Larrabee grew up to be a teetotaler. His demand was that the library would have a separate entrance to be used by working men. That way the local laborers, dressed in their grubby work clothes and smelling of sweat, fish or the bay could head to the library after work and spend their evenings reading, rather than drinking at the saloons.
By early 1904, the library was up and running. A visitor would climb the broad staircase, which Carnegie said symbolized a person’s elevation through learning. After passing beneath the building’s prominent lanterns, which symbolize the enlightenment offered within, a staircase to the left of the entryway allowed workers to access the basement. On one side of the basement’s lobby is the “fireplace room” which runs the length of the building and was most likely the area designated for these men to congregate. On the other side is the smaller “northwest room.” The rest of the basement has been renovated over the years to include modern restrooms and other infrastructure. Following the staircase upward, the visitor arrives on a large landing that features a box office and a doorway leading to an auditorium. This large, open room dominating the upper floor of the building, as well as those in the basement, are available for public use through the library’s offices.
A stained glass window livens up the interior of the library. Photo courtesy: Steven Arbuckle.
The main floor of the library has been renovated often enough and heavily enough that it appears modern but even with the smooth white walls and hanging acoustic tile ceiling, there are still a few trademarks of the Carnegie era to be seen. The first libraries in the United States followed a “closed stack” system – the reader would approach the service desk, where they would request a book. The librarian would disappear into a back room where all the volumes were stored and return to hand the book over to the reader.
In order to cut costs, Carnegie devised the “open stack” system which put all of the bookshelves out in the open, so the reader could track down the item they wanted and bring it to a circulation desk where the librarian would check the book out to them. Because a reader might be tempted to simply walk out with the book they wanted, it was decided that a very large circulation desk would be situated close to the doorway to provide a physical and psychological deterrent to theft. One librarian named this new innovation “the battleship,” and it proved so successful that it has remained the standard for libraries ever since.
In addition to the collection of books, magazines, audio books and DVDs, this main floor also houses a spacious children’s room complete with kids’ books and activities. It also contains a “quiet area” with computers that can be reserved for use by the public, and a counter that allows guests to bring their own computers to take advantage of a wireless internet connection.
The rest of the space is given over to a surprising amount of seating that allows readers to settle in comfortably to enjoy their reading. Don’t miss this intersection of form, function and history, located at the top of Fairhaven’s historic district.
A reminder of the library’s past contrasts with the current selection of DVDs. Photo courtesy: Steven Arbuckle.
For over a century, Fairhaven’s Carnegie Library has stood at the top of the Historic District. Photo courtesy: Steven Arbuckle.
The library’s front door overlooks Bellingham Bay. Photo courtesy: Steven Arbuckle.
Jonathan Munsterman, owner of Pathfinder Wildlife. Photo courtesy: Jonathan Munsterman.
“I call it the mid-air opossum,” says Jonathan Munsterman, owner of Pathfinder Wildlife. A dog brought a wet opossum home; it played dead and bore an uncanny resemblance to the dog’s favorite toy. “Realizing that it was an opossum, the woman screamed. So the dog dropped the opossum and it dashed somewhere inside the house.”
A baby raccoon nestles in home insulation. Photo courtesy: Jonathan Munsterman.
That’s when Munsterman’s phone rang sometime in the wee hours of the early morning. He couldn’t remember exactly when, but it was somewhere around 2:00 a.m.
Munsterman came up with a plan to corner the opossum, make a loud noise and cause it to run into a cage. A neighbor – who thought of himself as a macho man – was there to help out. He was given the task of making sure the spring door on the cage closed when the opossum ran in.
The plan was set into action with Munsterman dropping a heavy atlas. “[Then] the opossum jumps on top of the trap and runs into the kitchen; the neighbor screams,” Munsterman recalls. “I pull some kind of lunge, where I jump up onto the couch, throw myself over the corner table and grab the opossum as it’s jumping up the last step. As he’s in mid-air, I catch the thing like a hail Mary for the winning touch-down.”
“I have stories for days,” Munsterman says; the opossum story is one of his favorites.
Munsterman is used to late-night calls and is always available to help out in an emergency. He says one of his favorite parts of the job “is knowing I’m one of the very few people that will answer their phone at 2:00 a.m. to help someone that’s in distress over something inside the house.”
A family of bats huddle together sleeping in an attic. Photo courtesy: Jonathan Munsterman.
Munsterman is originally from Chicago, but now travels all over Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom Counties evicting unwanted wildlife from people’s homes. It’s a recession-proof industry and his busy schedule proves that wildlife is alive and well in Western Washington. A large percentage of his work comes from Whatcom County.
Then there was the squatting bobcat. A couple owned a ski home in Skykomish, which they only visited in the winter. When they arrived at their beautiful vacation home one day, a bobcat was there waiting for them.
Munsterman says you could smell the house from yards away. “It smelled like 100 of the worst litter boxes you can imagine,” he says. “The house was destroyed; all the drywall was stained yellow from the cat marking it, the hardwood floors were ruined as animal bits, debris, garbage and animal remains were all over the house. The place was ruined. The entire bedroom was the cat box.”
A newborn skunk peers out of Munsterman’s cage. Photo courtesy: Jonathan Munsterman.
They believe that the bobcat was living in their home for anywhere from four to six months, coming and going as it pleased through a dog door they’d inadvertently left open.
Munsterman opened the external doors, suited up and chased it around the house. “Three times we do laps around the house until finally I smack it in the back leg, and it swipes at me and goes bolting out the door,” says Munsterman. The homeowners paid $35,000 for post cat renovations.
“Animals aren’t stupid; they will take the easiest way of living they possibly can,” says Munsterman.
Another one of his calls was for a skunk who lived in a couple’s home for an entire week without them knowing. They had two cats and just thought they were exceptionally hungry that week.
The homeowner had an inkling something was wrong one night, and stayed up late to see what it was. “This skunk comes trundling down his hallway, goes to the cat dish, eats his fill, drinks from the cat bowl and then goes back to the bedroom,” says Munsterman. The skunk had come in through a dog door and had been living it up in the luxury of the couple’s spare bedroom.
Raccoon damage done to a homeowner’s crawlspace cover. Photo courtesy: Jonathan Munsterman.
Each season Munsterman sees surges of home infestations depending on which species has juveniles. When young leave the nest, they get into trouble looking for new homes.
In the fall, he’s inundated with bat infestations. The winter brings beaver problems. Spring and summer bring raccoons and squirrels.
Whatcom County problems are usually from beaver, bats, skunks and squirrels. “Whatcom is one of the few places that actually has a substantial skunk population,” says Munsterman.
Here are some tips on how to keep your home critter free:
Cover open spaces including dryer vents, chimneys, crawlspaces and especially dog doors. Bird Block vents can be used over open ducts.
Get an inspection by a wildlife professional after buying a home.
Keep trees and bushes away from the gutter line.
Feed your pets inside your home.
River otters can be very vicious so call a professional if you find one nesting in your crawl space.
Double locks are double challenging. Photo credit: Marla Bronstein.
Everyone has – or is – “that” friend; the one who reminds you how much fun it is to play without the use of a phone, computer or TV screen. The one who makes a puzzle game out of everything, like Rainbow Rodeo, where the winner is the first one to point out cars of every color. Or the game where the first one to identify the song and artist of the elevator “muzak” wins. We love to play games. In fact, there may even be one hidden inside this very article. Lucky for all of us, non-electronic games are here to stay, and they’re still evolving. Enter: Game Rooms.
Video games like MYST are thought to have been the creative spark for the genre known as the “Escape Room.” Even though doors are not loCked (fire departments frown on that) the industry’s concept is focused on solving the mysteries and puzzles that are found in the room itself, enabling the particIpants to “escape.” And it is an industry. Japan is believed to be the site of the first escape room with parTicipants physically present. Since 2012, the popularity of escape rooms all over the world has grown exponentiallY.
Perhaps yOu became interested in the concept aFter seeing how easy one looked on an episode of The Big Bang Theory.
Bellingham’s Jesse Stanton is one of thoSe people. The geniUs behind Bellingham’s Eureka Room, Jesse loves games and puzzles. He has hosted trivia and worked as a teacher, looking for ways to engage his students. After visiting his first Escape Room in Vancouver, B.C., Jesse was inspired to create one in Bellingham.
In February 2016, Bellingham experienced Jesse’s first pop-up escape room in a windowless 300 square foot room above Taco LoBo on Magnolia Street. The puzzles and clues, set within a “Spy” theme, entertained many people who beggeD for more, resUlting in the creation of “The EurEka Room.” Currently there are two themeD rooms in two locations. The Captain’s Secrets opened in the Bellingham Herald building on State Street in November 2016 and is good for groups of four to six people. The Backstage Breakout opened December 2017 in the Crown Plaza building on the corner of Commercial and Magnolia and is fun for groups of five to nine.
Entrance to The Captain’s Secret. Photo credit: Marla Bronstein.
Jesse told me thEre are siX key elements to the perfect escape room.
There is a time limit, Usually 30 to 60 minutes.
Participants should be together in a closed environment. Remember, if you need to use the restroom, the doors are not really locked. But the clock won’t stop (see #1).
Players should work together as a team to solve the puzzles. Some rooms are set up for players to arrive with a team and sometimes you participate to solve puzzles with strangers.
There are tasks to overcome; sometimes they are physical, such as unlocking items in the room. The majority of the challenges are word and number puzzles you need to figure out.
There should be a theme for the room and a plausible story. Players are trying to figure out how to reach the conclusion of the story.
Failure to solve all of the puzzles in the time allotted does NOT mean you will have a bad time. (If you saw the Escape Room episode of Portlandia, you know that success or failure depends upon the players and their level and methods of participation.)
Since the escape room craze has gone international, story themes are as wide-reaching as spy stories, nautical events, fantasy, breaking out of jail, live action and horror. There are physical aspects such as putting things together…no calisthenics required. Jesse thinks the attraction comes from the fact that we all need adventure to get out of our ordinary lives.
Double locks are double challenging. Photo credit: Marla Bronstein.
Jesse says his greatest challenges in creating the rooms are working to tell great stories with challenging-but-not-impossible puzzles. “The Escape Room industry is actually really diverse, with a lot of different approaches,” he said. Game writers can work on solving in a linear or multi-linear fashion. No two are exactly alike.
Another goal is to entertain odd mixes of groups. Often, two or three family members of different generations who can’t even agree on a movie to watch, show up. Jesse strives to help that group have fun working together on the puzzles. Jesse hopes that everyone who participates feels like they had something to contribute, whether they succeed or fail, which many do. Only about 40 percent of the participants in the Backstage Breakout are successful, meaning about 60 percent don’t finish the puzzles in time.
This year, I joined my friend Michelle in an escape room for her birthday. “It was like being in a video game in real life,” she said.
Party organizer Heidi said, “There were plenty of puzzles for each of us to have a chance to work to their strengths and contribute to the big escape.”
What hints can you detect? Photo credit: Marla Bronstein.
We finished with about 20 minutes to spare. No thanks to me, I thought. I only deciphered one puzzle. Jesse assured me that many other participants were stumped by the puzzle I solved, making me feel like our team’s success was in part thanks to me. Either way, I had a great time.
That being said, don’t underestimate the value escape rooms hold for team building. At the suggestion of a customer, Baltina Valentine of Fairhaven Runners participated in The Captain’s Secret with co-workers. She said it was interesting to work together in that capacity and admitted she was “a delegator and over achiever. People found their strengths. There were followers and leaders.”
Currently, more than 14,000 people partiCipate in a social medIa group for Escape Room EnthusiasTs, sharing information about escape rooms all over the world. JEsse’s favorites in the PNW include: The SMuggler at Escape AnacortEs; The Vanishing Act at Locurio in Seattle; and Rise of the Mad Pharaoh at Hourglass Escapes in Seattle. If you are traveling out of the area or are interested in finding an adveNture in an unknown place around the world, check the Room Escape Artist website.
As to whether or not Escape Rooms are a fad, aficionados and business owners agree that as long as people enjoy having fun, there are many ways to approach stories and puzzles. There was even a puzzle embedded in this arTicle. Did you notice? Can you decipher it? Maybe you thought they were typos … Jesse said that if you noticed it and/or figured it out, you’ll be a natural in an escape room.
Max Cannella will perform alongside Blake Tiemann on October 6 at 8:00 p.m. Photo courtesy: Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham.
Music is powerful. When you attend a live performance, you’re struck by its profound effect. A concert is more than it seems; it’s the transfer of energy between performer and listener, a shared emotional experience never to be recreated. In that moment, it’s all there is.
Max Cannella will perform alongside Blake Tiemann on October 6 at 8:00 p.m. Photo courtesy: Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham.
In a town like Bellingham, opportunities to see live local music are plentiful. Consider us lucky; this isn’t the case everywhere. Not many places appreciate and emphasize their local art and music scene as much as we do in Whatcom County. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to see live local acts any night of the week, and hear many different genres.
The B-Town Kitchen & Raw Bar, one of Bellingham’s newest venues for live music, recently received “Best New Restaurant” in Bellingham Alive’s 2017 Best of the Northwest Awards. This phenomenal restaurant places an emphasis on featuring live music weekly.
This October, they’ll collaborate with Western Washington University to host Saturday night concerts as part of the WWU Student Concert Series. The first three Saturdays in October, you can catch students from Western’s music program performing pieces spanning many genres, including jazz, funk, classical and Latin.
Throughout the month, seven different performers will participate in six different musical sets. Some performers will play multiple times, and many will collaborate during their individual headlining performances. For example, Western’s Jazz Choir Director Kirk Roa will perform every Saturday of the month, joining a different musician for each performance.
Guitarist and vocalist Zaldy Rogero will perform on October 13 at 9:00 p.m. Photo courtesy: Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham.
The Saturday night concerts will begin at 8:00 p.m. and feature two sets per night, with a 9:00 p.m. act following the opening set.
On October 6 you’ll catch the musical stylings of drum and keyboard duo Blake Tiemann and Max Cannella. The two craft a varied and unique listening experience for audience members by blending the styles of jazz and funk, with an array of original compositions. Cannella and Tiemann kick off the night, followed by trumpet player Duncan Lang and vocalist Kirk Roa. A sophomore from Spokane, Lang moved to Bellingham to study trumpet at Western. His sights are set on becoming a professional jazz musician after graduating.
On October 13, pianist and Western senior Nick Swanson will take the stage, performing in the 8:00 p.m. time slot. Swanson has performed hundreds of pieces and credits the beautiful Pacific Northwest as a catalyst in his inspiration. In 2017, Swanson was the winner of Western’s Concerto Competition for performing Schumann’s Concerto in A minor accompanied by the WWU Symphony. Following Swanson will be guitarist and vocalist Zaldy Rogero, who finds inspiration in a number of different guitar stylings; most notably swing, Latin, math and indie rock. Rogero will be accompanied by vocalist Kirk Roa.
Vocalist Kirk Roa will perform each night of the WWU Student Concert Series in October. Photo courtesy: Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham.
Marketing Manager Matt Lesinski says B-Town Kitchen & Raw Bar is proud to be collaborating with Western to put on the WWU Student Concert Series. This partnership is key in giving local music students a platform to showcase their talents while simultaneously adding to the guest experience at B-Town.
The final night will feature pianist Sarah Potocki performing two hour-long sets. During the first hour, Potocki will perform solo. Following the solo performance, vocalist Kirk Roa will join her for a second hour.
Potocki has played piano and sung since childhood, joining choir like her three older sisters. Originally rooted in classical music, Potocki’s musical journey has since branched into other genres of contemporary and jazz music. A piano teacher as well as student, Potocki is earning her Bachelor’s of Arts degree at Western.
If you’re itching to enjoy live music now, you don’t have to wait until October. B-Town Kitchen & Raw Bar features weekly musical acts throughout the rest September, with performances by Johnny & Rachel and Ryan Sandholm. For more information on their upcoming events, visit btownkitchen.com.
Nick Swanson. Photo courtesy: Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham.
Duncan Lang. Photo courtesy: Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham.
Photo courtesy: Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham.
Herb's Cider will soon open a new tasting room. Photo courtesy: Herb's Cider.
Shama and Tim “Herb” Alexander love cider. In 2015, the self-classified cider aficionados began a journey that has only gathered steam (and a whole lot of apples) along the way. Their passion project turned into much more.
Herb’s Cider will soon open a new tasting room. Photo courtesy: Herb’s Cider.
It started with a bit of luck and a whole lot of practice.
Three years ago, Tim and Shama discovered their property was the fortunate bearer of a small apple orchard. These apples possessed a unique flavor profile and were perfect for crafting cider, a bumper crop of Ambrosia and Gravenstein apples.
The couple decided to throw caution to the wind, go out on a limb and try something they’d never done before: cidermaking.
They had enough space in their garage to begin a small fermentation project. They just needed to find a way to press the apples.
They traveled to Mount Vernon to check out an apple press, rented it and officially began their fledgling cider operation.
Tim pressed as many apples as he could gather from the property. Then, he and Shama set up a makeshift fermentation area in their garage. Once fermentation was complete, it was time to break out the mason jars (but don’t forget the ice; Tim loves certain ciders on ice, especially his own).
It takes a lot of hard work to make a really good cider. Deron Belt (holding the keg) is the Director of Operations. Photo courtesy: Herb’s Cider.
Sitting on their back deck, overlooking Bellingham Bay, sipping their newly crafted libation, Tim and Shama came to a realization: “Our cider is really good,” Shama said.
Tim agreed; it was comparable to, if not better than, some of their favorite brands.
Thus, Herb’s Cider was born. A lot still needed to be done, but now the Alexanders had the confidence to move forward in the cider industry.
Chris, one of the forerunners of the Pacific Northwest cider industry, has created award-winning ciders throughout the years. Using traditional methods, heirloom fruit and organic juices, Chris embodied the values of sustainability and traditional cider making methods Tim and Shama wanted in their product.
Hints of drumming are featured in the Herb’s Cider logo. Photo courtesy: Herb’s Cider.
Following a year of important research and development with current head cider maker at Finnriver Andrew Byers, it was time to bottle. On September 29, 2017, Herb’s Cider was on the market. A release party took place at Elizabeth Station in Bellingham (Tim and Shama’s go-to cider-tasting spot) and the cidery was in full swing.
They kept it simple at first; during year one, you could only purchase the cider in bottles at retail establishments. But that was never the long-term plan. They quickly realized their operation had the opportunity for substantial growth; they just needed a few additions and adjustments to get there.
The crew at Herb’s added two things to the agenda: build a tasting room and set up a warehouse. A sufficiently sized warehouse would enable them to take production into their own hands and a tasting room with a centralized location in downtown Bellingham would give them visibility as they poured their heirloom ciders and served them with intentionally-paired charcuterie.
Fast-forward to September 7, 2018, and the warehouse is built, the canning line set up and cider is making its way into the aluminum vessels emblazoned with the Herb’s Cider logo. This logo symbolizes Tim’s passion, career and lifelong pursuit: drumming. Two drumsticks surround a score of musical notes and a circular design reminiscent of a turntable on each can of Herb’s cider.
Herb’s Cider is easily identified by this distinctive can. Photo courtesy: Herb’s Cider.
Tim is a drummer by trade. He’s drummed for many different projects, perhaps most notably for the eclectic genre-bending group Primus. From the logo to cider names, one can find allusions to the art of drumming. For example, the Single Stroke, Double Stroke and Triplet foundational ciders are all subtle references to actions Tim has made countless times behind his kit. These small reminders are a fun addition to this professional operation.
I sipped from a can of Double Stroke as I sat down with Tim and Shama atop the crow’s nest area of the Herb’s Cider warehouse. This is Shama’s command center, where product oversight, marketing, event coordinating and merchandising all take place.
Charlie – cider house dog and unequivocal mascot (she has a blog where she wears a GoPro as she oversees cider production) – licked my hand as I took my first sip of the house dry cider; I think she wanted some too. Like her owners, she’s got good taste. The Double Stroke dry is made from a blend of 100 percent organic dessert apples and heirloom crabapples, and you better believe it’s on ice. Before the pour, Tim made sure to fetch some frozen water and shovel it into my glass. The cider’s combination of tart and dry makes for a refreshingly balanced drink.
Shama says they’re about a month away from opening the tasting room; it should be complete by the end of September, coinciding with the company’s one-year anniversary.
Charlie is the cider house dog and unequivocal mascot. Photo courtesy: Herb’s Cider.
A big party is in the works, which will be hosted by their good friends at Bellingham Cider Company, who will provide appetizers paired to Herb’s Cider and show a movie about Herb’s origins, filmed by Mt. Baker Media House.
We wrapped up our interview so Tim and Shama could take the whole staff out to dinner – it was a long day at the warehouse learning the ins and outs of the canning line.
The couple treat their staff like they treat their cider: with love, care and affection. Shama told me Tim really appreciates family values and good organic sustainable cider. Well, they’ve got both.
Herb’s Cider Tasting room will be located at 1228 Bay Street in Bellingham. Stop by and enjoy this new local treasure or check them out online at herbscider.com to find out more about their tasting room opening date, check out cool merchandise and see which events they’ll be pouring at.
Photo courtesy: Herb’s Cider.
Tim “Herb” Alexander is founder and owner. Photo courtesy: Herb’s Cider.
Tim and Head Cider Maker Chris Weir. Photo courtesy: Herb’s Cider.
After a long week, it’s time to kick back and relax. Then it’s time to get out and have some fun! There’s an abundance of interesting things happening around town. Check out these fun things to do in Bellingham September 28—30. And don’t forget to check out our full events calendar for all the fun happening in Whatcom County.
WhatcomTalk aims to be your source for positive information and events happening in Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden and throughout Whatcom County. If you have a suggestion for a post, send us a note at submit@whatcomtalk.com. For more events and to learn what’s happening in Bellingham and the surrounding area, visit our events calendar. To submit an event of your own, visit our events calendar and click on the green “Post Your Event” button.
Submitted by Barron Heating, AC, Electrical & Plumbing
Saying goodbye to summer doesn’t have to mean saying goodbye to comfort. As cooler evenings creep in...
The long days with countless hours in the summer sun may have left your skin a bit parched and in need of some detoxifying. Using the very effective Jan Marini skin research, you can renew and revitalize the skin of face, neck and décolleté in just 30 minutes with a Resurfacing Peel to help improve surface texture, fine lines and overall signs of aging, the sun and acne.
