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New flagpole coming - Flag raising March 4Monday, February 18, 2008)
In just two weeks, we hope and expect to raise the stars and stripes on a new 100 foot tall flagpole - right here where those orange safety cones are. Right here where it can be seen almost centered on 12th Street, the main street through Fairhaven. You can learn more and follow progress right here on Fairhaven.com over the next days. Fairhaven’s founder, Dirty Dan Harris, raised a flag on a 100 foot tall flagpole on March 4, 1885 in celebration on the day that Grover Cleveland took the oath as President of the United States. Cleveland was a Democrat - and so was Dan. And so Stephanie Johnson of Fairhaven Realty, who is spearheading the effort by the Old Fairhaven Association to raise a new flag, has selected Tuesday, March 4 at noon for the raising of the flag on our new flagpole. We invite all to plan to join us in Fairhaven on March 4 to help us celebrate the raising of our flag. We will tell you of celebration events as the date comes closer. And I’ll write more of the story about our Fairhaven flagpoles - and why we are raising a new one - and who is helping fund it - all with more photos during these next couple weeks. Our historic village in winterMonday, February 18, 2008)
With snow covered Lookout Mountain looming behind, our little historic district appears a jumble of brick buildings huddled together for a cold winter sunset. Taken from the Cruise Terminal down on Harris Ave this evening. We had a wonderful warm - 50 degrees plus - and sunny day but tonight the temps will again be well below freezing because of the clear skys. In the foreground is the boat storage yard at the Community Boating Center. Row Expo through Saturday and SundaySaturday, February 16, 2008
Each February, Ron Mueller puts on a fun three day rowing expo at his Wayland Marine on Harris Avenue. Well it started today, a rainy Friday, and continues for a sunny Saturday and Sunday. Way to pick the weekend, Ron. All are invited down to look over the beautiful rowing sculls and boats that Ron displays. Above, he discusses rowing while surrounded by various types of row boats. Hours are Saturday, 10 to 5, and Sunday, 11 to 3. Check his website for more information. Trek Video offers aid on rainy eveningsFriday, February 8, 2008)
Aid is in the form of a huge selection of movies and videos of all sorts. Rob, who has owned and run his Trek Video shop for over 20 years, is shown restocking the shelves during the quiet of late morning. In the early evenings, however, the shop is lively and even a meeting place for Fairhaven residents. If you are not familiar with the shop, stop by and browse the shelves. Rob has a huge selection of foreign films and classics, besides all of the current and past favorites. With a lot of the classics now out on DVDs, they are worth seeing again as the images are usually better than the old VHS and there are often exra shots of the making of the movies. (Yes, I’m a film buff.) Many years ago, Rob was co-owner of the old Picture Show movie theater down on 11th across from Village Books. He and his partner took it over from Jerry when he left the business. We thank you, Rob, for continuing to provide us this fine cultural and entertainment resource. Rain Fest held despite sunshineSaturday, February 2, 2008)
Petting the pooch. The pug Madeline is petted at high noon to see if she is damp from rain. Today, to the surprise of all, she was not damp - which means we only have 6 more weeks of rain this winter. (If she was damp, then 7 more weeks. Big dif.) Madeline is obviously enjoying the petting whether damp or dry. With the pug as our prognosticator, we don’t need no stinkin groundhog. Madeline is the pet of Taimi, holding her, and Laurie is giving the official petting. Serious business. And to the left is our raining queen, Diane, enconsed on her throne.
The rain gear fashion show surprised us all with these young entrants. They all deserved prizes. Here is our attempt to take their group photo - sort of like herding cats. Amy, behind them, brought her magic to this part of our festival. The fest is a sort of unorganized annual fun event on the first Saturday of February.
Young Pepper, the winner of the rain gear fashion show, gives us a regal pose. With the young entrants, no adult dared enter. At first we were flustered but then realized our little fest had just taken another turn.
Here is Carol reading her rain poem - which was judged the best of the entrants. The pergola makes a fine setting for reading poems. Of course all is done under the regal eyes of our queen.
Richard Lewis has won all the rain poem contests the past few years. So this year we made him our Rain Poet Laureate and the judge of the poems by lesser mortals. Of course we still appreciated his poetry reading this year. We hope to post some of the poems on this website soon. First we have to get copies. Any poets reading this, please email a copy of your entry poem. . Thanks. (see how organized we are) 6th annual fest enjoyed by allSaturday, February 2, 2008)
The Raining Queen, Diane who runs our barbarshop on Harris Avenue, is escorted onto the Village Green by Dirty Dan Harris and Daniel - noble fellows. She is followed by Taimi leading the pug (not shown). She was given a rousing applause and greeting by all of us assembled on the Green.
Ensconced on her throne - courtesy of the Village Inn - the Queen orders her subjects to put on a rain festival. To our surprise and pleasure she was on time this year. It is no fun standing around in the rain waiting for the Queen. Some years she has to finish a haircut before coming over. Oh well, each year it all happens. We thank the Ladies of the Evening Society for safely bringing her across the street.
Today was our 6th annual Official Pacific Northwest Rain Festival on the Village Green. And the second year of the six that we had sunshine. Ham resolutely wears his rain hat while reading his poem. We thought picking Feb 2 was a safe bet for rain. Sunshine dampens everything, so to speak. And we had over 100 people - plus little ones - and several pugs. We were not prepared for this but all enjoyed our little goofy event and shortly after noon, most retreated to our fine restaurants. See you next year - first Saturday in February. Hope for rain. This sunshine could wreck our reputation. And that guy loitering around is actually Doug who provided his sound system and he is staying close to his sound controls. A very heartfelt thanks to Doug, Amy, Taimi, Richard, Diane, Jim, Paul, Sean and the merchants who donated the prizes. This goofy little event is fun and is a group effort.
Most photos taken by Ham Hayes. Our thanks to him.
All welcome to enter Poetry & Fashion eventsFriday, February 1, 2008
A reminder - Saturday at 11:30 am, rain or shine, will be the Rain Festival on the Village Green. Can you write a short poem about rain? Love it, scorn it, mock it. observe it, feel it - well then we invite you to write a diddy and come to the festival and read it. You may win a prize. All will enjoy your effort and will applaud you. Doing so will be great therapy for relating to our long winter rains. No entry fee, no registration - just show up and take your turn reading your poem. Just how goofy can you look if you selectively wear different items of your normal rain gear? We in the NW have lots of rain gear. Here is a chance to wear some of the stuff you may normally not wear out in public. And you might win a prize. How do you enter? Just show up. You will find you are in like company with others. Come join the fun. Learn if we have 6 or 7 more weeks of rain. Be the first on your block to know. The Official Pacific Northwest Rain Festival is a premier event that regularly draws between 10 and 50 people every year. We can only assume that most others are staying at home where they remain warm and dry. How boring. Come to the Village Green, shiver and get wet for an hour and then join us as we retreat to our local restaurants where it is warm, dry and friendly. Click on the Major Event info just above for complete information on the fest. But you really already know enough. Write a short fun poem, wear some goofy rain gear and show up. Rain Fest inspires goofy garbSaturday, January 26, 2008)
Coming next Saturday noon - from 11:30 to 12:30 - is our annual Rain Festival. We encourage all to attend - and if you do, we hope you will show off your most stylish or outlandish rain gear. There is even a Rain Gear Fashion Show - with prizes from Fairhaven merchants for the best gear. And a poetry contest for the best original poem about rain - written and read by the person who enters. The poetry winner gets first pick of the prizes. No entry fee - no registration - just show up and read your poem - hopefully not much longer than a minute. Above is a photo from our festival last February. No rain but we celebrated anyway. This is our 6th annual celebration. Above in the Events is a link to more information. Lets celebrate our gentle soft rain of our Pacific Northwest. If they can celebrate a groundhog out East then we have more reason to celebrate our rain. Some Fairhaven restaurants will have special Rain Fest lunches on their menus for immediately after the 12:30 pm ending of the event. Come join us and help make it more fun. And who is that in the yellow outfit on the right? Erica, the manager of the Artwood Gallery. Maybe we will get rain this year. Maybe snow. !! Sorellas restaurant now open at the Cruise TerminalThursday, January 3, 2008)
Open 7 am to 4 pm every day of the week and serving really nice breakfasts and lunches, we are delighted to have a restaurant back in the Cruise Terminal. Above are the crew, from left Setrina, Tasha, Alina and Nichole. Among them they have culinary degrees and many years of restaurant experience. They are serious about good food and they also offer catering. Breakfasts include rolls, danish, eggs and bacon, buttermilk pancakes and crepes - yes, traditional French crepes. Lunches include comfort foods like hamburgers, chowders and deli sandwiches, plus salads and cold or grilled paninis. So - make the short trip down Harris Avenue and check out the newest restaurant in Fairhaven. They call it ‘casual waterfront dining’. Sorellas? It is Italian for sisters. Village Books Annual Book Sale - A SuccessSunday, December 30, 2007)
Thursday, Jan 3, Village Books and Paper Dreams report a very successful two days for their end of year super sale on books and holidays items. And now all our shops and restaurants settle down to be havens of warmth and enjoyment during our blustery winter months.
Merry Christmas and Happy HolidayTuesday, December 25, 2007)
Merry Christmas to all. From all of us in Fairhaven, our best to you and yours. May this solstice celebration - this most popular holiday of the year - bring you joy and cheer. Going back past ancient history and back into thousands of years of human existence, this has been the time of year for renewed hope for the coming new year. Our human soul needs hope and we seek it where we can find it. Merry Christmas, happy holidays and season’s greetings. And I’m sure I speak for the spirit of old Dirty Dan Harris in extending his best wishes to you also. Village Books open till 6 pm tonight, Christmas EveMonday, December 24, 2007)
Plus the Fairhaven Toy Garden, kitty corner from Village Books is also open till 6 pm. You can get last minute gifts for all ages from two of Fairhaven’s best shops. Above is the busy scene in Village Books this noon. Chuck Robinson is at the near customer counter and all the other counters had staff at them. A book is one of the best last minute gifts there is - and his staff is ready to help.
And snuggled onto a big bean bag in a comfy corner of the children’s book area of Village Books, we have from left, Gannon, Eric and Becker - with Eric doing the reading. Village Books advertises itself as the bookstore for browsing and they provide a lot of nice quiet places for folks to do just that. Oh - and Paper Dreams - in the same block - is also open till 6 pm - for the card to go with that last minute gift. Fairhaven Historic District aglow for ChristmasSaturday, December 22, 2007)
The lights go up in late November and will stay up through the holidays and January. They celebrate the holiday season and give us some cheer during our darkest days of the year. All the shop owners work together to put up lights in each block of the district. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from Fairhaven.com The Grinch is prowling Historic FairhavenSaturday, December 15, 2007) Photo by Tim Chandonnet
We don’t want to startle anyone, but do these folks at Fairhaven Toy Garden realize who has just crashed their nice little holiday crafting party? Hello, is anyone paying attention? Someone should tell them. The Grinch is going to be making one more appearance next Saturday, Dec 22, at Village Books, so stop on by. The little ones can get a holiday photo taken with the Grinch. Hours are 12 noon to 4 pm. The photo is $10 and a digital image is put on a CD so you can print it at home. The net proceeds go to Blue Skies For Children in Whatcom County. Aisling Eyewear opens Saturday morningFriday, November 30, 2007)
A great new eyewear boutique is opening in the new Young Building on McKenzie Avenue. Above, owners Kate and Carrie pause at one of their display tables in their new shop. Kate is a professionally licensed optician. They offer an exclusive selection of handcrafted and limited production frames and sunglasses from all over the world that can not be found anywhere else in Bellingham. Such names as La Font, Spectacle Eyeworks, l.a. eyeworks, Derome Brenner, and many more will be on display. We welcome them to Fairhaven. They are the second shop in the new Young building at the corner of 11th and McKenzie. A Holiday Card photo in the makingThursday, November 29, 2007)
Dirty Dan seems to appreciate the warm scarf around his neck for this photo. The folks from Nutraceutical Corp., who have offices in the 12th Street Village, are having that camera on the tiny tripod take their photo. For their Christmas card. And it looks like it will be a fun card. Dan is an in demand fellow for photos on a year round basis - just as sculptor Bob McDermott intended and hoped. Holiday lights sparkle throughout FairhavenMonday, November 26, 2007)
The big tree behind Skylark’s Hidden Cafe is a sparkling delight again this holiday season. We had heard Don White was not sure if he could again get to all the branches - but is sure looks like he did. All over the historic district are white lights strung around buildings and from tree to tree along the streets. We invite you to do your Christmas shopping in Fairhaven. We have two full toy stores and many others have great gifts for kids. Village Books has more than books and Paper Dreams has perhaps the largest selection of cards in the area. Plus the shops that have local made crafts such as practical pottery at Mud In Your Eye. And walking the sidewalks of the historic district is just plain fun because of the genuine ambience. Come on down. Enjoy our district. Gallery Walk adds new fun eventsSaturday, November 24, 2007)
The Grinch is in Fairhaven. In the bottom floor of Village Books, to be exact. On Saturday again from 5 to 8 pm he allows little ones to have their photo taken with him. Here Jake and Kobe try to smile as they sit with the horrible fellow. Photos of kids are burned on a disc for printing at home. A small fee is required. After this weekend, Grinch photos will be taken from 12 to 4 pm each Saturday up to Christman, Dec 1, 8,15 and 22. A great holiday opportunity for all parents and kids.
One of the oldest shops in Fairhaven is the Good Earth Pottery which dates back to the early 1970s. Still today it is filled with fine pieces as a display and sales room for several local crafts persons. The Gallery Walk and Open House in over 40 Historic District shops continues Saturday evening from 5 to 9 pm. Holiday lights, caroling, refreshments and fully stocked shops make for a fun time. Come on down.
New this year is a Holiday Faire in the basement of the Nelson Block building at Harris and 11th. Many local freelance artists are showing and selling their work. Check the Days/ Hours; Nov. 23, 24 & Dec.1--11am-8pm; Dec. 2-- 11am-5pm. The entrances to the huge basement area are well marked kitty corner from A Lot of Flowers. Gallery Walk and Open House this weekend”Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Friday and Saturday evenings from 5 to 9 pm is the start of holidays in our Fairhaven Historic District. All the shops will be fully stocked, music will be in the air and many shops will offer refreshments. All shops in Fairhaven are all locally owned, with the owners managing most of them. Scan this list below and note the many unique items waiting for you. Come on down to Fairhaven this weekend.
12th Street Shoes, 1204 Harris Ave - Edible Shoe Art Show
Blessings Salon Spa, 1201 11th St Suite 101 - Clinton James, Photographer
Jelita Arts, 1139 11th St - Open House
Renaissance Celebration, 915 Harris Ave - James Might Glass
Beautiful Fairhaven Harbor Condos in planningThursday, November 15, 2007)
Down on Harris, between 8th and 9th Streets, a new three building complex of condos, townhouses and first floor commercial shops is being planned. Ted Mischaikov has submitted these plans to Bellingham Planning for approval. Above is the view of the buildings as seen along Harris Avenue. The taller one is only 8 floors - much lower than an earlier plan with 10. This is Ted’s fourth submission for this project as he tries to respect the concerns of residents and other commercial property owners. The style combines the red brick of Fairhaven historic buildings with contemporary lines and windows. Halloween in Historic FairhavenWednesday, October 31, 2007)
Smart kids - hit the candy shop for treats. Actually, over a thousand kids hit over 50 shops and restaurants in Fairhaven for candies this afternoon and early evening. And we noticed a trend - more grownups were in costumes - and a lot of great costumes.
Harris Avenue was the most packed with little goblins leading their parents from door to door. Each Halloween the historic district welcomes the little ones from 3 to 6 pm.
Most kids know this fine fellow - Gordy Tweit, our retired Fairhaven Pharmacist, takes hundreds of photos each Halloween of the kids. They will go up in the window of the Pharmacy for a couple weeks and then parents - or the kids - can pick them up. No charge. Another photo of Gordy’s full face is below.
Lauren of Four Starrs Boutique lets a little one choose a candy at the front door of the shop. Each year more goblins show up and each year the merchants prepare with more candy. Even so, several shops had ‘no candy left’ signs up shortly before the ending time of 6 pm. Next year, even more candy.
Gordy - with his several cameras and lots of rolls of film. He starts about 2:30 pm and continues past 8 pm. Whew. We thank the Fairhaven Pharmacy and their staff for shepherding the continuous line of goblins for so many hours. Buskers singing reflected in tree colorsSaturday, October 27, 2007)
I mean, these two guys were really going at it at 11th and Harris this afternoon. Good funk, really. Ian on the left and Issac on the right. And their music fit perfectly with the wild tree colors. Maybe is was just me - as I was walking down the hill towards them with that tree flaming above them. Anyway, we are looking to a beautiful sunny weekend in Fairhaven and it is perfect for a getaway if you are reading this from Seattle or Vancouver or some other heavily populated place you would like to escape from for a day or two. Nostalgia opens in new Young BuildingSaturday, October 20, 2007)
Lynn Loewen opened her retro women’s clothing shop today in the Young Building at the corner of 11th and McKenzie. Her’s is the first business - indeed the first occupant - of the new Waldron and Young complex. Her shop features clothing from the 1920s to the 1970s and is open every day of the week. We will let you know here as other businesses open in this new building. Woods Coffee a short walk from FairhavenThursday, October 18, 2007)
We could even claim that this is almost in Fairhaven. A quiet walk along the South Bay trail, over the Taylor Avenue Dock and we are at this beautiful new coffee shop. Woods is a locally owned business with six locations around our Whatcom County. As you can see, they have great outside seating when the weather allows and are right on the shore of Bellingham Bay. Inside are comfortable chairs and even a cozy fireplace. We tip our hats to the Bellingham Parks Department for allowing Woods to renovate the old pottery studio and turn it into such a great community gathering place. |
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