Bellingham and Whatcom County deeply value togetherness. Although we want everyone to be safe at home (for now), we believe in staying connected during this time of being apart.
To achieve that goal, more than 30 performing and visual arts organizations have collaborated to form the Whatcom Arts Project — a campaign to inform, entertain, educate, inspire, collaborate, support, promote, and uplift each other daily and remain socially close while physically distanced.
We are banding together for the betterment of our community and also to keep the local arts alive, now and looking ahead to whatever the future holds.
Learn with us, dance with us, sing with us, be creative with us, all in the comfort of your home. See our daily content on Facebook: Whatcom Arts Project offering performances, classes, narratives, interactive tours and other arts experiences all online. A full calendar of events is below.
And since many organizations and nonprofits, as well as individual artists, are experiencing financial difficulties, please remember to donate to them, to provide some measure of financial support in the near future.
Travel Tip: Check out our insider blog “Creative Socially-Distant Arts and Entertainment in Bellingham and Whatcom County“
Mount Baker Theatre 
Pickford Film Center 
Gretchen Leggitt & Whatcom Arts Project
Whatcom Arts Project Calendar
Daytime Educational Content
Monday – Music
- Bellingham Symphony Orchestra – Elementary
- Jazz Center of Bellingham – Middle School/High School/Advanced
Tuesday – Visual Arts
- Allied Arts – Elementary
- Western Washington University’s Western Gallery – Every other week Museum Educator Tami Landi will be contributing virtual tours of selected series from the current exhibition, Knowledge Bennett: Road to Damascus, for middle school to adult audiences. Occasionally, on Fridays she will also be creating creative prompts for elementary aged audiences inspired by the WWU Outdoor Sculpture Collection.
Wild Wednesday
- Western Washington University Dance – Elementary
Thursday – Theatre
- Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth (BAAY) – Elementary
- Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival – Middle School/High School/Advanced
Friday – Fun Day
- Western Washington University Western’s Gallery – Elementary
Evening Date Night / Family Time Content
- Monday, Mar. 30 – Bellingham Film
- Wednesday, Apr. 1 – Pickford Film Center
- Thursday, Apr. 2 – Live at the Piano Lounge with Jansen Art Center Dain Weisner is a singer-songwriter whose music is indie inspired and naturally shaped, with an emphasis on storytelling in his lyrics.“Weisner’s beautifully strong voice and quirky lyrics stick out from the crowd” -What’s Up Magazine (Bellingham, WA)
- Friday, Apr. 3 – Virtual Arts Walk with Downtown Bellingham Partnership
- Saturday, Apr. 4 – Sylvia Center for the Arts – Unlocked from the iDiOM Theater archives, Sylvia Center for the Arts is bringing you BREAKING BREAD hosted by Julia LaFortune with live music from Ellie Gordon. (More details below.)
- Sunday, Apr. 5 – Jansen Art Center Piano Lounge with Matthew BallPianist/Singer and Songwriter Matthew Ball, aka The Boogie Woogie Kid, is the attorney turned musician with now over 4 million views! A nationally touring artist, Matthew performs New Orleans and Swing favorites from the 20s 30s and 40s. His performances are described as “Awesome!” Crushing!” “Fantastic!”
- Monday, Apr. 6 – Bellingham Film
- Tuesday, Apr. 7 – Whatcom Museum FIG Looking to keep kids engaged and learning at home? The Whatcom Museum’s new FIG at Home page brings the Family Interactive Gallery to you with easy at-home art activities, educational resources, and more.
- Wednesday, Apr. 8 – Pickford Film Center
- Thursday, Apr. 9 – Live at the Piano Lounge with Jansen Art Center
- Friday, Apr. 10 – Jansen Art Center Blues with Kevin Burt
- Saturday, Apr. 11 – Sylvia Center for the Arts and The Upfront Theatre
- Sunday, Apr. 12 – Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival
Mural Artist Gretchen Leggitt
The beautiful mural art in our header is by local artist Gretchen Leggitt. From designs like this mural on the wall outside the Horseshoe Cafe to the largest mural in Washington State located on Puget Sound Energy’s building that spans the length of two football fields, Gretchen is leaving her mark on Bellingham and Washington State. Get to know her in this video:
Arts Partners
Allied Arts of Whatcom County
Allied Arts has activities for all ages! From art lessons to at-home education, Allied Arts is full of lessons developed by local artists.
Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth
BAAY Theatre is bringing creative writing classes, costume classes and new creative community activities right to you. Join in the celebration of imagination!
Bellingham Film
Bellingham Film will be sharing a “Locally-Made Movie of the Week” each Monday evening!
Bellingham Symphony Orchestra
Since the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra can’t perform in front of you, they have decided to share the music straight from their homes to yours.
CASCADIA International Women’s Film Festival
Stay tuned for more!
Jansen Art Center
Enjoy and relax to the sounds of Jansen Art Center‘s piano lounge.
Jazz Center of Bellingham
Every Monday The Jazz Center combo classes come together to share the music with you. Originally created for the Jazz Center combo’s students, their videos are perfect for musicians of all ages.
Pickford Film Center
The Pickford Film Center is excited to be bringing you new ways to see films. Visit Pickford’s website to stream a new movie at home.
Sylvia Center for the Arts
Unlocked from the iDiOM Theater archives, Sylvia Center for the Arts is bringing you BREAKING BREAD hosted by Julia LaFortune with live music from Ellie Gordon. It’s our fresh, live, local, true storytelling series. We open our doors, share our truth, and break bread with one another every other month. This episode is from the before times, before Sylvia opened its doors officially in the big space. The year is 2017. Six brave souls and one intrepid host bring their truth to the stage as they tell stories based on the theme “ALIEN.”
Western Gallery
Take a virtual tour of the Western Gallery and their current exhibitions with Tami Landis. WWU will continue to create videos and digital content to help bring their art and galleries to you.
Whatcom Museum
The Whatcom Museum, located in the heart of downtown Bellingham’s cultural district, offers a rich variety of programs and exhibitions about art, nature and Northwest history.
Although the campus is currently closed, the Museum is providing a variety of digital resources including an activity page for kids!
Learn more through these links: Facebook, Twitter, e-News sign-up, Family Interactive Gallery eNews sign-up and the Museum’s blog.
Whatcom Museum – Old City Hall 
Whatcom Museum – Lightcatcher
