Whatcom Museum

10/10/2026

Two ways to get crafty in the Family Interactive Gallery (FIG) this weekend! 🍂🌲

In the Studio, build a 3D tree bursting with fall color. This is the last weekend for "Fall Colors," which ends Sunday, Oct. 11. In the Artist's Corner, print a forest of evergreens against a glowing sunset sky, inspired by Pacific Northwest artist Elizabeth Colborne. Then see her color woodcuts in "From the Vault: Forested.”

Plan your visit: https://bit.ly/47KPV2d

10/09/2026

The silent auction is open.

A private evening in the Photo Archives with Jeff Jewell. Dinner with Mayor Kim Lund. A Tom Wood etching. A night at The Chrysalis. More than 30 pieces of art and experiences are up for bid right now, and you don’t need a gala ticket to join in. Take a look at a few favorites, then bid from anywhere through November 7.

Every bid supports art and access at the Whatcom Museum. Gala tickets are still available through October 24. Bid or get tickets:

whatcommuseum.org/gala

10/09/2026

When you start looking, it's hard not to see all the old dealerships and service centers that used to dot downtown Bellingham! Can you identify this building?

We're looking forward to putting together a walking tour and sharing stories Downtown Bellingham's transportation past! Stay tuned!

Special hanks to Whatcom Museum and Jeff Jewell for access to the museum's photo archives!

10/09/2026

Whatcom County knows how to showcase creativity!

🎨 October 10-11 is the final weekend of this year's Whatcom Artist Studio Tour . Featuring 40 studios and 62 local artists, this free, self-guided tour will take you all around Bellingham, WA and Whatcom County. Find a full map of participating artists on studiotour.net/

📍Looking for even more to explore? Follow along the Arts & Culture Crawl, check in at locations (including murals and outdoor sculpture gardens), and earn prizes! Locations also include: Whatcom Art Market - Cordata Gallery - SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention - Whatcom Museum - Allied Arts Of Whatcom County - Jansen Art Center and so many more!

ℹ️ Sign up for free at bellingham.org/quest

📷 Image shows a current Whatcom Museum exhibit, "Luminous Glow, The Neon Landscapes of Kelsey Fernkopf & Photography by Steve Gilbert." On view until March 7, 2027.

10/05/2026

10/05/2026

Doctober Spotlight: Revisiting the groundbreaking feminist performance art movement in 1970s Los Angeles, filmmaker Cheri Gaulke returns to the radical community that dared to change everything.

Acting Like Women screens at Pickford Film Center October 2, 7, and 12. Co-presented by Whatcom Museum. Director Cheri Gaulke will be in person for a live Q&A on October 2, joined by Jessica Borusky, Executive Director of Whatcom Museum.

Tickets at pickfordfilmcenter.org/doctober.

10/02/2026

Whatcom Museum is bringing "Acting Like Women" to Pickford Film Center as part of this year's Doctober festival, and we'd love for you to join us tomorrow, Friday, October 2, at 5:20 pm.

In the 1970s, a community of women artists in Los Angeles turned performance art into a tool for activism. Working out of a space called the Woman's Building, they challenged sexism and pushed art in bold new directions, exploring the body, gender, and identity in ways that still shape the art world today.

Director Cheri Gaulke was there. She arrived at the Woman's Building in her early twenties, and her film weaves her own story together with archival footage and dozens of interviews with the artists who lived it. Executive produced by Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, it's a funny, moving, and inspiring look at a movement that changed what art could be.

After the screening, Whatcom Museum Executive Director Jessica Borusky will lead a live Q&A with Gaulke. It's a rare chance to hear firsthand from one of the artists at the heart of the story.

Get tickets through Pickford Film Center: pickfordfilmcenter.org/movie/acting-like-women

10/02/2026

Free First Friday is tomorrow, October 2! Join us for a day of art, music, and making to celebrate our newest exhibition, "From the Vault: Forested," featuring works by Bellingham artists Elizabeth Colborne and Helen Loggie alongside regional artists inspired by Pacific Northwest forests.

Free admission and free activities all day. Open late until 9 pm.

Here's the full schedule:

All day · Bellingham Blooms floral installation in the Lightcatcher lobby
10:15 am · Sweet Art Tour of "Forested" for ages 1 – 5
10:30 am, 11 am, and 11:30 am · Baby and Toddler Music Classes with Little Sapling Music
11 am – 1 pm · Lovely Layered Leaf Rubbings
1 pm · Curator Tour of "Forested" and "Luminous Glow"
1:30 – 3:30 pm · Tree Ring Necklaces with Wild Whatcom
2 – 6 pm · Special open hours at the Helen Loggie Museum of Art
4 pm · "Meet a Musician" with Bellingham Symphony Orchestra harpist Jill Whitman
4 – 7 pm · Free native tree saplings from the City of Bellingham Community Tree Program
6 – 8 pm · Local mushroom display with the Northwest Mushroomers Association
6 – 8 pm · Ledford and McLaughlin busking performance
6 – 8 pm · Community fire pit in the Lightcatcher courtyard

Activities take place at the Whatcom Museum's Lightcatcher building and Old City Hall. The Family Interactive Gallery closes at 6 pm.

Full details: whatcommuseum.org/free-first-friday/

09/23/2026

This Saturday: your last chance to sign up for the "Autumnal Natural Dye Workshop" with Serafima Zavorotny and Fiona Ferguson.

In just three hours, you'll turn madder, weld, and other natural materials into vibrant fall color, experiment with iron and calcium to create new shades, and learn folding and tying techniques from shibori (Japanese tie dye). You'll finish by dyeing a handwoven cotton scarf to take home.

Saturday, September 26, 1 – 4 pm, in the Lightcatcher Studio. Tickets are $70 for members and $80 for the public, and include museum admission, all supplies, and your scarf. Open to ages 16 and up, with only 20 spots available.

Register before Saturday: whatcommuseum.org/event/autumnal-natural-dye-workshop/

Registrations are final. Please arrive within 15 minutes of the start time.