Plan Your Arts and Culture Getway to Bellingham and Whatcom County

Love the spotlight? From Broadway shows and Grammy-Award winning music to independent film and hyper local performances, Bellingham and Whatcom County are alive with theater and music events. Combine that with nationally and locally produced museum exhibits and gallery tours and you’ve only just begun to explore Bellingham’s vibrant arts and culture scene. Select your favorite lodging options and make it a whole weekend of art. See below for a list of events this fall.

Whatcom Museum Downtown Bellingham7 — Whatcom Museum – Old City Hall

Whatcom Museum Downtown Bellingham2 — Whatcom Museum – Old City Hall

Art, Music, Film, Theatre Events & Performances

WANTED: Ed Bereal for Disturbing the Peace – September 7, 2019 – January 5, 2020 – This exhibition at the Whatcom Museum’s Lightcatcher building features six decades of artwork, from Ed Bereal’s never before exhibited early journal sketches and self-portraits.

City of Hope: Resurrection City & the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign – September 7, 2019 – January 5, 2020 – The Whatcom Museum honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daring vision for economic justice and opportunity for every U.S. citizen. The poster exhibit examines the Poor People’s Campaign – a grassroots, multiracial movement that drew thousands of people to Washington, D.C.

RENT 20th Anniversary Tour – September 23, 2019 – Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning masterpiece, returns to the Mount Baker Theatre stage in a vibrant 20th anniversary touring production. With its inspiring message of joy and hope in the face of fear, this timeless celebration of friendship and creativity reminds us to measure our lives with the only thing that truly matters – love.

Doctober: Documentary Film Series – September 27 – October 31, 2019 – Each October, Pickford Film Center presents Doctober, a month long celebration of the art of the documentary featuring some of the most diverse and varied programming offered all year. With over 50 films in the lineup for 2019, something for everyone is hardly an exaggeration!

Music in Motion – September 29, 2019 – Renowned pianist Jon Kimura Parker joins the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra at Mount Baker Theatre for Tchaikovsky’s popular Piano Concerto No. 1.

Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons – October 3, 4, 10 & 11, 2019 – Imagine a world where a new Quietude Law has limited each person’s speech to 140 words per day — a world where people are censored and abbreviated. LEMONS at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center is the story of a young couple having to navigate this new law as they struggle to communicate, get to know and understand each other.

Main Space W 2 Row Chairs 1 1 — Firehouse Performing Arts Center

The Land We Love Exhibit – October 4-26, 2019 – Local Veteran Artist Group; Michael Heath, Tom McCalla and Janine Hazebrouck will feature their luscious paintings of our beautiful world at Allied Arts of Whatcom County along with metal pieces from the Bellingham Metals Arts Guild.

Open House at the Lynden Pioneer Museum – October 11, 2019 – Get a glimpse of the “simpler” life in the earlier days of this farming community at the Lynden Pioneer Museum. Enjoy live demonstrations, costumed interpreters and guided tours.

An Evening with Jake Shimabukuro – October 12, 2019 – Enjoy a performance by the “Jimi Hendrix of the Ukulele” at the Mount Baker Theatre. Shimabukuro’s virtuosic approach to the ukulele has made him one of the hottest tickets around, topping Billboard charts; headlining the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, and the Sydney Opera House.

Jake Shimabukuro Mount Baker Theatre Bellingham2 30 — Jake Shimabukuro

Dirty Dozen Brass Band 2017 Promo Web Copy 2 30 — Jake Shimabukuro

Allied Arts 40th Anniversary Celebration: Heliotrope Art Invasion Extravaganza –October 13, 2019 – Artists and organizations will take over the rooms at Heliotrope Hotel and create interactive art displays, performances and music will be all over the hotel grounds, and food trucks will keep everyone’s bellies full. All ages are invited to come wander.

Take Me to the River LIVE! – October 19, 2019 – Experience the most influential figures of modern New Orleans funk, R&B, soul, and jazz LIVE in this history-making concert tour. Don’t miss these greats together on Mount Baker Theatre’s Main Stage for an unforgettable night of individual and collaborative performances.

Silent Film Spooktacular: The Phantom of the Opera with Live Score – October 27, 2019 – Be haunted by this original thriller with renowned film accompanist Dennis James on Mount Baker Theatre’s spooky pipe organ.

Mount Baker Theatre / Credit: Mount Baker Theatre

Luxurious Order Exhibit – November 1-20, 2019 – Enjoy paintings, collages and photos by Elizabeth Cunningham at Allied Arts Gallery.

The Norman Conquests – November 1-30, 2019 – The Norman Conquests is made up of three interlocking full-length play (Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden) that are ingeniously written to be enjoyed individually or as a trilogy, and can be seen in any order. The Sylvia Center for the Arts will be rotating the plays for four weeks with two marathons on November 23 & 30th.

Gloria Steinem – November 22, 2019 – Gloria Steinem is a writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organizer. She will be sharing her interest in the shared origins of sex and race caste systems, gender roles and child abuse as roots of violence, non-violent conflict resolution, the cultures of indigenous peoples, and organizing across boundaries for peace and justice at the Mount Baker Theatre.

40th Annual Holiday Festival of the Arts – November 22 – December 24, 2019 – The Holiday Festival of the Arts is a five-week-long indoor arts festival featuring 100 artisans from Whatcom County. Aside from vendors selling their wares, the festival boasts live music and art workshops for children on the weekends.