While many people are committed to the idea of long-term financial planning, most aren’t sure where to begin. With the help of a qualified financial advisor, building an investment strategy that works for you is a great place to start.
A financial advisor can assist you in determining your specific financial needs and objectives. In addition, he or she can:
• keep your financial plan current as your financial situation changes
• evaluate and describe for you various investment opportunities
• review the asset mix of your portfolio
• monitor the performance of your investments
• suggest revisions when necessary
How do you choose a qualified financial advisor?
A recommendation from a friend or relative is a good way to get started. You can also contact professional organizations or licensing organizations to identify individual candidates and firms you might like to interview. Look for a company with longevity, a good track record and a good reputation.
Then ask your prospective advisor lots of questions. Find out if he or she has experience helping clients with concerns and resources similar to your own. Ask what information you need to bring to the meeting. At your meeting, ask the following questions:
What are your qualifications and experience?
Many financial advisors will provide their potential clients with a copy of their resumé and a packet of information about the services they offer. Clients should know whether an advisor has professional designations or affiliations. Consider if they are individual practitioners or are part of a larger organization.
What services do you offer?
Find out in what areas your advisor specializes — tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning, insurance products, etc.
Will you be the only person working with me?
Many financial advisors sometimes employ assistants or work with partners. Determine if you are comfortable dealing with other members of the planning team.
How much do you typically charge?
Money is coming out of your pocket; therefore, it is a good idea to find out how your financial advisor is compensated. Advisors generally are compensated based on a percentage of the value of assets under management, a fixed or variable fee, a commission on products sold, or some combination of the aforementioned. The method of compensation is less important than the disclosure of conflicts of interest and the quality of the advice given.
This article is meant to be general in nature and should not be construed as investment or financial advice related to your personal situation. Please consult your financial advisor prior to making financial decisions. Investing involves risk and the potential to lose principal.
Jordan Mahoney is a Financial Advisor with Waddell & Reed and is licensed to offer securities and insurance in WA. She can be reached at 360-734-4728 ext.: 123. Securities are offered through Waddell & Reed, Inc., Member FINRA and SIPC. Insurance products are offered through insurance companies with which Waddell & Reed has sales arrangements. (06/14)
Cyber attacks are widely recognized as one of the most significant threats facing business today. While not long ago lone hackers were the only concern, threats have evolved to include attacks by organized cyber criminals, disgruntled employees and even sovereign governments. Distributed networks, unsecure vendors and an array of mobile devices have complicated these issues as well. The Economist Magazine in February 2014 estimated cybercrime costs the world $113 billion a year and affect 378 million people, and estimated malicious cyber attacks in 2012 cost U.S. companies $277 for each customer’s or user’s account put at risk.
To help business owners understand and address these issues, the Technology Alliance Group for Northwest Washington (TAG) has joined forces with Whatcom Community College – the lead institution of Cyber Watch West – and Western Washington University to bring a cutting-edge Cyber Risk Summit to the Northwest business community on October 30.
“Cyber risk is a massive threat to the strength and resiliency of our region’s businesses. The threat must be approached holistically,” said Meg Weber, Executive Director for TAG. “It’s no longer a question of if you will be compromised, but how and when. Through this summit, TAG, Whatcom Community College and Western Washington University have partnered to connect businesses with experts who can help them address strategies for Cybersecurity. Businesses must understand their risk, should have a plan ready, and everyone in the organization must be a part of that plan for it to be executed properly. ”
“As a leader in the field of cybersecurity education, Whatcom Community College is honored to host the Cyber Risk Summit,” says WCC President Kathi Hiyane-Brown. “A skilled cyber workforce is a critical link in our nation’s cyber defense. At Whatcom, we’re training and graduating highly qualified cybersecurity professionals who will help businesses develop and activate plans to combat cyber risk.”
The Cyber Risk Summit will be held October 30 at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham. Speakers include:
Agnes Kirk, Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Washington
Timothy Wallach, Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI who leads the Cyber Task Force in the Seattle Field Office
Gerald Baron, crisis communications expert and author of “Now Is Too Late”
Shay Colson, cyber-security engineer for the US Treasury Department
Mark Anderson, Founder and CEO, Strategic News Service and SNS Conference Corp (parent of Future in Review Conferences)
Jim Straatman, Technologist at Faithlife
And other experts…
In response to the extreme workforce shortage in this field, Whatcom Community College and Western Washington University recently launched an innovative partnership for higher education degrees in cybersecurity. This conference will highlight the Northwest’s higher education competency and present to businesses the additional critical importance of shoring up resources around cyber threats across organizations. Cybercrime has been increasing worldwide, and the risks and liabilities to businesses have been increasing along with it. Cybersecurity now affects every department from legal to HR and administration, forcing the need for a proactive and comprehensive approach to preventing and protecting against cyber risks. The Cyber Risk Summit will provide those in attendance with a scorecard by which they may assess the overall health of their organization in order to identify strengths and weaknesses in their company’s cybersecurity plans.
Individual early-bird registration for this one-day event is $195 and includes continental breakfast, lunch and an evening networking event. Space is limited! To learn more and to register for this event online, visit www.cyberrisksummit.org.
“There are so many people who love us who don’t know they love us,” says Laura Plaut, executive director of Common Threads Farm.
As gorgeous gardens increasingly pop up in our local schools, students – and their parents – are falling in love with the idea of fresh produce that’s grown, harvested, and then eaten by students and staff. But few people realize that the gardens exist because of a partnership between the Bellingham School District and Common Threads Farm.
Common Threads, which launched in 2007 on Lummi Island before moving to Bellingham’s Bobbibrook Farm in 2010, is now located at Western Washington University’s Outback Farm and currently supports growing and learning in 14 school gardens in Whatcom County. Common Threads is always looking for adoptive parents, volunteers, and donors.
Happy Valley Elementary principal Karen Tolliver is just one of the many area administrators who is thrilled with the addition of a garden to her school.
“The Happy Valley garden is the heart of our school community and essential to teaching and learning at our school,” Tolliver says.
Children in preschool through fifth grade at the south side school learn about science, math, social studies, and healthy living through weekly garden visits.
“I love watching students work in the garden,” Tolliver continues. “They learn that they can accomplish big things by working together. And the sense of accomplishment is evident when they find ‘their’ kale, tomatoes, strawberries or lettuce in the school lunch.”
Common Threads came about after Plaut began looking at the world through her two-year-old son’s eyes. She recognized all the marketing directed at his eye level and began hearing a lot of “I want, I want, I want.”
“I thought, well, either I’m going to be a really scolding parent, always telling him not to want what the world tells him to want,” Plaut says, “or I need to find ways to joyfully engage him in things that align with my values.”
Another impetus for Plaut to create Common Threads Farm was the realization that she’d become a reasonably well-educated adult who had never learned how to grow her own food.
“I always say that Common Threads is the program I wanted for myself as an eight-year-old,” she says, laughing.
Common Threads launched in 2007, on Lummi Island. It moved to Bellingham in 2010, with summer programs now taking place at Fairhaven’s Bobbibrook Farm.
“My original vision was for it to be like the Northern Cascades Institute’s Mountain School of food and farming,” Plaut says. “I wanted to be the place kids came to engage in and think about food.”
She quickly realized it made more sense to go where the kids are.
“Lucky kids come to our farm camp,” Plaut says, “but there are a lot of parents that either don’t know about our summer programs or it’s not in their world view or values – and I want those kids to learn about food as much as your kid or my kid.”
Looking to reach as many children as possible, Common Threads helped launch six school gardens in the fall of 2009.
It wasn’t simple, and Common Threads didn’t (and doesn’t) do it alone, but with the work of many invested parents, volunteers, and donors – as well as a grant from the Sustainable Whatcom Fund, a donor-advised fund of the Whatcom Community Foundation – they were able to start with a bang rather than a whimper.
“We did what everybody I’ve spoken with nationally says you need to do to be successful with school gardens: We staffed them,” Plaut says. “If you want a school garden to be a meaningful part of the school over the long term, you staff it in the same way you have a PE teacher or a music teacher.”
This has been critical to Common Threads’ success in working with schools.
Generally, Common Threads provides the direction and vision for schools interested in creating their own gardens. “We make sure that the right things get planted at the right time,” Plaut says.
They also partner with Uprising Seeds, a local, family-owned seed company that has donated 95 percent of the seeds put in area school gardens. “We’re so appreciative of them for that,” Plaut says. “It’s been thousands and thousands of dollars of seeds over the years.”
Former Sunnyland teacher Brian Pahl quickly became a Common Threads Farm advocate after he saw his students respond to working in the garden.
Pahl’s fourth graders blogged about their classroom experiences last year, which included reports about visits from Mara Schradle, a Western Washington University graduate and AmeriCorps volunteer working with Common Threads Farm.
A few of those blog posts can be read here, here and here.
“A relationship with Common Threads Farm is really important for the students,” Pahl says. “I think many don’t have gardens at home and may not normally see where their food comes from.”
Pahl points out the links between working in the garden and many science standards, which gives them a hands-on opportunity to work with life science concepts. It also addresses social studies standards, studying the different kinds of agriculture grown in Washington state.
“Perhaps most important for me, it takes learning outside of the classroom,” he says. “You give students real-world experiences that we can link back to our in-class experiences.”
Pahl loved having a Common Threads team member come to his classroom each week to provide nutrition education, as well as cooking experiences for the class. Plaut’s ideal would be to have a half-time food educator in every school.
“Students made applesauce, zucchini cakes, kale smoothies, and many other things from scratch,” Pahl says. “And many times using ingredients that were grown or sourced locally.”
Plaut points out that Common Threads is looking for systemic change rather than school-by-school change, and now has an agreement with Bellingham Public Schools for shared protocol around harvesting food from the garden to be served in the cafeteria.
Before the school year started, Plaut’s team met with food service staff to ensure everyone was on the same page. Food service staff is of course concerned about food safety, and Plaut wanted to assuage any fears.
“My feeling is what could possibly be safer than food where the supply chain is about a hundred feet long?” she says, “But because it’s new, it’s been scary for some people.”
She praises Mark Dalton, director of food services for Bellingham Public Schools, and his staff for working with Common Threads to make it possible to have school garden-grown food served in the cafeterias.
“The research is abundant,” Plaut says, “that when kids plant it, tend it, and harvest it, of course they want to eat it – because they’ve already fallen in love with it.”
Plaut’s hopes for the future of Common Threads Farm and school gardens? “My dream is that, by the time my sixth grader graduates from high school, kids will kind of scratch their heads and wonder at the idea that there didn’t used to be a garden in every school.”
Sustainable Connections announces keynote speaker Vincent Stanley of Patagonia for their final session of The Future of Business Speaker Series.
Vincent Stanley, Patagonia’s long-time chief storyteller, co-authored the book The Responsible Company, along with Yvon Chouinard, the founder and owner of Patagonia. Vincent draws on 40 years’ experience and knowledge of current efforts by other companies, to articulate the elements of responsible business for our time.
The whole speaker series focuses on the concept of triple bottom line driven business practices. Businesses seeking a triple bottom line not only look at the bottom line of profit but also take into consideration the social and environmental impacts of their business.
The three hour session also includes interactive brainstorming, open networking, complimentary local food and beverages. Early bird rates for this session are $40 for Sustainable Connections members and $45 for the general public. Group discounts are available by contacting Sustainable Connections. More information is also available on Sustainable Connections website.
“One of the most valuable resources in business is learning from and connecting with peers. This speaker series not only brings renowned speakers like Vincent Stanley to our community, but also gives local entrepreneurs a chance to connect one-on-one and learn what is working for others. Those that attend will definitely leave with new ideas to help them accomplish their triple bottom line goals,” Michelle Grandy, Communications Director says of the series.
The Future of Business Speaker Series, sponsored by Faber Construction, takes place on Thursday, October 16 from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m, at Broadway Hall. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets.
“I moved up from Seattle about 10 years ago – I’m a city boy gone feral,” he says, laughing. “I’m living out in the woods and really enjoying it. It’s something I always wanted to do.”
When Nafziger first relocated to Skagit County, he looked around his four acres and wanted to understand what he saw.
“There were mushrooms around, but I didn’t even see them,” he says. “My mind didn’t register on them because I didn’t know anything about them.”
Gradually, people he met in the area began to point out Nafziger’s mushrooms. “A friend gave me two David Arora books and said, ‘Why don’t you try to ID some of them?’”
For a year, Nafziger studied mushrooms; he thought he might even have identified one correctly. He heard about the Bellingham Wild Mushroom Show and took three mushroom samples to be identified.
“I found out that the two I couldn’t identify were edible,” he says, “and the other I had identified correctly.”
Nafziger began to work with the club – eventually becoming its president.
The Northwest Mushroomers Association has been a mainstay around Bellingham, guiding locals as they identify mushrooms, for more than 25 years.
“It’s not just a scientific club,” Nafziger says of the association. “It’s for people with all sorts of interests in mycology – from art to eating to studying and appreciating the wonders of nature.”
Anyone interested in improving their mushroom identification skills can learn more about joining the Northwest Mushroomers Association at its website.
As Nafziger learned more about mushrooms through the group, he began going on more forays, and eventually participated in shows.
“A mushroom mentor came into my life and taught me so much,” Nafziger says. “He enjoyed that I was curious and willing to thrash through the woods and find stuff.”
President of the Northwest Mushroomers Association, Chuck Nafziger, poses with some of his pickings.
It remains one of his favorite activities. “You find out what’s really out there,” he says.
And what that is, according to Nafziger, is a whole other kingdom.
“It’s quite mysterious,” he says, “because it’s mostly underground or inside of trees. And then it fruits, but you only see the mushrooms. You don’t see the body of the fungi; its equivalent in the plant kingdom would be seeing flowers of a plant without ever seeing the leaves and stem.”
Adding to the mystery is the elusiveness of certain varieties from year to year, depending on the weather.
When asked about the best spots in Whatcom County to forage, Nafziger laughs.
“Everyone’s going to have their favorite place,” he says. “But if you ask a mushroomer – and this is law – the answer is simply going to be ‘in the woods.’ You’re not allowed to say any more than that.”
He will say that one can look pretty much anywhere in our area and find mushrooms of many different kinds.
Nafziger recommends our state parks as a great starting point. “You find edible mushrooms right around campsites,” he says. “And any of the trails around here, especially this time of year, you’re going to find mushrooms you can see from the trail.”
Naturally, most club members enjoy eating mushrooms – and know the importance of being certain that a foraged mushroom is edible and not poisonous.
It’s currently chanterelle season in our neck of the woods, but Nafziger has only found one so far. “I’ve found so many others, though, that it’s just incredible,” he says.
The night before we spoke, he and partner Jill Emerson lit a bonfire and enjoyed a variety of mushrooms they’d found themselves.
Plan a trip to a local forest and get ready to identify, pick and feast on your findings.
“We had Agericus campestris, the Meadow Mushroom,” Nafziger says, “which we found out in our garden.” They also had some “monster” oyster mushrooms, Pleurotus pulminarea, found after a friend tipped them off to a local tree hosting dinner-plate-sized specimens. The couple cooked one of those over the open fire, as well. They rounded out the trio of fungi with a Shaggy Parasol, or Chlorophyllum olivieri.
Nafziger offers a safety tip, “If you haven’t tried a species of mushroom before, eat only one species at a sitting on the odd chance that you have a personal adverse reaction to a given species. Like food allergies, it is rare, but it happens.”
“It’s very important to cook all wild mushrooms,” Nafziger continues. “Over an open fire is just fine, in one of those hamburger squeezers. It was like eating steak! These were big, and they were really good.”
Following is a recipe from Chuck Nafziger for one of his favorite dishes to make with foraged mushrooms:
I don’t like slimy mushrooms, so I dry sauté any moist mushrooms until they quit steaming and start to brown. It’s often necessary to squeeze them between the hot pan and my spatula to remove the excess moisture.
Many people who are used to protecting vegetables from too much heat are hesitant to properly dry sauté mushrooms. Mushrooms are not vegetables; the damp ones are much improved in both taste and texture by a long, patient, dry sauté (medium heat, no oil).
Heavy cooking makes them more digestible and, according to many, does not lower their food value.
Here is a recipe for a casserole I have taken to several potlucks. It has always gone over well and I have gotten many compliments, along with a couple of rave reviews.
I got the basic recipe from the magazine Lithuanian Heritage, to which I subscribe. I am Lithuanian on my mother’s side.
As a kid, I did not like mushrooms, I did not eat them and did not pay attention to them, maybe luckily. At the merest mention of mushrooms to my Aunt Grace on my father’s side, she stridently replies, “Your mother used to try to tell poison mushrooms from ones you can eat by seeing if they would tarnish silver. That doesn’t work! We are lucky she did not kill us all!”
Since I have started gathering my own edibles and enjoying eating them I use better methods of identification. I have a small library of books and lots of mushrooming friends; I trust the saner ones.
Here is the recipe from the magazine with a few of my additions:
Mushroom Bake (gryby apkepas)
1 pound medium fresh mushrooms
2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup minced onion
1Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 cloves of garlic
herbs to suit your taste
Wipe mushrooms with damp cloth. Leave them whole. If large, slice in half lengthwise, through head and stem or into large bite sized pieces.
Dry sauté if necessary.
Melt butter in skillet. Add onions and mushrooms.
Simmer, covered, until onions are transparent, about 10 minutes.
Blend sour cream with flour, seasonings, herbs and diced garlic. Pour over mushrooms in shallow oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, dot with butter.
Bake in preheated 375 degree F oven 10 to 15 minutes, until top is brown. Serve hot. Makes 4 servings.
I do not measure much, and usually make about three times the above recipe – that’s all the mushrooms my large frying pan can hold for the dry sauté.
Local actors and actress audition for the Bellingham Theatre Guild's production of "A Chorus Line." Photo credit: David Cohn.
By Marla Bronstein
Local actors and actress audition for the Bellingham Theatre Guild’s production of “A Chorus Line.” Photo credit: David Cohn.
According to many actors who consider themselves a triple threat, “A Chorus Line” is high, if not on top of, the bucket list of musicals-to-be-in.
If you have never heard of “A Chorus Line,” or could not recognize one song from the show, it’s possible you were never exposed to music, dance, or the Tony Awards. Or perhaps you have lived in a soundproof room all of your life and never went out in public.
Last year, the Bellingham Theatre Guild announced it would produce “A Chorus Line” to close its 2013-2014 season. Fifteen women and twelve men with enough talent to carry off the show would be needed.
Publicity started early. Buzz was palpable in the musical theater community for months before the actual auditions. The rehearsal and performance dates that would conflict with high school and college finals and graduations had to be considered. The shortened rehearsal schedule itself would present a challenge for the cast to learn all of the intricate music and challenging choreography. Would there be sufficient time for the production crew to build the set and costumes?
If director Julie Zavalla-Marantette felt any of these concerns, she kept them to herself. This is not her first trip around the bases; she’s directed other big musicals and has had good success recruiting actors and crew to pull together performances more than worth the price of admission.
I got the idea it might be somewhat ironic, if not clever, to share with you the experience of community members auditioning for a musical about auditioning for a musical.
I received an email from the daughter of a friend who was looking for audition information and advice, since she knew I had experience directing community theater musicals.
Emma is 20 years old, the perfect age for this show about a bunch of 20-somethings. She had done high school theater, even understudied for Rizzo in “Grease,” but never had auditioned for community theater. She had only heard about the show a day before, and memorized a monologue from the show for the part she wanted. She told me she really wanted the part of “Val,” but would take just about anything in the ensemble.
At that point, Julie and I had already had a few conversations leading up to the first night of auditions. Julie gave me permission to attend auditions and to talk to some of the actors about their experience.
So, feeling fully confident that I am NOT a triple threat and would not get caught up in the excitement and/or feel compelled to get up on stage and audition with a song and dance, I went to observe the second night of auditions and call-backs. (Full disclosure: I did know some of those I spoke with before their audition, but I also talked to people I didn’t know.)
If you have never been to this kind of cattle call, the procedure for musical theater auditions is pretty standard. When the victim, I mean, auditioner, arrives at the theater, he or she fills out an application with contact information, the part in the play desired (if known), and theater/performing experience, if any.
Usually, a tentative rehearsal and mandatory performance schedule is posted, allowing the actors ample opportunity to communicate any potential conflicts for rehearsals, or determine that this opportunity to be in the play is going to reflect badly at future family gatherings (especially if Cousin Minnie has already sent a save-the-date for her wedding.)
As auditioners were sitting around the theater, most with friends, some alone, I went up and introduced myself, explained what I was doing, and asked them what brought them to the audition and what they hoped for.
Heather told me she had done many many shows in Mount Vernon, but had never auditioned in Bellingham before. She drove up with her friends, Glen and Susan, who were also auditioning.
Susan was also from Mt. Vernon, is a well-experienced performer, and this show was on her bucket list of musicals.
Glen had done a small piece at BTG earlier this year. He doesn’t consider himself a great singer or dancer, but it sounded like fun. He committed to “giving 125 percent.” (Personal note – He danced well. His improv dance had him jumping all over the stage.)
Taylor, a 17-year-old student from Bellingham Technical College, knows Julie’s sister, Renee, from Taekwondo. Taylor has been in many plays and sang a duet with Renee from “The Little Mermaid.”
Jaiden is a high school student from Ferndale and showed up to support his friend Taylor and try something new. He also knew Renee. This was his first time singing or performing anything like this in front of an audience. He was very nervous, he said. His audition song was “Let It Go” from “Frozen.”
Alissa is a friend of one of the choreographers. She had never auditioned for a community theater show before, but is a very experienced dancer. She performed in a flash dance, and loved it! She had only found out about the show that morning, and brought a song from “West Side Story.”
On this particular evening of auditions, each person arrived at 7:00 and was called one at a time to get on stage and sing part of a song they had prepared in front of everyone else auditioning.
Sometimes this is done in private with the stage director, music director and stage manager and other members of the production crew. At other auditions, if the person doesn’t have anything prepared, they may be given the option to run through a verse of “Happy Birthday.” The music director then ran scales to check vocal range.
When it was the choreographers’ turn, half the group went to another part of the building and everyone was taught a few measures of dance steps. After about 15 or 20 minutes, small groups danced on stage while everyone watched. This process is to see how quickly they learned and how well they could dance, or how well they could fake it.
Next each actor performed a one minute prepared monologue or unprepared cold (unrehearsed) reading. For some musicals, directors save this till call-backs, because unless the person is the most amazing singer or dancer ever seen before, it might not really matter if they are a fabulous actor when casting a show where every actor may need to sing and/or dance.
The auditioners were released at 10:30 p.m.
After the second night of auditions, all the forms are spread out over a table, and first divided into definite maybes and definite nos. Subsequent to that, every director is different: Some may already know who their “lead” possibilities are; others may only know who to cut from this first group and what other parts may be up for grabs.
An hour (or two or four) later, the stage manager posted a list on the building doors of BTG, letting people know who was “called back” to the next step, before final casting.
Alissa was called back, but withdrew her name because of conflicts with the rehearsal and performance schedule.
Jaiden was called back, but he didn’t show up. Julie said he had a conflict for that night that she knew of when he auditioned.
Glen was the only one of the three friends who was called back. The two women were apparently under the assumption that they were all-for-one-one-for-all. He was excited about call-backs, and planned to just have fun.
Emma was also called back. She felt good about her original audition. While not totally confident in her singing, she’s an excellent dancer, even though she felt out of practice. She was the only one who shook hands with Julie and TJ, the Music Director, after that first night. This was a practice she took from her dance days. Emma was the last girl to sing at call-backs. She knew she had some singing challenges, and was thinking about maybe signing up for singing lessons. (I was watching Emma as she helped the girl dancing next to her get the ballet steps and turn “just right.” I think the choreographer saw her too.)
At the end of call-backs, I asked Julie for her overall impressions of how her process went. She said she was pleased with who showed up for auditions. Some people who were not called back would be cast anyway, she knew she didn’t need to see or hear them again. She also indicated she expected there would be some shakeout after casting, and the costumer was not going to start on the closing number jackets for a week or two.
The next morning, I went to BTG and saw the cast list. Both Emma and Glen were on it. Julie cast Emma as “LaRay,” the character who is the Dance Captain. Well done, madam director, good call.
(By the way, if Cousin Minnie does schedule her wedding after you have been cast in a community theater show, it’s all on you for not broadcasting your being cast to your entire list of family and friends.)
Marla Bronstein is a playwright, director, actress and freelance writer who enjoys keeping busy and relaxing.
The Bellingham Theatre Guild opens its 86th season this month with “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Ticket information available at the BTG website.
You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown
Bellingham Theatre Guild
7:30 p.m. shows:
September 26, 27
October 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 & 11
2:00 p.m. matinees:
September 28
October 5, 12
Ticket prices:
$14 adults, $12 seniors/students, $8 children
Ticket Office
Phone 360-733-1811
Hours 1:00 to 6:00 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays
1600 H Street, Bellingham
Bellingham Observers of the Odd and Obscure lead locals through information, tools, and techniques – and finish with a hands-on investigation
Bellingham Observers of the Odd and Obscure lead locals through information, tools, and techniques – and finish with a hands-on investigation.
Elena Stecca and Chuck Crooks have each had their fair share of hair-raising paranormal encounters.
“I’ve had experiences my whole life,” says Stecca. “For the longest time, I was terrified by what I’d seen – full-body apparitions, hearing voices.”
Crooks has long experienced the same – with the added horror of once having a spirit actually follow him home from an investigation and stick around awhile.
“When I was a kid, I frequently saw a ghost cat in our old house in the Midwest,” says Crooks. “No one in my family believed me; they all thought I was crazy.”
When he moved to Bellingham from Chicago, he searched for a group interested in all things paranormal. He found Bellingham Observers of the Odd and Obscure, or BOOO.
“When I finally decided to face my fears, in 2006, I joined BOOO too,” says Stecca, who became the group’s director after founder Sherry Mulholland stepped down.
BOOO members sometimes seek out businesses to investigate if they’ve heard rumors of paranormal activity. “But a lot of the places we go, people actually call us and ask us to check it out,” says Crooks.
One of the group’s more notable requests came from local author Taimi Dunn Gorman, who asked BOOO to help her investigate Fairhaven for her book “Haunted Fairhaven.”
“That took us to a lot of places we were never able to get into before,” says Crooks.
Elena Stecca and Chuck Crooks have each had their fair share of hair-raising paranormal encounters.
They’ve investigated an array of area buildings, some of which they won’t name for fear it could negatively affect business.
BOOO’s ghost hunting classes start with a presentation and move into hands-on training with ghost hunting equipment, which includes digital voice recorders, sound-amplifiers, EMF detectors, thermal-imaging cameras and regular video cameras with night vision.
Students are then talked through possible scenarios they might encounter during an investigation.
“We like to laugh, so there’s a lot of joking around,” Stecca says of the classroom experience. “We present evidence that we’ve captured on ghost hunts and also show people how to debunk stuff they’ve found online.”
After the classroom portion concludes, it’s out into the field for a paranormal investigation.
The time each class stays out in the field varies, depending on how active a place proves to be. “If we’re getting lots of stuff, we’re willing to stay there as long as we can,” Stecca says.
BOOO’s ghost hunting classes start with a presentation and move into hands-on training.
Though they’ve yet to have anyone “lose it” in a class – become too frightened or freaked out, and not be able to continue – there have been plenty of startling moments.
Stecca and Crooks have led several groups through the Eldridge Mansion, the somewhat infamous castle-like structure in the 2900 block of Eldridge, looming above Bellingham Bay.
“We were split up into two groups,” says Stecca, “and one group was in one of the bedrooms. I was leading the other group.”
As she came downstairs and began to push open the door, it was as if someone had kicked it really hard.
“I thought it was one of our members on the other side just messing with me,” she continues, “but they were just as surprised; they thought I ran into the door.”
The duo says doors opening and closing on an investigation are pretty common. Or being touched.
For Crooks, his most startling paranormal experience happened outside ghost hunting class: the aforementioned spirit that seemingly hitched a ride home with him.
“We were investigating a private residence down in Sedro-Woolley and something actually followed me home,” Crooks says. “Things just didn’t feel right on the drive home – even Elena acknowledged that, without my having said anything.”
Crooks was then living in a house split into two apartments; one of which was empty.
“Once I got into bed, there was banging on the walls downstairs, and I knew there were no tenants down there. It wasn’t that easy to go to sleep that night,” he says, with a laugh.
BOOO Ghost Hunt Classes take place in October.
The spirit followed Crooks for some time until, while visiting his parents, it finally dissipated. “At least it didn’t stick around in my parents’ house,” he says. “That was good.”
“You know, that does happen from time to time after investigations, where we’ll be followed home,” Stecca says.
“I don’t know, maybe eventually it just gets bored with us?” she continues, and both she and Crooks laugh. “Maybe we’re just not as spooked, so they’re not excited to hang around us for long.”
The 5th Annual School Garden Harvest Dinner takes place on October 16 at Whatcom Middle School.
The fifth annual School Garden Harvest Dinner will take place on October 16 at Whatcom Middle School. The bounty of the season will be on display and cooked up by students from produce grown by students in school gardens.
Cooking starts at 4:00 p.m., while tours of the Whatcom Middle School garden, live music, and fun food-related activities follow at 5:00 p.m. The dinner and raffle are at 6:00 p.m.
This event is open to the community, with a suggested minimum donation of $5 per person. To make sure the kids prepare enough food, reservations are appreciated and strongly recommended through the online reservation system.
The dinner event is sponsored by Common Threads Farm, whose mission is to connect kids to healthy food through hands-on, seed-to-table education.
Common Threads Farm is a district partner serving on the Farm-to-School Advisory Group in Bellingham Public Schools.
Both bands have placed Ballew onstage in front of enthusiastic crowds. But the Caspar Babypants fans are mostly of the under-three-foot-tall variety – accompanied by their equally keyed up parents.
“Presidents of the United States of America” frontman, Chris Ballew, has changed gears from indie rock to “kindie” rock, performing family friendly music as Caspar Babypants.
The move from louder to quieter Ballew, a Seattle native, found indie rock fame in the 1990s with infectious Presidents hits that included “Peaches” and “Lump.”
“The entire time the Presidents were happening, I was extremely happy, of course, for the success,” Ballew says now, “but a little voice in the back of my mind said, This is not it. This is not your final destination. This is not the magic formula for how you’re supposed to be making music in the world.”
Over time, Ballew says, he got quieter; the music more simple. And then he met his wife, collage artist and illustrator Kate Endle.
“Her art was innocent and folksie, full of animals and brightly colored and simple,” he says. “I wanted to make music that sounded like her artwork looked.”
Inspired, Ballew did exactly that.
“And then I listened to it and went: ‘Oh, it’s kids’ music,’” he says. “I was so close the whole time, but wasn’t quite hitting it.”
Through that process, Ballew found what he calls his actual voice. “I’ve moved on to doing just that all the time now and it’s fantastic,” he says.
And the name, Caspar Babypants?
“It’s an old nickname that I had in the early 1990s,” Ballew explains. “I was in a jam band and I used to wear baby pants on my head for a winter hat. The kids in my neighborhood started calling me Babypants.” Ballew came up with Caspar, put the two together, and his new musical moniker was born.
Caspar Babypants likes to keep all his listeners entertained, which is why he says he doesn’t make children’s music, he makes “parent’s music.”
Not really children’s music Ballew often tells people that he doesn’t make children’s music – he makes parent’s music.
“But there’s no category for parent’s music out there,” he says, “so I have to call it family or children’s.”
The spry 49-year-old often has parents in mind when creating new music. “Maybe a little more than 50 percent of the aesthetic decisions I make are because I want the parents to be taken care of.”
It’s clearly working, as Ballew regularly receives emails from folks who say they happily keep the music playing even after they’ve dropped off the kids at preschool.
And Ballew has his own interests at heart, at least a bit. “I’m a grownup and I have to play this stuff over and over and over,” he says, laughing. “So I have to like it, too.”
Prolific production
Ballew released the first Caspar Babypants record, Here I Am! in February 2009. His eighth and latest album, Rise And Shine! came out in September. Endle’s artwork gorgeously graces each cover.
Caspar Babypants is prolific, to be sure. Two more records are nearly complete and will hit shelves – both literal and virtual – next year.
“One, in March, is going to be a kind of mellow, sleepytime record,” he explains, “and then another high-energy record in September 2015.”
Casper Babypants performs at Bellingham Technical College on Saturday, October 11, at 10:30 a.m.
Ballew credits at least part of the wealth of output to the fact that he listens to old, traditional music – nursery rhymes, folk songs, work songs, chain gang chants, and such – and uses it as seeds for new material.
He likens it to shaving off a little DNA from fantastic music from long ago and constructing new beings out of it.
“There’s a certain percentage that comes directly from my brain and a certain percentage that comes from this amazing wellspring of high-quality, public- domain stuff that’s out there,” he says.
Ballew has two children – now 17 and 14 years old. What do they think of their old man’s music?
“They think it’s okay,” he says. “They appreciate the aesthetic and what I’m doing.” Both kids participate, helping Ballew to sometimes write songs, and his daughter co-produces many of the videos he makes himself.
“They’re both very musical and have great taste in music,” Ballew says. “We turn each other onto music.”
It’s the same thing he’s after for the families who hear his work. “I want to help little kids and their parents genuinely share an aesthetic experience, where they both go, ‘I love this song!’ So they can have a bonding time over quality music.”
In the early days of Caspar Babypants, Ballew hired other musicians to play live shows with him. Now he plays solo – and prefers it that way.
“The band got a little noisy, a little out of control. The shows were changing and I was losing the newborns,” he jokes. “All of a sudden the age range started to creep up and I was all no, no, no, no – I don’t go above six years old.”
BOOO Ghost Hunt Classes
will take place on October 10, 17 and 24, from 7 p.m. until approximately midnight.
By Stacee Sledge
It’s that time of year again, when all things spooky come out to prey across Whatcom County.
And, whether you’re young or old, easily scared or hard to make holler, WhatcomTalk brings you a list of several spectacular options for celebrating the Halloween season.
For a bit of traditional trick-or-treating, downtown merchants in Bellingham, Fairhaven, Ferndale and Lynden open their doors to little goblins and ghouls all decked out in their Halloween finest.
Read on for all the frightening (and fun) things to do during the month of October.
Bellingham boasts a variety of spooky activities during the month of October. Photo courtesy of Andrea Holodnick.
Scream Fair Haunted House The organizers of Scream Fair Haunted House at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden work hard each year to plan, build and operate this spooky space. This year marks its sixth, with all proceeds benefiting Meridian High School FFA students and the FFA Boosters. Safe for the whole family, Scream Fair Haunted House promises fun frights.
Scream Fair Haunted House
Northwest Washington Fairgrounds, Henry Jansen Building
1775 Front Street
Lynden ,WA 98264
Friday October 17, 6:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Saturday October 18, 6:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Friday October 24, 6:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Saturday October 25, 6:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Thursday October 30, 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Friday October 31, 6:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Saturday November 1, 6:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Cost: $13 adults, $10 children (5 to 12 years old), 12 and under
$24 VIP skip-the-line pass
Special prices, available only at the door, include: $11 senior citizens (60+) and $11 with military ID
Boundary Bay Haunted Beer Garden Make.Shift will again turn Boundary Bay’s beer garden into a terrifically terror-filled haunted experience. Last year’s inaugural haunted beer garden was a huge success, so it’s back for more – a series of creepy rooms that horror-seekers must navigate through to safely reach the end. Celebrate making it through alive with a Boundary Bay brew (for those over 21). May be too scary for little ones. Volunteers are still needed; contact Make.Shift at info@makeshiftproject.com if you’d love to help them bring the terror.
Boundary Bay Haunted Beer Garden
1107 Railroad Avenue
Bellingham, WA 98225
October 30 and 31
7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Cost: $5
Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth Haunted House Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth (BAAY) will put on a theatrical, arts-oriented haunted house at the Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth Theatre for just two performances on Saturday, November 1. The BAAY Dance Company will perform and guests will also be lead on a spooky tour lead by ghoulish actors. Wrap up the scary event with a tasty treat. All proceeds go to scholarships for BAAY students.
Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth Haunted House
1059 North State Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
November 1
6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Cost: $5
The Bureau of Historical Investigation brings its sinister walking tours to Bellingham. Photo courtesy of Andrea Holodnick.
Gore and Lore Tour The Gore and Lore Tours are back – and the Good Time “Ghouls” are dressed to mourn. The Bureau of Historical Investigation brings its sinister walking tours downtown on each Friday and Saturday night in October, with Fairhaven tours on Fridays. Along the way, you’ll learn about local lore of the creepy kind. Suicide, violent death, gore and strong language will abound, so any minors who think they’re up for such spine-tingling history lessons must be accompanied by an adult. Post-tour tarot readings from local psychic Charles Crooks are available as an add-on for the Saturday downtown tours; palm readings from Hayley Boothe can be added to the Fairhaven tour on October 3 and again on October 24.
Downtown Gore & Lore Tour
Every Friday and Saturday in October
Doors open at 5:45 p.m., tour leaves at 6:00 p.m.
Cost: $15 (tarot readings an additional $10)
Fairhaven Gore & Lore Tour
Every Friday in October
Doors open at 5:45 p.m., tour leaves at 6:00 p.m.
Cost: $15 (palm readings an additional $8)
MegaZapper Electrical Show at the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention MegaZapper – the sequel to last year’s popular live show – promises to be spookier and more electrifying than ever. Tana Granack, director of operations, promises a fun and memorable performance: “We’ve got a great new script, more talented performers, and a fantastic new bunch of special effects that should blow the audience away,” she says. Not intended for infants, toddlers, pacemakers, defibrillators, or the faint-of-heart! And for an additional donation, adult visitors can enter the Cage of Death and be engulfed with over 4 million volts of electricity. All who survive will receive an official SPARK Museum “I Survived the Cage of Death” sticker.
MegaZapper Electrical Show at the SPARK
SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention
1312 Bay Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-738-3886
October 29, 30 and 31
7:00 p.m.
Cost: $12 for adults, $10 SPARK members, $8 for kids 11 years old and under
Get ready to scream at the Scream Fair Haunted House.
Hellingham at the Upfront Theatre Hellingham – the Upfront Theatre’s popular (improvised!) murder mystery show – is back, with show times at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. every Friday and Saturday in October. There’s a killer on the loose in the peaceful town of Hellingham. Who’s behind the killing and who might be the next to die? “Hellingham’s a suspenseful and exhilarating theatre experience,” says Mario Orallo-Molinaro, sales and marketing director for the Upfront. “It’s one of our best shows for a reason!”
Hellingham at the Upfront Theatre
1208 Bay Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-733-8855
Every Friday and Saturday in October
8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
BOOO Ghost Hunting Class The hunt continues as two of Bellingham Observers of the Odd and Obscure (BOOO) lead paranormal investigators offer classes on ghost hunting, followed by an actual investigation. This is the real deal, with seasoned ghost hunters Chuck Crooks and Elena Stecca giving an introduction into the world of ghost hunting, and then sharing their skills. Using different techniques and technologies, they’ll help students uncover the secrets of one of Bellingham’s most intriguing haunts. Locations are only given to those who register.
BOOO Ghost Hunting Classes
Friday, October 10, 17, and 24
7:00 p.m. – midnight
Halloween Costume Ball at the Best Western Plus Lakeway Inn Bellingham Explorer hosts the 2014 Halloween Costume Ball featuring live music by Top 40 cover band R Factor 5 at the Best Western Plus Lakeway Inn. Appetizers and drinks will be on hand, and a light show will entertain the costumed crowd. Dream up the very best costume and you’ll come home $500 richer. For more information, locations for cash ticket purchases, and to order tickets online, visit Bellingham Explorer.
Halloween Costume Ball
Best Western Plus Lakeway Inn Grand Ballroom
714 Lakeway Drive
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-671-1011
October 31
8:30 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
Cost: $35 advance and online tickets, $45 at the door
All-inclusive hotel package $199
Don’t miss the MegaZapper Electrical Show at the SPARK.
Perch and Play’s 2nd Annual Halloween Carnival One of Bellingham’s hottest spots for the under-five crowd, Perch and Play, will host its second annual family-friendly Halloween Carnival on Saturday, October 25, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Fun for the whole family will include performances by the Bellingham Circus Guild, face painting, balloon artists, carnival treats, old-fashioned carnival games. Top it all off with raffle prizes and costume contests. Reserve tickets online here.
Perch and Play’s Halloween Carnival
1707 North State Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-393-4925
Saturday, October 25
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Search out some spooky sites on your own Still looking for more local frights? Visit this site to pinpoint supposedly haunted spots in Bellingham and surrounding areas, and then go scare yourself silly.
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