Ken Gass Awarded Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award

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From the Midwest and the East Coast to northwestern Washington, Dr. Ken Gass has lived in many different regions throughout the country. Along the way, he learned the monumental significance of the relationship between parents and their children, a belief that became the foundation of his life’s work.

“My parents were very involved in their community, and they were my role models,” says Gass. “They were certainly a model for giving back to any community I lived in.”

For Gass, paying his privilege forward is one of the main tenets of his drive. “I had such a strong platform to develop from, and I was able to make use of all the advantages I was given,” Gass says. “I realize that’s not something everyone has — especially people who are marginalized in our country.”

Gass spent his early years in Nebraska before his family moved to Greencastle, Indiana, where he attended public school until ninth grade. From that point on to the end of his high school career, Gass went to Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, for prep school.

Ken’s wife Francie Gass has been his partner in everything he has accomplished through the years. Photo courtesy Ken Gass

“I went to school for the first 30-31 years of my life, between graduate school, medical school, and residency,” says Gass. “I realized smarts had something to do with the genes you were born with, but they had a lot more to do with the environment you were raised in, beginning in utero.”

After completing his undergraduate degree at Oberlin College in Ohio, Gass chose the prestigious University of Chicago for medical school. “That’s how I connected with my wife Francie, who was a pediatric nurse at a children’s hospital in my final year,” Gass says. When selecting a location for his residency, they sought regions that included mountains and close proximity to water.

“I checked out Denver down to San Francisco, up to Boston, and then Seattle, and once you’ve been out to see the two mountain ranges, it’s pretty hard to turn down,” says Gass. “The University of Washington-Seattle Children’s Hospital program offered a real experience on primary care, and we were farmed out to community practices if we chose to be.”

Gass has been a central figure in a long list of impactful community groups since he moved here and started a family in 1977. Photo courtesy Ken Gass

After Gass’s residency in Seattle, he and Francie moved to Bellingham where Gass joined a small pediatric group. The couple made Bellingham their home, started a family, and have been here ever since, nurturing the community and creating opportunities for underprivileged families time and time again.

“When I first became a pediatrician, I was drawn to Planned Parenthood — I thought it was very important that children be planned or have parents as prepared as possible,” Gass says. “It’s crucial for a parent to be ready and supported. It wasn’t too long after connecting with the health officer up here that I joined Planned Parenthood’s Board of Directors.”

Healthy development of the family unit is a recurring theme in everything Gass has accomplished in his career and community outreach.

Nothing more important to Gass than family, and he is grateful his children had solid roots when growing up in Bellingham. Photo courtesy Ken Gass

“It’s all about that understanding of the human potential and how it is impacted from your environment; how it isn’t just something you’re born with,” says Gass. “Many of your skills and how you make use of your genes are actually related to what you experienced in utero, after birth, and in your formative years. That was a big eye opener for me. I was nurtured at critical times in my life and not everyone has that benefit.”

After joining Planned Parenthood, Gass’s community involvement rapidly grew. He radiated encouragement, positive reinforcement, and care through his patients and the countless groups he and his wife have become a part of over the years.

“Francie and I have supported each other being active in the community — sometimes in the same group, sometimes in different groups,” says Gass. “Because of that experience with Planned Parenthood, I formed a Prolife/Pro-Choice group with Ron Pollander. We formed the Whatcom County Taskforce on Positive Teenage Sexuality and ran that for years, eventually winning a national award on creativity while trying to bridge a gap.”

Gass wasted no time getting involved in his community after joining a local pediatric practice, becoming an officer of the Greater Bellingham Running Club. Photo courtesy Ken Gass

From 1986 to 2014, Gass was on the Whatcom County Child Protective Team, and he co-founded the Young Teachers of Health International in 1987. In 1990, Gass founded the Whatcom County Commission of Children and Youth, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and was president of the board from 1990 to 1995. In 1997, Gass was named Chair for the Children’s Healthcare Taskforce of Whatcom County and also became a member of the Whatcom Coalition for Healthy Communities Leadership Council, a group for which he eventually joined the board of directors in 2005. In 1998, he joined the Bellingham School Board and was board president in various years between 2002 and 2013. These are just a few highlights of his incredible career.

“In all these efforts, Bellingham is the right place to be to have the right people with so many different skills to collaborate and join in,” Gass says. “Because of people like that, you can have much more of an impact with great folks that share a vision for better opportunities in our community.”

Currently, Gass is involved with the Mount Baker Foundation, having served as a board member, committee chair on the Children and Families Committee, and president. “It started in 2017 and is a community foundation that was endowed by the sale of the Mount Baker Kidney Center,” says Gass. “When that was sold to a national company, the net was about $42 million and that endowed this private foundation that can’t give money directly to individuals but can give it directly to other nonprofits. It’s wonderful that I have the opportunity to be involved in contributing over $2 million of grants a year to Whatcom County organizations.”

With a full career and incredible dedication to community service, Gass was the perfect choice for this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m honored and I have a lot of people I need to give credit to including, and especially, my life partner Francie who has made it possible for me to do more things while she kept a steady home. She was my partner in all things.”

Even though Gass is retired from his work as a pediatrician, his involvement in the community only continues to strengthen. Where his parents planted a seed, Ken Gass has grown a vast forest of love and support, becoming the role model he saw in them tenfold.

WCLS Online Database Has Answers When Help Is Needed

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Submitted by Whatcom County Library System

Preparing for winter weather? Add Whatcom County Library System’s Community Resources for Help, Support and Relief to your seasonal toolkit. The online database at wcls.org/community-resources is a go-to source for help in the event of emergencies or other difficult situations. Click on a category to see a searchable table of resources with contacts and other information.

Current categories are education, emergency and disaster, employment, financial and tax, food, health and COVID-19, housing, legal, and weather and flood. The extensive list is managed by library staff who regularly update it.

The more than 100 entries include links to the Department of Transportation real-time traffic map, Whatcom County road closures, severe weather shelters, Puget Sound Energy outage updates, flood assistance and more.

“Neighbors count on the library system to be a trusted reference source,” says WCLS Deputy Director Michael Cox. “The Community Resources page is an example of that work in action. This online database can serve as a critical resource for community members during times when quick answers are needed the most. We hope more people will become aware of it and share it with their friends and family.”

WCLS Trustee Lori Jump suggested the resource page following the 2021 flood that devastated Sumas and other parts of Whatcom County. For more information, contact Michael Cox at michael.cox@wcls.org.

Support Make.Shift Art Space at ‘Arts for All Ages’ Award Ceremony and Fundraising Gala

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make.shift sign — You can find make.shift at 306 Flora Street, in downtown Bellingham. Photo credit: Steven Arbuckle

Submitted by Make.Shift Art Space

Make.Shift Art Space is holding its first award ceremony and fundraising gala on January 21st, 2023. Arts for All Ages will include a dinner, live music, speeches from Make.Shift staff and board and the announcement of this year’s winner of the Arts for All Ages Award. The Arts for All Ages Award will recognize someone who works to increase access to arts and music for people of all ages in Whatcom and/or Skagit County.

The event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Whatcom Museum in the Rotunda Room at the Old Courthouse. Optional tours of Make.Shift and KZAX can be scheduled before the event when guests RSVP. Tickets are free for early RSVPs and $25 for anyone who registers after December 1st, 2022. In celebration of creating the tomorrow we want to see, this year’s theme is Retro Futurism; on-theme outfits are encouraged but not required. You can learn more about the event and reserve tickets at makeshiftartspace.org/arts-for-all-ages.

“Creating a safe and accessible scene is a community effort,” said Jessyca Murphy, Executive Director at Make.Shift, “We want to honor all the other people in our community who support Make.Shift’s mission of creating all-ages spaces for arts and music, whether that’s at Make.Shift or anywhere else.”

Make.Shift Art Space is the longest-standing all-ages venue in Bellingham. The nonprofit art space has been at 306 Flora Street in Bellingham’s downtown arts district since 2011. In recent years, with their revamped workshop series, Make.Shift has expanded its efforts to create an intergenerational learning community focused on arts and music education.

“There was a vacuum left by the dissolution of the What’s Up Awards,” said Sarah Kindl, Make.Shift board member, “We wanted to make an effort to fill that gap and create an event where people can talk about local art and music and reflect on the previous year’s successes.”

Make.Shift Art Space is a 501(c)3 nonprofit art space dedicated to providing a space for all-ages art and music in Bellingham. Make.Shift empowers, supports, and creates opportunities for local and emerging artists and musicians via its gallery, venue, workshops, studio spaces, and community radio station, KZAX 94.9. You can learn more about Make.Shift at makeshiftartspace.org.

Whole Person Care: Disadvantaged Residents Offered Medically Necessary Items and Services That Insurance Won’t Cover

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Submitted by Unity Care NW, written by Unity Care NW Population Health Manager Dr. Nicole Fields DHSc, MPH, CHES

Unity Care NW is a local health center that makes sure everyone in our community has access to high-quality care even if they can’t afford it. I know what some of our patients are going through because I have personally experienced homelessness. One thing that many don’t realize about homelessness is how easy it is to slip through the cracks of multiple systems. Back then, I needed extra help, a hand up. Now, being in a role where I get to help those who are most in need in our community, is truly rewarding.

Unity Care NW Population Health Manager Dr. Nicole Fields. Photo credit: Evantide Photography

I started my position at Unity Care NW as Population Health Manager during the height of COVID-19. Population Health addresses factors that affect the overall health of people and communities. During the height of the pandemic, a record-breaking number of individuals were experiencing homelessness locally, families struggled to make ends meet due to increased costs, and many additional needs were not covered by insurance. So, our team increased too. We increased our efforts to get individuals enrolled in insurance, did more outreach to unhoused populations, and developed new programs to fill crucial gaps.

One new program, Hand-Up for Health, covers costs of items or short-term services that our patients can’t afford but insurance won’t cover. It’s the last stop after all other options have been explored. Recently, a patient living in poverty who was struggling with painful swelling in their legs couldn’t get up and down their stairs. Insurance covered a lift mechanism but was unable to pay for a chair. With our new program we were able to purchase the chair and get her back to independent living.

Unity Care NW provides health care for the mind and body, but we also work with patients outside the exam room to reduce barriers to living a healthy life. In addition to Hand-Up for Health, we provide mobile dental services to all the school districts in Whatcom County. We have a program that covers costs for prescriptions when patients can’t afford their medications. Our dietitian provides one on one services and healthy cooking demos and our Community Health Workers connect unhoused patients to a variety of services.

At Unity Care NW, we believe that a person’s income should never affect how healthy they get to be and every donation made to Unity Care NW helps ensure that everyone in our community has the tools and support they need to live their healthiest life.

First Fed Matches Holiday Donations to Bellingham Food Bank

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Kelley White

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Bellingham Food Bank carrots — Photo courtesy First Fed

The holiday season is a celebrated time for giving. As we check off our holiday wish lists, it can be easy to take everyday things for granted. But for many people, basic necessities like food are a challenge.

In Whatcom County over 28,000 people are food insecure, including nearly 1 in every 5 children. Food insecurity is defined as the lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household.

To help address this need, First Fed is matching donations made to the Bellingham Food Bank up to a combined total of $5,000. Donations must be made at their branches through December 31 so that they can be tracked for the match.

“To double your donation to the Food Bank, please stop by our Barkley or Fairhaven branches,” says First Fed District Manager Julie Ranson. “We are accepting cash or check donations payable to the Bellingham Food Bank through December 31. Whatever is deposited in the food bank’s account, we will match up to a $5000 total.”

The bank has reached out to their customers in Bellingham to ask for their support. But anyone can drop by the branches to make a direct deposit to the food bank’s account. “We encourage everyone to give what they can,” says Ranson.

Bellingham Food Bank, located on Ellis Street, has 50 years of experience combating hunger in the Bellingham area by serving quality foods, effectively networking, and standing up against racism. Last year they provided over 89,000 household visits and distributed over 117,000 food boxes.

Every year, First Fed makes supporting their communities a priority by donating and paying it forward. As a trusted and beloved local bank with nearly 100 years in the PNW, First Fed is a perfect partner to collaborate with the food bank this holiday season.

“Our new Chief Lending Officer Chirs Neros is a longtime supporter of the Bellingham Food Bank,” says Ranson. “It was his idea to set up the donation match in Whatcom. We are excited to support their mission.”

Julie Ranson, First Fed District Manager in Whatcom County. Photo courtesy First Fed

The Bellingham Food Bank is just one of the many organizations First Fed supports in the community. “We also donate to DVSAS, Whatcom Hospice, Lydia Place, Handbags for Housing, Whatcom Center for Early Learning, Jansen’s Art Center, and Blue Skies for Children — just to name a few,” says Ranson. “Aside from donating to these places, we also volunteer time and get involved in other ways. For example, with Handbags for Housing, we go to their event and shop, which is a lot of fun for a good cause.”

First Fed is a leader in outreach and support for local organizations, and with this donation matching initiative for Bellingham Food Bank, they continue their legacy of genuine care for their clients and communities. They even offer their team members 20 hours of paid volunteer time. “We all need to give back and show our support for whatever our passion is,” says Ranson. “First Fed encourages us to pursue volunteer opportunities we care about, and that makes all the difference.”

First Fed was voted Best Bank in the Best of the Northwest 2022 survey. Photo courtesy First Fed

Donations to the Bellingham Food Bank can be made by cash, check, or account transfer in one of our Bellingham branches by close of business on December 31, 2022. Or if you have a First Fed account you can donate by phone at 800-800-1577.

First Fed is a member FDIC and equal housing lender.

Sponsored

T90 Ranch is a Premier Equestrian Facility in SW Washington for All Disciplines

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Kristina Lotz

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If you’re looking for a place to rehabilitate or condition your horse, hold a show or clinic, stop over on a trip, or someone to care for your horse while your away, look no further than T90 Ranch, a premier equestrian facility in SW Washington that is open to all horse disciplines with a full range of services you won’t find anywhere else local.

Quick History of T90 Ranch in Tenino

The legacy of T90 Ranch began in 1950. Since then, various families and even a timber company, have owned the property, using it for a variety of uses. The most notable, perhaps, was the thoroughbred racehorses and cutting horses that grazed on the fields in the late 1940s all the way until the 1990s, when the farm was sold to the timber company. Later, in the early 21st century, it would become the alpaca farm that so many of us passed by on our way to and from Tenino for the next several decades.

The new owner — who wishes to remain unnamed — purchased the almost 60 acres in 2020. He is a great-grandson of Marvin Guptill, who was a renowned cutting horse trainer in the 1980s and worked with horses owned by Sam and Jay Agnew, T90 Ranch proprietors during that time. It is this connection that prompted him to purchase the property, to bring it back to its original glory as a premier equestrian facility.

Just two years later he has done just that.

SW Washington Equestrian Facility Hosts Shows, Clinics and Other Events

It took just over a year to bring the facility back from an alpaca farm to an equestrian facility. “I don’t know the total number of buildings we had to take down, but the roofs were collapsed,” shares Stephanie VonMoos, manager of T90 Ranch. “The electrical was out of code. It was going to cost too much money to get it up to code, so it made more sense, especially for the horse industry, to tear down and start over.”

girl barrel racing on her horse at T90 Ranch — The T90 Ranch can hold any type of equestrian event, from barrel racing to dressage. Photo credIt: Dee Cusuick Photography

And they did not skip on the amenities when they rebuilt. The facilities include a 100-foot by 220-foot indoor arena, a 150 by 250 outdoor arena, a 120 by 180 outdoor warm-up arena and a 60-foot round pen. In addition, T90 Ranch has 190 covered stalls, 5 bay, matted wash racks and additional 80 uncovered stalls that can be made available upon request, as well as 120 RV hookups with water and electricity and a dry camping area. They are setup to handle even the largest horse shows and events.

With large arenas, any discipline from cutting to jumping is welcome. Currently, they have been hosting roping events, but they are open to all kinds of disciplines. “We would love to have English events — like dressage or jumping — out here too,” says Stephanie. For many in SW Washington, this new facility brings horse shows a lot closer to home, which helps with the over all expenses of showing.

Aside from horse shows, T90 Ranch is open for other public and private events, from clinics to concerts — like the upcoming Adam Craig’s Ugly Sweater Dinner Party in December — to weddings. “Anything anyone would need to reserve a fairgrounds or a park for, we can do that here,” shares Stephanie.

Equine Rehabilitation and Conditioning in SW Washington

The other unique part of T90 Ranch is their equine rehabilitation and conditioning offerings. Whether your horse is coming off an injury and needs to carefully get back into riding shape, or just needs to be conditioned for the next show season, they can help. “We want this place to be a place where people can come get quality care and treatments for their horses,” shares Stephanie.

T90 Ranch is well equipped to provide equine rehabilitation and conditioning services in SW Washington. Picured: a horse getting a treatment in the Relax & Sun machine. Photo courtesy: T90 Ranch

The staff at T90 Ranch will follow your vet’s protocol to get your horse back into shape following a full range of injuries and medical issues, from suspensory damage to surgeries. “We have been getting a lot of horses recovering from kissing spine surgery lately,” Stephanie says.

The facility includes a water treadmill that allows for low impact resistance for injuries, as well as being great conditioning for horses that need to get back in shape. “If a horse has anything they’ve been on stall rest for for any length of time, rather than having to balance a rider and potentially compensate for them and build muscles asymmetrically, they can go on the treadmill where there’s no pounding on their joints and no weight on their back,” Stephanie explains.

In addition, they have a Relax & Sun machine. “It’s got a vibration plate, and the vibrational plate runs off a compressor so the floor can elevate different locations, putting pressure on different limbs,” she explains, “and then the red light helps keep their topline — especially like a horse with kissing spine surgery — muscles soft and help keeps them comfortable. Then the vibrational plate increases circulation, which speeds up healing. And so does the UVB light.”

T90 Ranch also hosts things like chiropractor days where you can come out and get your horse worked on by top vets in our area, including Dr. Salewsky from McMinnville, Oregon.

Horse Motel in SW Washington

And in case you thought this was enough to make T90 Ranch your new favorite hangout for you and your horse, they also operate as a horse motel and short-term boarding facility. Travelling north or south and need a place to stop over? You and your horse are welcome for the night in nice stalls with runs and RV and dry camping available.

Even more unique, is there short-term board. Going on vacation and can’t find someone to care for your horses? Bring them to T90 Ranch! They can have a vacation, or you can add on a conditioning routine to keep them in shape while you’re relaxing in the sun.

To host your horse show, clinic or next event at T90 Ranch, call 360.819.7004 or email office@t90ranch. A 2023 schedule is coming out soon, so watch the T90 Ranch website and follow them on Facebook.

PSE and PSE Foundation Grant $1.15M to Organizations To Empower Community Resiliency

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Submitted by Puget Sound Energy

Puget Sound Energy Foundation and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) have announced 167 nonprofit grant recipients as part of a $1,150,000 community investment effort that supports outstanding local community organizations working to increase resiliency across Washington state.

The PSE Foundation launched its annual competitive grant program with a funding focus of empowering community resiliency this summer. Over 375 grant proposals were received from local nonprofit organizations within the 10 counties Puget Sound Energy serves. The requests addressed how organizations could help rebuild and strengthen efforts in food security, shelter or childcare programs, nonprofit staff training and other capacity building projects.

The program, originally slated for a $600,000 disbursement, was nearly doubled through additional resources at the Foundation and from Puget Sound Energy’s corporate community programs. This increase enabled 98 additional grants awarded to local nonprofits working in these focus areas including an additional 30 food banks that received direct contributions for food purchases in each of the counties PSE serves or has facilities.

“We have been inspired by the tremendous response to our efforts of Empowering Community Resiliency across our region. It’s particularly encouraging to expand our support to include training and development of nonprofit staff and volunteers,” said Andy Wappler, president and chairman of PSE Foundation. “This is another way we’re able to nurture these incredible community partners who continue to adapt and evolve working to solve for some of our most pressing community needs.”

A full list of grant recipients can be viewed here.

The PSE Foundation is committed to helping communities where Puget Sound Energy serves its customers and has facilities including Whatcom, Island, Skagit, Snohomish, Kitsap, Kittitas, King, Pierce, Thurston, Lewis, Columbia, Garfield, Cowlitz and Klickitat Counties. This year, the PSE Foundation once again increased its traditional disbursement to continue the journey towards funding efforts that will Empower Community Resiliency as society emerges and heals from the outcomes of the pandemic. To learn more visit: www.psefoundation.org.

Former Old World Deli Co-Owner Anna Marie Adams Launches Hela Provisions

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LocalTalk Contributor

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Hela Provisions interior — Photo courtesy Hela Provisions

Submitted by Hela Provisions

With over 25 years of experience in the food and wine business, including 15 as co-owner at downtown Bellingham’s Old World Deli, Anna Marie Adams has extracted her favorite parts of that successful venture to open Hela Provisions.

Hela Provisions found its home in mid-October in Bellingham’s Sunnyland neighborhood, behind Options High School. Anna found the brick-and-mortar location rather spontaneously through a close friend, Rachel Taylor, who’s Custom Cushions business is close by.

“My new venture celebrates the aspects I love the most: specialty food and wine procurement, gift baskets, subscriptions, kits, and events,” says Anna. “The new space came up serendipitously, as things that are meant to be often do.”

Anna has hit the ground running with Hela Provisions, launching the business’s website last week at www.helaprovisions.com. Online shopping and in-store shopping are both welcome; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday hours will begin the week of December 5th. Delivery is available within city limits and is free on orders of $150+. Shipping is not available online at the moment but is coming soon. In the meantime, if you need something shipped, Anna can make it happen.

Looking for gifts for the office, teachers, your neighbor, and more? Hela Provisions gift baskets defy the ordinary and are sure to impress. A few standard collections are available online and custom baskets are available, as well. Please reach out via email at helaprovisions@gmail.com to request.

Anna is energized by her new venture and heartened to already be receiving an outpouring of support from shoppers and local businesses. “I look forward to seeing how Hela Provisions evolves and becomes a thriving part of our amazing community!”

Hela Provisions
2000 Franklin St #102
Bellingham, WA 98225
helaprovisions@gmail.com

Matthew’s Honest Cocktails: Elegant Spirits To Meet a Moment

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Matt Benoit

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Matthews-Honest-Cocktails-Bar-View-2022 — The bar is open seven days a week and features a 4 to 6 p.m. daily happy hour. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

Matthew Twining finds the essence of the cocktail to be a mixture of mood, atmosphere, and the person who drinks it.

And at Matthew’s Honest Cocktails — the downtown Bellingham bar bringing new life to a former Starbucks location at 132 East Holly Street — this mix is elegantly on-point.

“I did not expect it to be so busy,” says Twining, the bar’s owner. “Happy people are coming in, and happy people are leaving.”

Since opening in August 2022, Matthew’s has been on a “wild, wonderful ride” of lively libations and community support, says the 42-year-old. The bar’s lighting and atmosphere, readily glimpsed through large, plentiful windows at a high-traffic intersection, has proved an early recipe for success.

“I want the place to be a catalyst for a good night out,” Twining says. “We’re selling joy.”

Enhancing the Mood

Twining grew up in Southern California.

Fascinated by the spirit world — the boozy kind — he spent time in New York City before eventually winding up in Whatcom County. Here, Twining bartended in several environments, from a casino to a hotel lobby, and learned more about what makes a good bar and a stiff drink.

Matthew’s Honest Cocktails opened in August 2022 in the former Starbucks location at 132 East Holly Street. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

“Spirits pair with a moment in time,” he says. “If you focus too much on the cocktail, you’re actually missing the point. The drink is a mood enhancer or a social lubricant, and we’re really here for people.”

That’s not to say Twining is serving mediocre alcohol at his bar. Matthew’s focuses on quality, high-end spirits, and the many cocktails they’re used to create.

Among the bar’s favorites is the barrel-aged old fashioned, made with barrel select rye whiskey from the Bellingham Bourbon Society. Twining buys the entire barrel and bottles it, meaning it’s not available anyplace else in town.

The essence of the cocktail, owner Matthew Twining says, is a mixture of mood, atmosphere, and the person who consumes it. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

Matthew’s menu also features “The Dram of the Moment” — a neat taste of this special barrel. In addition to good whiskey, the bar specializes in martinis. Their stinging nettle martini, made with locally foraged stinging nettles and elderflower liqueur, is a popular past seasonal. Also popular is their espresso martini, which features powdered cinnamon ignited with a torch for extra roasted flavor.

“I like the elegance of the martini,” Twining says. “It’s a grown-up drink. It implies and indicates that someone has figured out how to drink.”

Matthew’s also serves delightful food to accompany whatever elixirs you’re sipping. Flatbread pizzas, made with real mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, are a hit, and charcuterie boards are also available.

Proper Pairings

The interior of Matthew’s features herringbone oak floors, a curvaceous bar top, and teal-hued walls. But what probably sticks out most is the famous mugshots that decorate those walls.

Images of David Bowie, Frank Sinatra, and James Brown — in their more undignified moments — peer at visitors. Twining says a friend thought they’d be a fun touch.

Bar decor includes famous mugshots, like this 1938 photo of Frank Sinatra. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

“I think it’s interesting to have relatively known or classy people, displaying a more rugged side,” he says of the photos. “I find that spirts and cocktails are the end result, I believe in many ways, of a civilization coming to.”

A flat screen television sits over the bar, displaying an endless stream of trivia questions. Twining says Matthew’s is considering a more organized trivia night at some point. For now, if Twining gets a question wrong that one of his patrons gets right, they win a dollar bill from him.

An acoustic Breedlove guitar is also on display. Some nights, Twining has been known to stand on the bar with the guitar and play it at last call.

Matthew’s specializes in high-quality cocktails, with particular predilection for whiskeys and martinis. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

“If you’re here at the right time on a slow night, I’ll sing a song for you,” he says.

The guitar itself is a reminder of Twining’s first business venture, a Los Angeles recording studio he’s still associated with.

One time, ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons came into the studio to record a whiskey commercial. Twining tried to absorb all the advice he could from Gibbons, a kind man successful and wealthy enough to be unaware of the current cost of snacks.

The bar is open seven days a week and features a 4 to 6 p.m. daily happy hour. Photo credit: Matt Benoit

“He told me to go get him some candy bars and soda pops or something,” Twining recalls. “He literally gave me a wad of cash that was nine or ten grand. I go, ‘Hey man, I’ll bring you some change.’”

Twining said he hopes to eventually partner with local music and theater venues, perhaps serving a secret menu for patrons who present ticket stubs after a show. For now, though, the bar continues to be a straightforward place for good vibes and honesty: in conversation, in cocktail, and in moment-making.

“Honesty is important,” Twining says. “It encapsulates about everything that I want in a drink, and in a person. Honesty, I find, also makes you humble. You don’t have time for ego in here.”

Matthew’s Honest Cocktails is open 7 days a week, 4 p.m. to midnight. Their daily happy hour, from 4 to 6 p.m., features $2 off all drinks.

The Magic of Winterfest — and SNOW?

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LocalTalk Contributor

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Fairhaven Winterfest snowy storefront — A snowy storefront conjures beautiful memories and smiles. Photo courtesy: Fairhaven Winterfest.

Submitted by the Fairhaven Association

The third week of Winterfest continues with more holiday fun! Friday, December 2nd, the Firehouse Arts & Events Center will show the family classic, ELF. Dress in your cozy best and plan for a night of laughs (and syrup!). Saturday welcomes Father Christmas back to the Fairhaven Village Inn along with FREE carriage rides from noon to 3 p.m. The Firelight Stroll is back for its fifth year; grab a hot cocoa or spiced cider at the entry tent and stroll the wooded path lined with luminaria. Start at 8th & Harris near Evil Bikes. Keep the fun going at Stones Throw Brewery for an after-hours party and bonfire. Snow is in the forecast this week, so make sure to dress for holiday success. Event details can be found by clicking here.

#ShopLocal & #EatLocal all season long. Our neighbor businesses are excited to welcome you as you make holiday memories in Fairhaven. www.enjoyfairhaven.com

Santa’s mailbox and the snow people will be on the Village Green through December 17th.

Do you love to sing? A fan favorite, the FA LA LA CAROLING CONTEST will take place on December 17th.

Gather your friends, family members, students, community choirs, glee clubs, and any group who loves to sing and perform on the festive streets of Fairhaven Village.

CLICK THE LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO REGISTER: www.memberplanet.com/s/fairhaven/falalacarolingcontest_2022

The official image of Winterfest 2022 was created by Scott Ward Art
Winterfest is presented by the Fairhaven Association with the help of our great team of sponsors and volunteers!

Quick History of T90 Ranch in Tenino

SW Washington Equestrian Facility Hosts Shows, Clinics and Other Events

Equine Rehabilitation and Conditioning in SW Washington

Horse Motel in SW Washington

Enhancing the Mood

Proper Pairings

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