Small town American fairs are a cultural experience from the deep fried Oreos to the dog shows to…read morethe U.S. Army recruitment booths. It brings out the good (national pride) and the bad (racism) of rural America and puts it on display. The Northwest Washington Fair is no exception. Here's what you should know: 1) Price: It's expensive. You need a ticket to enter and then everything except the smaller shows (dog show, horse racing, etc) costs extra. An unlimited ride bracelet cost $42 per person, including for kids. Deep fried Snickers cost $8.50. The fair's margin is huge, making them a lot of money. Pro-tip- buy as much as you can online in advance to shave some money off the steep price tag. 2) Rides: It's no amusement park, but there are some decent rides fir the thrill seeker. The vertigo ride is fun if you don't get sick from spinning. The swings go high and fast. The Rock Star ride left your stomach at the top. The kids ride section my four-year-old daughter loved. 3) Games: Most are rigged I'm sure, but if you're playing to win a prize for your kids, okay the balloon one or the rubber duck game. You win a cheap stuffed animal every time. 4) Food: There's a lot of it throughout the park from burgers to corn dogs to Chinese food. A few favorites- roasted corn, "moowiches" (ice cream sandwiches), elephant ears and poffertjes (Dutch mini pancakes). It's all expensive, but alas. When in Rome. 5) Shows: my daughter loved seeing the dog show, horse shoe and the juggling. The Northwest Washington Fair is a cultural experience, but it's worth noting that we witnessed a number of staff treat people of color differently. On one ride, the staff member running the ride singled out a Black man for absolutely nothing. At the bar area, the bouncer made deeply racist remarks about the type of people who live in D.C. upon seeing my wife's drivers license. It exposes an issue in this community people would rather ignore.

Fantastic fair! NWW Fair has something for everyone. Music, food, animals, vendors, entertainment,…read morepolitical nonsense, etc. You really couldn't ask for more! I enjoyed the livestock most off all. Horses, goats, llamas, pigs, etc. A little bit of everything can be found at the fair. Pricing is kind of high; you get what you pay for. $14 pays for day of entertainment. I can't imagine that organizing a large fair is cheap or easy, so try not to grumble too much. Rides are not included. Parking is also not included. Gate 5 had some decent paid parking across the street.

A giant stage with lively bands playing, people of all ages dancing, a beer garden, food, vendors,…read moredogs, amazing weather...yup, this is pretty much one of my favorite local events. In fact, I'd say Downtown Sounds is the quintessential Bellingham experience. Held on multiple Wednesdays during the summer months, this free concert/street festival brings together the best our sweet city has to offer. And this year it got even better as the layout of the festival was flipped on its access, creating a larger beer garden (no more long lines!) with full view of the action on stage, plus a great food truck area with local yumminess like tacos, tamales, and ice cream. If it's a warm summer night, there's simply no place better to be. Want to experience Bellingham for all it is? Check out Downtown Sounds!

After being washed out for two weeks in a row, Downtown Sounds finally got a break from the weather…read moreGods. Perfect summer weather, great Latin vibe and lots of food, kids activities and dancing!

This annual event is now approaching its second year, sold out so quickly last year they had to…read moremove to a larger venue. This year's Light in the Night Gala & Silent Auction will be held at Four Points by Sheraton on Lakeway Dr. on May19th. Help raise $$$$ for The Lighthouse Mission while enjoying a relaxing night out. Tickets go on sale at the end of March and will surely sell out again...see you there! -Live Entertainment -Appetizers, Plated Dinner, & Dessert -Inspiring Stories of Transformation -Silent Auction & Raffle -Live Auction & Raise Your Paddle

This Cookoff went off like a 5 alarm Fire! The bear was great and the chili was amazing by all…read morethe contestants! In my not so humble opinion, the habanero chili from the Horseshoe Cafe had the most flavor. A lot of people loved the Hundred North came in very strong. Over all it seemed everyone had an amazing time and Jen pulled it off with smooth finesse!! Thank you for the wonderful time!

I was over the moon when I found out BOTP was back after a two year absence (thx covid). This has…read morealways been one of my fave beer festivals, with its cool indoor pier setting, live music, and generally being a pretty darned thorough fest in a semi small town. Things have definitely changed, though, since I last attended in 2019. Most noticeable was that there were far fewer breweries and cideries in attendance. In its heyday, BOTP had a whole separate section just for cider. Now, the cider vendors were sprinkled amongst the breweries, making it even more apparent that some of the PNW brewery stalwarts were not in attendance. Kulshan, Stemma, Boundary Bay, North Sound, Wander, Aslan, and many of the great Seattle-area breweries were nowhere to be seen. Shoutout, though, to local greats from Farmstrong to Georgetown for being there. Just wish there were more! The music was great - the Naughty Blokes were pretty entertaining, although I must confess I kinda missed the old polka band that used to play the festival. Gone, too, was the costume contest (though I still saw a few dudes in leiderhosen making the rounds). Perhaps most disappointing were the food trucks. There were three meal-oriented trucks and one serving kettle corn. The prices were OUTRAGEOUS though. We paid $17 for four street-sized tacos at the Mexican Food truck! Hopefully 2022 is just a transition year for BOTP, and they'll be back in full glory next year.

Fun event in Anacortes. Included in your admission is a souvenir tasting glass, eight tickets for…read more4-ounce samples, and a program that gives information about the different beers and ciders that are available to taste. There is a booth to buy additional tasting tickets. Also at that booth, though they were not advertising them, you could buy a string of mini-pretzels for $2. Nice to have something to munch on as you walked around. Also they had food trucks where you could buy dinner, and free bottles water. The venue is an old warehouse type of building on a commercial wharf. It had a fun vibe to it. Definitely bring a warmer layer if there is any wind or rain forecast. One downside was that the band was very loud and it was difficult to have a conversation inside the building.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Bellingham. A rainbow even appeared in the sky. About 10,000 men…read moreand women of all age groups and socio-economic backgrounds came out to peacefully march in solidarity for issues important to them. The organizers had speakers, poets and musicians perform and present before and after the march on the steps of City Hall. They didn't expect as many people to show up because the sound system, while powerful, was not loud enough to reach the throngs of people wrapped around the adjoining streets. Even the 1 mile march had to be extended on the fly when the front of the line was prevented from further movement because it had ran smack dab into the middle of the line. Thankfully police and volunteers were able to redirect the marchers down some additional streets to accommodate the large crowds. The library lawn had booths manned by local organizations such as DVAS. Individuals could learn more about local organizations making a difference in the community and sign up for future action. Parking was free on Saturday. Organizers encouraged individuals to walk, bike, bus or carpool. However, parking at nearby lots like the Bellingham High School was also an option. Portable potties were available on site. A few food trucks were also located on the march route where people could fuel their body. The event was very inspiring as groups of individuals chanted back and forth things like, "What does democracy look like? This is what democracy looks like!" People held signs voicing their concerns over health care, education, environmental protection, immigration, racism, equal pay, sexual assault, etc. I was glad I was able to march in this momentous occasion. It gave me a sense of community and a sense of hope for our future.

2018 and we haven't lost our momentum! More millennials and tables representing during the speakers…read morefrom 10 to 11 before the actual marching. It is very cold and difficult to hear the speakers. You can feel the excitement. This is good medicine for the soul.

Known for their many, many social causes which tremendously benefit our community, the Kiwanis Noon…read moreClub also holds a weekly luncheon in Lynden where members come to network, hob-nob, and listen to a guest speaker. On this particular occasion, I had the privilege of being the guest speaker and I was impressed by the thoughtful crowd, the polite questions, and the very warm welcome. At the end they even gave me a souvenir Kiwanis coffee mug - what a great group of people! While I wasn't real excited about the food, the rest of the event was very well done.

For a smaller museum, taking only about 20 minutes to walk through, it is a fantastic museum,…read moreshowcasing Orcas Island history. The docent that greeted us was friendly and informative, telling us that the museum was at one time six separate one-room residences that were dismantled and rebuilt to make this current museum. Full of many early and late century household items, placard's describing the way of life on the island, and has loads of interesting artifacts, photographs, and materials showing Orcas Island early community and civilization.

There's so much to see in this little house. I'm particularly awed by the display of the submarine…read morecables which brought power to Orcas and the nearby islands. There are displays of cobblers and black smiths which are well preserved.