Wings Over Water: Northwest Washington Birding Festival
Blaine celebrates the incredible variety of migratory birds, which flock to Drayton Harbor and Semiahmoo Bay each winter and spring. Visit the festival for a day-long birding expo with free activities for the whole family, including wildlife demonstrations, bird viewing stations, exhibits, displays, craft vendors and more. For a small fee, wildlife cruises of Drayton Harbor are available on the MV Plover Ferry. 

Whatcom County Home and Garden Show
The largest home show north of Seattle and it’s in Lynden! Come see the biggest and best display of products for your home and garden in Northwest Washington. With over 200 vendors there is something for everyone.

April Brew’s Day
Join local and regional brewers as they share their micro-brews for a fundraising event benefiting the Max Higbee Center, a nonprofit agency that provides recreational opportunities for teens and adults with developmental disabilities. Admission includes a collectible tasting glass and tickets for tasting beer. Local talent by various bands will be there, as well as food from some of Bellingham’s finest food trucks.

Bellingham Beer Week
Bellingham loves beer so much that there’s a whole week dedicated to our local brewers. Bellingham Beer Week began in September 2012 and has recently changed to occur in April with a like-minded group of publicans, craft brewers, and supporters of great beers from Bellingham’s Tap Trail. Previously, Bellingham’s many craft breweries and pubs (Chuckanut, Boundary Bay, Kulshan, K2, Aslan, Wander, Structures, Menace, Stones Throw, Elizabeth Station and McKays Taphouse) plan to participate, as well as numerous beer pubs, restaurants, and supporting businesses.

Ski to Sea Race & Fairhaven Festival
Bellingham’s annual Ski to Sea Race is a 93.5-mile, 8-person relay encompassing seven different sports from the snowfields of Mount Baker, down Highway 542 and the Nooksack River and across Bellingham Bay via downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, running, canoeing, bike riding and kayaking. The Fairhaven Festival is near the Ski to Sea race finish line, with live music on two stages, food and crafts booths, beer garden and more. Ski to Sea attracts not only high-caliber athletes, but teams seeking non-competitive adventure and fun.

The Ski to Sea Race is held on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend every year. The Ski to Sea Junior Race is the weekend prior to Memorial Day weekend with the Ski to Sea Junior Parade is the evening before. The Ski to Sea Blossomtime Parade is held Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, as is the Ski to Sea Block Party at Boundary Bay Brewery. The Fairhaven Festival is held near the finish line, during the Ski to Race on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. 

Lynden Farmers Day Parade
The Farmers Day Parade is a long-standing tradition honoring the economic and social impact of the agriculture industry on the community of Lynden and its surrounding area. A parade different from many others, the Farmers Day Parade is filled with commercial, agricultural, organizational and lots of community entries. Only in Lynden can you see a procession of tractors, animals, antique cars and trucks with traditional floats, bands and a variety of children’s entries.

Deming Logging Show
The Deming Log Show features 31 events and exhibitions demonstrating the talents and strengths of local loggers. Don’t miss axe throwing, speed climbing, log rolling, chainsaw bucking and the ironman. 

Northwest Raspberry Festival
July is National Raspberry Month and at the peak of the summer harvest season, Lynden hosts the Northwest Raspberry Festival, filled with delicious family-friendly fun!  Savor fresh raspberry sundaes on locally-produced ice cream, listen to live jazz, sidewalk shop and taste in downtown Lynden. Kids’ activities include inflatable games, face painting, a Rookies 3-on-3 basketball tournament, and Very Berry Storytime at the Lynden Library.  Annual Curt Maberry Memorial Classic 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament.  Raspberry pancake breakfast at the Lynden Community Center, followed by a 5K fun run/walk, Razz & Shine car show, and wine tasting at Samson Estates located on a working raspberry farm.

Puget Sound Antique Tractor Show & Pull
Learn how farming was done in the good old days. This annual threshing bee and tractor show is held at Berthusen Park and includes threshing demonstrations, antique tractors and parades daily, steam-powered sawmill demonstrations, antique and tractor pulls and more. 

Northwest Washington Fair
The Northwest Washington Fair is a six-day event located in Lynden, WA. Highlights include local ice cream by the Whatcom County Dairy Women, draft horse competitions, livestock judging, food and craft displays, a demolition derby and nightly entertainment in the grandstands.

The Lynden Music Festival Our diverse program includes a classical series at the Jansen Art Center with world-renowned Steinway artist Sandra Wright Shen from San Francisco. She will be joined by a young, talented cellist, Miriam Smith from Cincinnati. Additionally, we will have an acapella celebration with international quartet champion, Vocal Spectrum. We will celebrate the Claire and Dutch Village Mall by bringing in The Flamenco Trio from Seattle. We will fill all possible venues with local musicians from many different genres: Country, bluegrass, jazz, pop, and more. We invite you to Lynden to enjoy these lovely performances with warm hearts! 

Olde Fashioned Christmas in Ferndale
Bring your sweet tooth to celebrate Olde Fashioned Christmas in Ferndale during the first weekend of December. The city is home to Pioneer Park, featuring a collection of actual log cabins built by the first settlers to the region in the late 1800s. Each year, members of the Ferndale Heritage Society spend weeks decorating the cabins for the holidays as the pioneers would have done, then don period costumes to welcome visitors with traditional holiday cheer. Try homemade applesauce in a pioneer kitchen, write a letter to Santa in the one-room schoolhouse and mail it in the historic post office, sing carols on a horse and wagon ride, and of course enjoy a warm treat.

Lynden’s Lighted Parade
Lynden’s 21st annual holiday celebration begins at 6:00 p.m. on the first Saturday of December with the beloved Lighted Christmas Parade. This event captures the ultimate charm of a farming community, as well as honoring Lynden’s Dutch roots. John Deere tractors, farm equipment, milk trucks, fire trucks, and antique cars are all wrapped in Christmas lights and joyfully paraded through town as onlookers clap and cheer. The procession starts at Fairway Center and travels along Front Street throughout downtown Lynden. Visitors should bundle up in warm clothes and bring their own hot cocoa and lawn chairs! In addition, don’t forget to take a tour of unique light displays and decorated storefronts throughout the city during Lynden in Lights; illuminated designs including Nativity sets, Dutch children, poinsettias, and windmills shine brightly throughout the holiday season for all to see.

For more information on Lynden check out our Local Guide, and be sure to enjoy your day before you head back north to your cozy getaway at the Oostema Farmstead. We will keep the light on for you.