Bellingham Alive | June Feature | 15 Ways To Fall In Love With Where We Live

Love is a verb; you’ve gotta do it every day, or the feeling can be subsumed by the daily distractions of life. And that’s true not just of relationships, but also of the great love of so many of our lives: the North Sound. It’s all too easy to take this wonderful region for granted, especially when we forget to make the most of everything that Northwest Washington has to offer. That’s what we’re here for, to remind you of your true love and give you some ideas of ways to revitalize your relationship with where we live!

to with 15 ways Fall in Love Where We Live

Enjoy our Agri-“Culture”

WASHINGTON STATE HAS over 15 million acres of farmland, according to the Washington State Department of Commerce. We’re among the top berry producers in the country, and almost 90% of our 30,000plus farms are classified as small. Connect with your friends and neighbors and learn to appreciate our natural resources via our agricultural core!

The Whatcom Farm Expo is an annual info fair, free to attend and chock-full of resources for everybody. It’s perfect, whether you’re interested in backyard chickens or want to network about tractors—or just want to learn more about our farming culture.

Our land provides food, medicine, crafting materials, and more. Washington Food and Farm Finder from Eat Local First is a fantastic tool for finding all sorts of fresh and locally grown products. Cloud Mountain Farm Center is an educational farm in Whatcom that offers various workshops and events. Viva Farms in Skagit is a farm incubator with tons of resources for fledgling farmers and a network of small farms that you can explore.

Every summer, the North Sound is bursting with juicy berries and festivals celebrating them! The Northwest Raspberry Festival in Lynden, Berry Dairy Days in Burlington, and tons of u-pick farms are eager to share the bounty with you.

Our coastal areas and the San Juans are particularly known for their shellfish farming. Taylor Shellfish Farms and Westcott Bay Shellfish Co. are gems of the industry!

Try on Something Different

THE LOCAL STYLE starts at PNWpractical, then expands outwards in all sorts of directions. Influences range from cool college kids, alternative artistic expression, outdoor enthusiasts, farm-ready threads, island life, indigenous culture, and more.

There’s so much shopping in Bellingham! Downtown, check out Third Planet Boutique for colorful and comfy picks, or Brazen Shop + Studio for artisan goods and an eclectic vintage clothing selection. Fairhaven’s Three French Hens and Quinn + Foster are excellent destinations for elevated classics.

Plug into current trends at Aura Threadz in Anacortes, where you can find vintage and upcycled pieces (plus, it shares its space with a sick skate shop, Trinity Skate). Mount Vernon’s elSage boutique is dedicated to “quality, unique, independently made goods,” including clothes that feature their own PNW-centric graphics. Although many know Perry and Carlson as a destination art gallery and home goods boutique, you may not yet know that they carry a small selection of sustainable fashion! And for all your hiking and weather-surviving needs, Walking Mod has got you covered head to toe with stylish picks from leading outdoor clothing brands.

If you’re in the San Juans, you can’t miss Deer Hazel in Friday Harbor. Their relaxed space offers everything for the PNW-lifer, from activewear to chic apparel to handmade jewelry.

While you’re there, source some extremely comfy and Seattlemanufactured articles of clothing that you’re never

fully dressed without— underwear from local business Tush and Bush

Over on Orcas Island, visit our friends at Faraways Boutique to shop their elegant staples!

We’d be remiss not to boast about our astounding local jewelry artisans. Copper Canoe Woman is a contemporary Indigenous jewelry brand, founded by Vina Brown and based out of Lummi.

PHIA Handmade is the home of Heimy Gonzalez’s intricately handmade beadwork jewelry, plus a selection of seasonal fashions and Colombian Wayuu bags.

NOW THIS ONE’S a no-brainer! Washington state is known around the globe for its connection to and appreciation of the nature around us. We have three national parks (Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and North Cascades National Park), thousands of mountains, the famous San Juan Islands archipelago, miles and miles of valley, river, and coastline, not to mention forests, wetlands, ocean, and our very own inland Salish Sea. Our climate ranges from hot and dry to cold and wet, and our surroundings support a dense and diverse range of flora and fauna. There’s so much to learn, see, explore, and experience, how could you not fall in love?

You know Washington summers are all about those lake days! Lake Whatcom is big enough for all of us, so we’ll see you at Bloedel Donovan Park Lake Padden Park is the perfect place for a picnic, an easy trail walk, or some pick-up games on its sports courts. Bay View State Park on Padilla Bay will give you a classic Washington beach experience, with rocky shores, a view of the San Juans, and cabins and camping. For slightly more secluded lakes, find Whistle Lake on Fidalgo Island or put in the effort to get up to Fragrance Lake off Chuckanut Drive.

A local pastime for all ages and activity levels, foraging for wild-grown foods and herbs is one of the most natureconnected hobbies you can have—if you’re doing it well. Start by learning how to be a good steward of the land! Local outdoor educators like Northwest Natura and Firecraft Northwest can teach you the dos and don’ts, and how to identify something tasty from less savory imposters. Once you’ve got that under your belt, get started by hunting for mushrooms and blackberries from spring to fall. The mushrooms in particular are popular. We grow all sorts of tasty fungi, from common turkey tails to coveted morels.

If you can learn about our salmon, orcas, and our interconnected waterways without falling in love, we’d be really surprised. Find salmon runs and learn all about their ecology through the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, clean up some litter with Salish Sea Conservation, and get involved with the Sacred Lands Conservancy, a.k.a. Sacred Sea, to fight for the rights of our resident orcas.

Go Wine Tasting

‘estate wines’).

NO NEED TO go all the way to the Willamette Valley to taste great PNW wines—we have some wonderful wineries and tasting rooms right here in the North Sound!

While our area may not have a high saturation of vineyards and tasting rooms, there are more than you might think, and what we lack in quantity we make up for with quality. Whatcom County boasts some wonderful wineries that use grapes grown on their own land (the results are known as

Samson Estates Winery in Everson offers tastings onsite at their vineyard, either indoors or out on the patio overlooking the grounds. Vartanyan Estate Winery’s lovely blue-siding-clad tasting room in Bellingham offers pours of their boutique wines, produced according to Margarita Vartanyan’s family secrets of the trade. And while Lagom Vineyards is still working on getting their onsite tasting room up and running, you can order their wines for local pickup or rent out the property for events on a limited basis.

Pamper Yourself

WHERE YOU LIVE can play a big role in loving yourself and feeling good in your body. Our area is big on holistic and sustainable beauty, often with a focus on local ingredients and an integrated mind-body approach. You don’t have to book a treatment to treat yourself right! Visit MW Soapworks in downtown Bellingham to shop handcrafted soaps and selfcare. Skin Rhythm Spa deals in deeply nourishing and moisturizing products, and Fern & Fog Apothecary will help you feel good inside and out with skincare, teas, and tinctures. You’ve probably heard of Island Thyme, the little farm-and-apothecary that made it big. You can visit their showroom on Orcas Island to find the perfect fullservice lineup for your skin. And

Both Skagit Cellars and Skagit Crest Vineyard & Winery have tasting rooms on La Conner’s main strip, but Skagit Crest also offers private tastings of their estate wines by appointment at their Sedro Wooley vineyard. Bertelsen Winery also invites oenophiles to taste their wines onsite at their beautiful Mount Vernon winery.

In Eastsound, The Orcas Project tasting room offers visitors a chance not only to taste delicious local wines from smallbatch winemakers but also to learn more about the local artists contracted to design the labels—it makes for a very special visit.

don’t forget about handmade. la conner! From their boutique on La Conner’s waterfront thoroughfare, you can find their elegant and “clean ingredient” products for skin, hair, grooming, and more.

When you do feel like being taken care of, there’s no shortage of luxurious experiences waiting for you. Kara’s Beauty Barn offers a wide variety of spa and beauty treatments in a rustic, peaceful setting (with some treatments even taking place in the open air). The Apothecary Spa and Still Life Massage and Float both offer classic spa treatments and sensory-resetting floats. Little Oasis Wellness Spa and Vera Massage Studio focus on bodywork to improve your physical and mental health. Pure Skin + Wellness Spa, Zazen Salon Spa, and Salon Bellissima can also help you look your best with hair salon services.

We’re lucky to live in an area that’s conscious of the environmental impact of selfcare. To find good-for-you products in bulk and sustainable packaging, all you have to do is visit the Community Food Co-op, Skagit Valley Food Co-op, or refill stores like Pumped Bellingham

Have a Foodie-Worthy Restaurant Experience

SOME OF THE best food in the North Sound is a love letter to our region’s bounty: fresh produce from Skagit Valley, oysters and salmon from our fresh- and saltwater resources, grass-fed cattle from the green fields of the San Juan Islands…we are truly blessed, and our local chefs know it. If it’s been a while since you’ve eaten out or tried a new restaurant, let this be a reminder to get out there!

One of the best ways to experience a range of dishes at a time is with a food tour. While we may not have as many official tour companies as a bigger area like Seattle, it’s easier than you might think to do your own self-guided tour! Visit Skagit Valley has designed an experience called the Skagit Food Trail, which lists a bunch of great places to sample everything the valley has to offer. And in Whatcom County, Eat Local Month partners with 19 restaurants to put on a Restaurant Week (September 24-30) where chefs create special menu items to celebrate our local resources.

Is there anywhere more classic for a date night than a great restaurant? There are way too many awesome spots to list them all here, but some of our recent date night go-tos in Bellingham are Bar Cicotti, Fujisan Sushi, Rock and Rye Oyster House, and The Admiralty Lounge. Farther north, we love Smokestack Diner in Everson and Drayton Harbor Oyster Company in Blaine. Down in Anacortes, A’Town Bistro and Adrift are both laid-back restaurants with fabulous food, and Burlington’s Train Wreck Bar & Grill is 21+ so there’s no risk of your date being interrupted by noisy kids. And if quiet is something you like in a restaurant (and you’re located on San Juan Island), Duck Soup is nestled in the woods outside Friday Harbor and offers a stunning array of locally-sourced dishes.

Going beyond a date night to celebrate something special? We tend to specialize in ‘delicious casual’ around here, but when we do fancy, you can bet it’s done right. Nell Thorne Waterfront Bistro & Bar in La Conner serves up exceptional Contemporary American cuisine with a stunning view of the channel; The Oyster & Thistle Restaurant is another wonderful La Conner choice. In Ferndale, Leader Block Trattoria & Bar is the go-to spot for excellent Italian food. And on Orcas Island, Matia Kitchen serves an incredible nine-course tasting menu with optional pairings that’ll have you thinking back to your dinner for months to come.

Drink In the View

WHAT’S BETTER THAN a delicious cocktail (or mocktail) after a long day of work or play? A delicious drink with a stunning water view! Here in northwest Washington, we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to views, but nothing beats watching the water lap at the shore while you sip.

One of the best views in Anacortes, far from the center of town, is at the aptlynamed Secret Cove, which overlooks a perfect little inlet surrounded by evergreens and lovely homes. Plus, the cocktails are delicious, the vibe is mellow, and the happy hour is a great deal. And La Conner’s boardwalk hosts a plethora of options for drinks with a view, from La Conner Seafood & Prime Rib House to La Conner Pub & Eatery

Less secret but no less beautiful is Chuckanut Drive, which winds its way along the water between Bow and Fairhaven. On the south end, Chuckanut Manor Seafood & Grill serves up classic cocktails and ice cream in the summer, and a little farther north, The Oyster Bar pours from a stunning wine list (and serves cocktails too) in an upscale dining room. Reached Fairhaven? Get your sweeping bay views at The Black Cat, which serves up classic food and drinks with a twist.

The San Juan Islands are rife with water views, and beer lovers can drink theirs with a pint of local brew at Cease & Desist, in Friday Harbor. Over on Orcas, Buck Bay Shellfish Farm serves wine at the water’s edge (along with, of course, plump local oysters and a range of seafood). And Lopez Island has Haven Kitchen & Bar, with a patio right up against the sound for your viewing pleasure.

Be a Fiend for the beans

IF THERE’S ONE thing we in the Pacific Northwest love drinking as much as beer, it’s coffee. We can be extremely picky about everything from the beans and the roasting process to which alternative milk we prefer in it. Luckily for us, we have an almost infinite number of options, from hip, remotework-friendly coffee shops to cute drive-through huts.

Bellinghamsters are absolutely spoiled for choice when it comes to coffee shops: Camber Coffee, Makeworth Coffee Roasters, and Narrative Coffee serve up delicious coffee with a side of serious style, while cafes like Lettered Streets Coffeehouse and 11th Hour Tea and Coffee Bar bring the cozy vibes. And that’s just to name a few!

Headed somewhere and need your coffee quickly? Pull on through to the window at Brewed Awakening or Zoom Zoom in Bellingham, both of which serve great bites with their brews. Down in Skagit County, Whidbey Coffee has a few locations, all of which are reliably great, and Mount Vernon’s West Side is served by a handful of drivethroughs, our favorite of which is Cruser Coffee—they’ll even add avocado to your breakfast sandwich.

If you like your coffee like we like our cocktails—with a view—check out The Railway Cafe in Blaine. It’s right by the harbor and the coffee and food have been earning rave reviews since it opened. Or grab a cold brew from Pegasus Pie Co. in downtown Mount Vernon—they use coffee from Dorothea Coffee’s new roastery, just down the street—and take a stroll along the riverwalk.

Move Your Body

WE’RE AN ACTIVE bunch up here in the top left corner of the U.S.—whether it’s gym time or social hikes, we’re usually finding joyful ways to move our bodies, especially if it involves being outside or connecting with ourselves.

Of course we love yoga! There are fantastic classes of all intensities and forms at studios in our area. For something mellow like Yin, Iyengar, Hatha, or even chair yoga, try Riverwalk Yoga Studio in Mount Vernon, Crescent Moon Yoga in La Conner, Inspire Studio in Bellingham, or Whatcom Lotus Yoga in Ferndale. Bellingham has the highest concentration of yoga studios, many of which offer hot and/or Vinyasa flow yoga classes; check out Flux Power Yoga, Elements Hot Yoga, and Bellingham Yoga Collective—there’s also a Lynden Yoga Collective. And for our San Juan Island readers, you can get your yoga on at Island Soul Studio or Altar Movement Studio in Friday Harbor. Is there any movement more naturally joyful than dance? Whether you want to tap out a ditty or learn to twerk, options abound. Skagitonians can find their rhythm at Skagit Valley Academy of Dance in Mount Vernon or Fidalgo Danceworks in Anacortes, while Bellinghamsters have Unique Technique Dance Studio, Opus Performing Arts, and The Dance Studio—and Dancing for Joy has campuses in both Bellingham and Lynden. There’s also Day-to-Day Dance up in Blaine, and Salish Sea Ballet in Friday Harbor teaches adult ballet classes. And if this photo inspires you to try belly dancing, take a class at Unique Technique or Whatcom Community College from Rachel Belly Dances! The area is full of friendly hiking and biking groups for people of all ages and abilities—check out Facebook and MeetUp for ad hoc or smaller groups. The Skagit Bicycle Club meets in various locations around the county for rides at a range of endurance and skill levels. If you’ve always wanted to try mountain biking but haven’t felt comfortable striking out on your own, Bellingham-based instructional organizations March Northwest, Intrinsic Flow, and Radical Roots MTB will teach you everything you need to know to ride the mountain safely and skillfully.

TRAVELING IS ONE of the surefire ways to make you realize how much you love home. Beyond our backyards, but still just hours away, are thriving metropolitan destinations like Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver, and because where we live is so beautiful the journey is part of the joy.

The Amtrak Cascades train runs between Vancouver, BC and Eugene, OR, stopping at Seattle, Portland, and a handful of smaller cities along the way. The train seats are comfortable, the conductors are friendly, and the views as it trundles along the water are unparalleled—it’s a wonderful way to travel, especially with kids.

Speaking of views, the ferry is a wonderful way to get around and the views are almost unmatched—we say ‘almost’ because seaplanes and other small aircraft are also an option. Kenmore Air flies seaplanes between Seattle and Victoria, BC, and Bellingham’s

own San Juan Airlines flies regularly between Anacortes or Bellingham and the San Juan Islands and also between Bellingham and Point Roberts. Plus, they offer scenic tours of the islands from the air (check out p.16 for more on that)!

Driving isn’t always the most comfortable option (especially when you have to go through Seattle’s notorious traffic), but it affords you a lot of flexibility. You can pull off the freeway here and there, try a new coffee place or stop at a silly roadside attraction (world’s largest prairie dog, anyone?), and when you get where you’re going you’ve already got your transportation sorted. That said, for big cities like Seattle or Vancouver, it can be frustrating and expensive to have to park, so we recommend the train.

Take a Day or Weekend Trip

IT’S NEVER TOO late to learn something new, and our region has a ton of options for those of us who are passionate about lifelong learning. Whether you’re interested in speaking Japanese, crafting something beautiful, or making your own cheese, there’s a class for that!

Our local higher education institutions, including Whatcom Community College and Skagit Valley College, offer a range of continuing education classes in everything from art to social media marketing, and there are a number of private instruction centers to check out too.

If you’ve ever wanted to kindle (or rekindle) your connection to visual art, northwest Washington is a fantastic place to do so. We’re big on art here, likely inspired by all the natural beauty that surrounds us. Check out the rotating classes at Tri-Dee Arts in Mount Vernon, Jansen Art Center in Lynden, BellinghamART in downtown Bellingham, and Art Center at Buxton’s in Anacortes.

For burgeoning chefs, the Community Food Co-op in Bellingham offers a wonderful selection of cooking classes— some are even taught by the head chefs of local restaurants. In Mount Vernon, The Skagit Table runs two classes a month on how to make dishes like fresh fish ceviche, and King Arthur Flour’s Baking School in Burlington will teach you everything you could ever wish to learn about sweet and savory bakes.

Get out on the water

WHILE LOOKING

AT the water from the land is always a treat, looking at the land from the water can give you a whole new perspective on things! Here are some of our favorite ways to take advantage of the North Sound’s stunning waters. There’s nothing like being right up on—or even in—the water, chilly as it may be much of the year.

From Birch Bay’s annual New Years Polar Bear Plunge to wetsuit-enabled stand-up paddleboarding, many of our neighbors get out there year-round, but summer is definitely the most inviting time. Why not get out on a kayak with Dragonfly Kayak Tours or rent a pedal boat or stand-up paddle board from Bloedel Boat Rentals at Lake Whatcom.

Prefer to stay dry and eat something delicious while observing the beauty of the water? Why not take a lunch or dinner cruise with San Juan Cruises? Dine on cracked crab while the coastline slips by, or eat lasagne while watching the whales play in the waves. Or if you’re happy packing your own lunch, see Deception Pass from below on a one-hour guided ride with Deception Pass Tours.

If you’re up for a day trip, there’s nothing like a ferry ride through the San Juan Islands! Hop on at the Anacortes terminal and ride through Lopez, Shaw, and Orcas Islands before disembarking for lunch in Friday Harbor, then grab a direct ferry back.

TO TRULY APPRECIATE

living where we do, we have to know our past, cherish our ways of life, and build our future together.

The North Sound is the ancestral home of the Coast Salish peoples, including Lummi, Nooksack, Samish, Upper Skagit, and Swinomish groups. If you don’t already, get to know our Indigenous culture and living history!

Children of the Setting Sun Productions is a local organization that creates documentaries, podcasts, and other projects telling Indigenous stories. In Bellingham, everyone can attend the Coast Salish Day celebration in May. It comes at the end of the annual Gathering of the Eagles mini canoe paddle through the Salish Sea,

organized by local Sul ka dub Freddie Lane.

For those that love to learn through observation, we have plenty of museums showcasing PNW history.

The Orcas Island Historical Museums, both the Eastsound Museum and the Crow Valley School Museum, allow you to walk through well-preserved history. The Whatcom Museum aims to serve as “a regional destination for cultural experiences rooted in art, nature, and northwest history.”

The Skagit County Historical Museum loves all things Skagit, which can

be seen through their Skagit Legacy exhibit. We have a few culturefocused festivals and events. It’s always good to check with Western Washington University to see if they’ve got any events planned!

The Whatcom Cultural Arts Festival encourages folks to share food, art, and stories from their cultures. Annual celebrations and commemorative dates like Pride, Juneteenth, and Indigenous Peoples’ Day have events throughout the counties, so there’s probably one near you!

Nourish our cultural roots

Express, create, and appreciate with our arts scene

LIVE MUSIC, THEATER, dance, 2D and 3D creations—the arts are how people express and communicate their passions. We’re absolutely steeped in creativity here! Whether you’d prefer to work in your own studio or create a group project, there’s no way you won’t feel a bit more in love after exploring your artistic side.

Bellingham loves the performing arts! Be amazed by our talented circus folks from the Bellingham Circus Guild and troupe Cirque Cadia Take in some live shows, or act in them yourself,

with the Bellingham Theatre Guild, Anacortes Community Theatre, San Juan Community Theatre, or one of our other many performing arts groups.

Get into our strong grunge and alternative music scenes at The Wild Buffalo, The Shakedown, and Make.Shift Art Space

Maybe you’d like to get your hands dirty? We have a little romance going on with ceramics—find classes and studio memberships at Burnish Clay Studio, MUD Ceramics Studio, or Baker Creek Ceramic Studio (or paint some pre-fab pottery at CreativiTea).

Get all the craft and arts supplies you need at Dakota Art Store or Art & Happiness in Bellingham, and Tri-Dee Arts in Mount Vernon.

Artist collectives like Allied Arts of Whatcom County, Skagit Artists, and Orcas Island Artworks bring our artists together! They run galleries, art shows, markets, and events like the Holiday Festival of the Arts and NW Art Beat Studio Tour

Other events like the Noisy Waters Mural Festival, run by local arts organization Paper Whale, and the Procession of the Species Anacortes are community-uniting events that everyone can join in on.

We adore visiting the Jansen Art Center, the Alchemy Art Center, and the Museum of Northwest Art for their galleries, classes, talks, and performances. The San Juan Islands Museum of Art, Arctic Raven Gallery, Forest Ceramic Gallery, and many more are dedicated to arts appreciation.

FROM LOCAL LIBRARIES to independent bookstores, we love to read! You can catch us listening to audiobooks while we kayak around Lake Padden or reading a paperback in Marine Park— but our region is also home to a ton of local authors and aspiring writers, and our literary community is thriving.

There are so many opportunities here to discover your new favorite author. Everyone’s favorite literary hub, Village Books and Paper Dreams, not only sells published work and promotes local writers at their Fairhaven and Lynden locations, but they also host readings and open mic nights and partner with Whatcom Community College to run the Chuckanut Writers workshop series. Our local librarians are also a wonderful resource—we’re lucky enough to have two fabulous librarians, Mary Kinser and Emma Radosevich, write our book reviews, and they’re almost entirely responsible for our towering TBR stacks. And then there’s the organic, universe-guided way to find new faves: wandering the aisles of a great used bookstore like C. L. Easton Books or Encore Books in Mount Vernon or Henderson Books in Bellingham.

For the writers among us, you can deepen your connection to your craft and meet like-minded peers at local conferences and writing retreats. The Chuckanut Writers Conference is held every June and brings authors and writing experts from all over the country to Bellingham for attendees to learn and connect. For more focused, small-group work, the Doe Bay Writers Retreat on Orcas Island hosts poets, screenwriters, memoirists, novelists, and even screenwriters for workshops and collaboration. And for those who need

Engage with the literary community

solitude in beautiful surroundings to make progress on a project, the very prestigious Hedgebrook Writer-in-Residence Program is held in nearby Langley.

Local publications, publishers and other literary organizations like Chanticleer Book

Reviews, Raspberry Bow Press, Bellingham Review, Igneus Press, Skagit Valley Writers, and Whatcom Writers and Publishers are open to local engagement! These are great ways to stay tapped into the local scene, to attend events and workshops, and to connect with other literature lovers.

Fall in Love like a librarian: Join in with Whatcom READS

READ THE BOOK. Join the conversation. That’s the tagline for Whatcom READS, Northwest Washington’s premier annual literary event presented by all the public and academic libraries in Bellingham and Whatcom County along with community partner Village Books.

Simply put, Whatcom READS encourages everyone to read and discuss the same book. It’s a perfect fit for our community of readers, writers and adventurers because Whatcom READS nurtures curiosity, discovery and engagement. Sounds like falling in love to us!

The literary partnership has been gently nudging our community toward conversation, reflection and creation for going on 17 years. That’s right: 17 years of reading together and coming together to share our thoughts, to listen to others, to create and to learn.

It all begins with the book. A committee of booksellers and library staff compare community members’ suggested titles against a set of criteria – chiefly, connection to this area, timeliness of themes, program potential and an author who can visit for spring events. We then read the books to make the selection. In the 2023-2024 season, our community read “Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk’’ by Sasha taqwšǝblu Lapointe. Next up: Erica Bauermeister’s “No Two Persons.” You can see the full list of 17 titles and suggest a title for future seasons at whatcomreads.org.

During the year, Bellingham and Whatcom County neighbors discuss the selected book with groups and explore its themes at lively gatherings leading up to the author’s visit, which is typically in March. Writers respond to a prompt suggested by the book. Visual artists create work inspired by the writing.

Getting involved with our local literary community is a terrific way to fall in love with where we live. Join us at whatcomreads.org, or ask about Whatcom READS at any local library or Village Books.