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Warm sunshine and spirits greet Girls Night OutFriday, May 9, 2008)
It was a perfect evening in Fairhaven as the streets echoed laughter and and greetings from women of all ages. The annual charity event to help cancer research at St. Joseph Hospital appeared to be a great success. Pink was the color of the evening. Shops and restaurants were visited and discovered as participants walked the district getting 7 or more stamps on their “passports” and qualifying for the big raffle at evening’s end. The two ‘Girls’ on the left are actually models - two of the many who were modeling clothes from different shops in Fairhaven.
Displays of jewelry and other things were setup in several places through the district.
Headquarters for all the action was the Atrium of Finnegan’s Alley on Harris Avenue. Ooh La La, located in the Atrium, had a big presence at the event with models on the streets wearing their gowns. The evening ended with a drawing for a basket of goodies donated by Fairhaven merchants with a value of over $1,000. If you missed this year’s event, mark your calendar for May 14, 2009 - the second Thursday in May. TONIGHT - Thursday evening is Girls Night OutWednesday, May 7, 2008)
Weather update (Thur morn) - the rain will end by noon or afternoon. Evening in Fairhaven should be sunny - with clouds - and temperature of 55F or so. Cool but dry. - John Servais, Fairhaven forcaster. The quiet hidden away garden of A Lot of Flowers at the corner of Harris and 11th is finally in bloom - just in time for Girls Night Out on Thursday evening. All over Fairhaven, shops and restaurants are preparing a fine welcome for women to enjoy their special evening - to have fun while helping to benefit cancer research at St. Joseph Hospital. Yes, A Lot of Flowers is participating - along with over 40 other businesses. Part of the fun is getting your raffle ticket stamped by at least 7 businesses so you are elegible for the $1,000 drawing. A tour of this garden goes toward this stamp. A fine pleasure. Click the notice in the left column for all the details. The event runs from 5 to 10 pm. Think Pink. Fairhaven businesses will treat you like the DIVA you are with beauty treatments, massages, games, gift bags, drink and food specials, raffles, a silent auction, a fashion show and much more! Make reservations at Fairhaven restaurants early for dinner before walking to district shops, galleries and salons in the historic district. A fun evening for women. We invite you to join the fun. Taimi and Stephanie - they make it happenSaturday, May 3, 2008)
Fairhaven puts on unique and fun events on a year round basis - and here are two of the people who make it happen. They are shown watching the action on the Village Green during last weekend’s Dirty Dan Days. On the left, Taimi Gorman provides us with publicity through her years of making solid connections with all the media. They trust her press releases to be factual - and for the Fairhaven events to be as good as she says they will be. She also led the creation of the Ladies of the Evening Society with their lively 1800s dress and their fun antics at all the events. She has helped promote Fairhaven for over 20 years - helping it to stay the fun place it remains. And on the right is Stephanie Johnson, a realtor with Fairhaven Realty, who goes way beyond token community involvement with her efforts to make our events the very best. She led the effort to get the flagpole back up, raising the needed funds and contributions almost by herself. She took Dirty Dan Days from a little event a few years ago to the rousing fun two day affair it is now, adding the chowder cookoff and the piano race. She works for months each year with Annna Williams on the Ski to Sea - It All Ends in Fairhaven Festival. She lives in Fairhaven and loves helping make things happen. They deserve a tip of the hat from all of us for their consistent year round work promoting our little historical district. A word about the pink. Pink is the color in Fairhaven just now as we look forward to Girls Night Out next Thursday evening to benefit cancer research. Women - be sure to click the link in the top left part of this home page and consider joining Taimi and Stephanie on our annual charity event. Of course it will be a fun event. Chuckanut Chowder Cookoff a great successTuesday, April 29, 2008)
Wendy DeFreest, owner of Avenue Bread and the organizer of the Chuckanut Chowder Cookoff, serves up a bowl of her chowder during Sunday’s Dirty Dan Days. Wendy recruited 13 restaurants to participate - and the event sold 320 tickets for the most successful year of this fun eating experience. We thank her for the community contribution she so generously gave to all of us. She even contributed the breads that went so well with the chowders. Each person who bought a $10 ticket then went around to all or most of the restaurant booths to get a one ounce container of their chowder. After tastings - which could take an hour - the person went back to the restaurant whose chowder they liked best and exchanged their ticket for a good sized bowl of chowder plus bread. The restaurant that ended up with the most tickets by 4 pm was the Peoples Choice winner.
And here is the listing of the winners.
You can see many photos of the Dirty Dan Days by clicking “View Past Photos Archive” at the bottom of this page. Today at Dirty Dan Days - SundaySunday, April 27, 2008) click for larger view
The piano race finish - with Fairhaven Runners the winners. Coming in a close second is the Colophon Cafe with Haggen Fairhaven Market and ‘Security’, a team from Western just behind. The crowd knew enough to give these thorough bred racing pianos plenty of room. The pianos are pulled and pushed by four person teams as they race uphill on Harris Avenue to the corner with 10th Street. The race is inspired by somethind Dan Harris, the founder of Fairhaven, did. In 1889, Dan Harris took ship to California and retirement - and never returned to Fairhaven. As he prepared to leave, he sold off his property and possessions - including his piano. The day he was to board ship, the buyer of the piano had not yet paid - but promised Dan he would send a check. Dan was having none of that. He pushed his piano out of his house, down Harris Avenue and off the end of the dock into Bellingham Bay. He then got on the ship and left. And that was our inspiration for probably the world’s only piano race. Tis 9 pm and we are working to post more photos. More should be up by 10. Sunday Photos - Dirty Dan DaysSunday, April 27, 2008) click above photo for larger view
Sunday was a success - measured in the fun time that a lot of people had. Just look at this photo of a portion of our Village Green during one moment. And the rain held off till evening - well after the festival was over.
And so ends our photos of this year’s DDDays festival. We hope you will join us next year on the last full weekend in April for the 7th DDDays. Today at Dirty Dan Days - SaturdaySaturday, April 26, 2008)
Catching a large wild salmon is Madeline. Contestants lined up to try catching up to three salmon without dropping one with a prize of smoked wild salmon if they did. We think Madeline caught this one - as the Bellingham Herald photograhper, Mark, catches the action. Actually, the salmon was deceased but was wild till then. We prize wild salmon here in Bellingham and the salmon is still destined for the bbq. Saturday photos - Dirty Dan DaysSaturday, April 26, 2008)
The Alzheimer’s 5K Walk & Run had hundreds of participants starting at the Village Green this morning at 9 am. This shows them starting and going north on the South Bay Trail.
That is it for photos from today. We will post photos Sunday afternoon of the events of the day. Dirty Dan Harris looks forward to his DaysFriday, April 25, 2008)
Our annual celebration of the founding of Fairhaven by Dan Harris begins Saturday, April 26. It continues on Sunday with the Chowder Cookoff on the Village Green. Above is our much loved statue of Dan which was created by Bob McDermott 5 years ago. This is an unusual photo in that no one is sitting next to Dan. This is without a doubt the favorite photo situation in the historic district. And photos or not, kids love to climb all over Dan. We think he would enjoy it. The weather forecast is great - sunshine and 60 degree plus temperatures. We invite all. Join us in a fun weekend in Fairhaven. All the restaurants and shops are ready for extra visitors. Spring is finally coming to FairhavenWednesday, April 23, 2008)
Folks were at outside tables today. At Flats Tapas Bar on 11th, it was warm enough this afternoon that a congenial group had gathered over - well over some tapas and drinks. Tapas are small snacks that are popular in Spain and Europe. Flats is located in the over 100 year old Nelson Building, built in 1900 as a bank with shops. Spring is breaking out - we hope. We expect temperatures up to 65 degrees and sunny for this weekend. Dirty Dan Days are this Saturday and Sunday - our celebration of the founding of Fairhaven in 1883. See the event information at the top of this page. And plan to come to our historic district to help us celebrate. A lot of fun for all. Fairhaven Runners busy with hiking season beginningFriday, April 18, 2008)
Hiking, running, walking - we do it year round in Puget Sound. But still - with Spring time, we get serious. Fairhaven Runners was busy this afternoon carefully fitting shoes to each person who came in. You don’t just try on shoes here - you first walk in your socks for the staff person to carefully watch how you walk. Then comes the trying on of different sizes and models. It is all careful and thorough - and that is why the have very loyal customers. Steve Roguski has trained his staff carefully. Yes, this caption is a plug for their shop. This shop is one of the premier businesses of Fairhaven and one of those that has helped the historic district get and keep the great reputation it has for quality, value and service. We invite you to come to our little area and check out the shops for yourself. Oh, and yes, the photographer is wearing a very comfortable pair of walking shoes he bought last summer from these folks. Very comfortable. View down 12th Street of Historic FairhavenTuesday, April 8, 2008) click photo for larger view
Looking south from 80 feet up the flagpole - actually next to the pole in a crane bucket. Tis a nice overall view of our small “urban” village, to use the current fad name for a community commercial district. Fairhaven has existed as the commercial heart of south Bellingham since the 1880s. It has experienced booms and busts and is currently in a boom. In this photo are buildings started in the 1880s and ones completed in the last few years. That is Chuckanut Mountain in the top left corner, connected to the heart of Fairhaven by excellent walking and biking trails. You can rent a bike from Fairhaven Bike & Ski and enjoy a day on the mountain, riding from the shop to the mountain in 10 minutes on a trail. It is also a favorite hiking and running playground year round and we have Fairhaven Runners for buying any type of functional shoes or boots. This photo looks straight down 12th Street, with the intersection of Mill Ave at the bottom and Harris Ave in the center of the photo. I again thank Mike DeRose of Volvo Rentals for taking up to the flag on that beautiful day last week. Fairhaven and its waterfrontWednesday, April 2, 2008) click photo for larger view
From 80 feet up the flagpole it becomes very apparent how much we are connected to Bellingham Bay. Just to the left of the pole you can see the end of the Taylor Avenue Dock - and the dingly dock. The boats are all at permanent moorage year round - as boats have been in the anchorage continuously since the 1800s - since before statehood for Washington. Below us is Finnegan’s Way leading from downtown Bellingham about two miles to the north - the direction the camera is pointed. I thank Mike DeRose of Volvo Rentals for taking me up in his Genie lift for these photos. He was assisting Marina Chauvaud of Profection Painting this afternoon as she touched up the paint on the pole with a special tough paint. In raising the pole two weeks ago, the paint got rubbed off in some small areas. All this was contributed by the firms as this flagpole has truly become a community project. Yes, we have some more photos from up there and will post them in time. Check back every couple days. Spring - real spring - happening this weekTuesday, April 1, 2008) Click photo for a larger view.
The sun is out - and is predicted to be out all this week. Temperatures are going into the 50s each day. Probably 60 later this week. And we can look forward to the warmth of spring and summer. It has been a very cold and rainy winter. Here we have the extremely popular Taylor Avenue Dock late yesterday afternoon as we look west to the San Juan Islands. The folks were walking the dock and out enjoying the sunshine. Dedicated in 2004, this Bellingham Parks structure runs along where an old railroad trestle was built back a hundred years ago. Now it is part of the South Bay Trail that links downtown Bellingham with Fairhaven on a 2.3 mile trail along the shoreline. SnowSaturday, March 29, 2008) Click photo for larger view.
Beautiful snow. But a bone chilling cold and damp day. Few people were out. The annual plant sale - taking place a block from this photo - was carrying on in Fairhaven fashion - rain, shine, snow or wind. The shops were warm and the few people out were enjoying themselves. Shown on the right is the oldest building in Fairhaven - the Terminal building - built in 1888. Originally a saloon, it has been home to Tony’s Coffee Shop since 1971. On the second floor are offices for several professionals. In the background on the left is the Pythias Building, built in 1892. The bottom floor has several locally owned shops, including Pacifid Chef, while the uppper floors are empty. Back in the old days, the top floor was the meeting hall for several different societies - some secret and others social. Part of the very real and colorful history of Historic Fairhaven. Mayor assists in raising Old GloryTuesday, March 25, 2008)
Another photo of yesterday’s first flag raising on the new 100 foot tall flagpole shows our mayor Dan Pike, center, assisting. On the left are veterans Arnie Larsen and Bob Atwood working the winch and on the right end of the flag is Doug Borneman helping keep of off the ground. On the far right is Stephanie Johnson the chair of the Flag Committee and in the center is Amy Nicol the president of the Old Fairhaven Association. We certainly got a break in the weather on our special day, with blue skys and a nice breeze to fill out the flag. Stars and Stripes over FairhavenMonday, March 24, 2008)
It is back. The old wood flagpole blew down in a fierce November 2005 storm. This noon, we raised the flag on the new steel 100 foot tall pole. To give you an idea of size, the hoist on the flag - the vertical measurement - is 20 feet. Double the height of a basketball hoop. A two story building. And the length is 30 feet. A huge flag. We are pleased to have Old Glory flying once again over our little Historic District. A big thank you to all who helped make it possible. One person and his company deserve extra thanks - Mike Hammes and his Ram Construction. He contributed the time of his people and the needed cranes and machinery in an unstinting way. Whatever was needed he provided. Thanks Mike. And thank you to all his employees. First flag raising today - Monday noonMonday, March 24, 2008)
Today at 12 noon sharp we will raise the Stars and Stripes for the first time on our new flagpole.
All are invited to attend. Starting at 12 we will have comments by those who have helped buy and install this new flagpole and then a short speech by Mayor Dan Pike. He will then ask the veterans to hoist Old Glory up the new flagpole. With the raising of the flag about 12:20 pm, the ceremony will be over - and we will have our flag flying over our historic district again.
Flagpole is lifted into placeFriday, March 21, 2008)
This morning, the huge Ness crane lifted our flagpole off of Finnegan’s Way and carefully set it into its concrete pad in front of the Fairhaven Library. Ram Construction managed the entire procedure today, starting at 9 am and finishing about 2 pm - and did all the work as a community project. Mike Hammes, the owner of Ram Construction, donated the time of his men and machines - and covered the costs of the other contractors - such as the crane, concrete and and special Genie lift. But Mike Hammes told us that most of his workers declined their wages for this work, donating their time. And some of the other contractors also decided to donate. When we have the complete list of donors the information will be posted permanently on a special Flag page. And many more photos will be posted over the next few days. Join us in Fairhaven on Monday noon - at 12 sharp - for our ceremony of raising the first flag on our new flagpole. Speechs will be short and we expect the flag to be hoisted by the veterans at about 12:20 pm. Mayor Dan Pike will deliver the main speech. The moment of setting the pole in placeFriday, March 21, 2008)
The base of the steel flagpole is guided into the steel casing that is set into a huge block of concete. Mike Hammes, on the right, and his crew set the pole 10 feet down into the concrete base. The metal tube was then packed with fine gravel and a thick concrete top was poured in place. Quite the operation. Putting the top on the flagpoleThursday, March 20, 2008)
Eric Robey of Ram Construction is shown assembling the wire halyard and fittings to the new flagpole. The wire halyard runs inside the pole which is nice for the folks who live near as it will not bang on the pole during windy days. This steel pole will be installed into the concrete base on Friday morning, March 21, starting about 9 am. It will be a fun spectacle as the huge crane lifts the pole up and sets it down ten feet deep into a concrete base. Ram Construction is donating all the time, men and cranes for the project. Standing next to Eric is Stephanie Johnson who heads up the flagpole project for the Old Fairhaven Association. On Monday at noon sharp, the flag will be first raised up the pole. We invite all to attend. Yes, there will be speeches but they will be short. We think we have musicians and hope we have a respecful group of citizens to witness what we hope is the inauguration of a flagpole that will last many decades. We also want to thank the two land owners of the old service station, Joel Douglas and Ralph Black, for allowing the pole to be assembled and stored here this past week. New 100 foot flagpole is readiedThursday, March 13, 2008)
Ram Construction owner, Mike Hammes (in orange jacket), guides the placement of the new steel 110 long pole onto wood blocks in Fairhaven yesterday. Mike, and his crew spent the day getting the pole pieces to Fairhaven and welding them together. On the left, watching carefully, is Steve Wynkoop the welder who donated his time and skill for the pole. Indeed, Mike is donating all the needed resources of skilled workers and machines to prepare and install our flagpole by the Fairhaven Library. At the other end of the pole - at what will be the top of the pole - is Eric Robey the chief mechanic of Ram Construction who assisted Steve in the delicate welding process. The whole flagpole project is being headed up by Stephanie Johnson of Fairhaven Realty. She is chair of the Flag Committee of the Old Fairhaven Association. The pole was purchased for $16,000 made possible primarly from contributions by David Ebenal, Ken Imus and Joel Douglas. The first raising of the flag will take place on Monday, March 24 at exactly 12 noon. All are invited. Historic railroad cars to be movedMonday, March 10, 2008)
Want a railroad car from the 1890s? Two of these cars are looking for new homes. Owner Joel Douglas is putting out the word to Bellingham Parks and the Council that he is ready to donate a car for placement in a local park or other location. One car is a Pullman type car, made of wood and 80 feet long. The third car - furthest in the photo along Mill Ave - will stay. The cars have been in place since the mid 1970s and Joel has rented them to many businesses over the years. Now the property they are on is being transfered to another owner and Joel has only a few weeks to move the cars. If you have a serious possibility, Joel can be contacted at 734-8191. Lets hope these fine artifacts of our Northwest history find new locations where they can be enjoyed by everyone. Consignment shop now has childrens clothesWednesday, March 5, 2008)
Southside Trends now carries childrens’ clothes, both girls and boys, in sizes 0 to 66. And we thought we’d let you know. As you can see in this photo, Cathy Lee’s consignment shop is just packed with clothes. It is a bargain clothing shopper’s must place to checkout on a regular basis. Here we see Jody sorting and straightening the clothing. 90% of the adult clothing is for women. There are some guys jackets. Who says Fairhaven has become gentrified? Bargains and great values can be found all over the Historic District. Walking the sidewalks is enjoyable because the shops are all so close together. Cathy’s consignment shop is next to the scooter store, which is next to the Gelato shop, next to ... yep - you have to walk down Harris past the Gelato Shop to get to the consignment shop. Good luck making it past without going in. Come on down to Fairhaven for your bargain shopping. |
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the celebrity chowder judges - local celebrities. From left, Rick McCudden - owner of Flats Tapas Bar, Mary Ellen Carter - author of several cookbooks, and Zandra Dennis - Miss Whatcom County.
Two members of each four member team line up - ready to run downhill on Harris Ave to their teammates and their pianos.
The new team this year - ‘Security’ who are students at Western. Beautiful racing piano.
With their hands behind their backs, they slurp up the oysters from the half shells - eight oysters total - and the first to finish stands back up - which is the guy in the yellow t-shirt. We think his name is Garp.
