Urban Music Festival

While festival goers everywhere were winding down from the eventful Memorial Weekend, Bellingham had another event for the community to enjoy. The 6th annual Urban Music Festival entertained the crowd with live music and performances from talented artists. It began on Friday June 4 and ended late Saturday night with nonstop music and talent shows in between.
There were various artists, many local to the area, who played throughout the festival. Bands like The Endorfins, Polecat and Snug Harbor were just a few who made an appearance. Total there were 14 live acts that Acorn Productions put on for the community at the Wild Buffalo House of Music.
For Anna Lucero, 21, it was hard to choose her favorite part of the weekend.“It was a really fun time, I can't decide what my favorite part was,” she said. Lucero said that between the live glass-blowing performance on Friday, the Dream Science Circus performances, and all of the music there was no way she could pick what her favorite performance was. “I liked the variety during the festival. During the day it was all ages so anyone could come instead of it being limited to 21 and older like most concerts are in Bellingham,” she said.
Lucero discovered a new favorite band, Polecat. “They were really good, but the thing I liked the most was that it was all ages so it was more of a community event. Little kids and families were dancing around the whole show. It was beautiful,” she said.
Snug Harbor's bassist Stephen Blair, 25, played at the Urban Music Festival for the first time with the band. Blair has been in Snug Harbor for about three years now. “It started as a quartet and then expanded. We have between seven and nine people in the band now,” he said.
Snug Harbor performed on Saturday night in the blocked off alley outside of the Wild Buffalo. “It was a really fun show. I like the indoor/outdoor aspect of the venue,” he said.



The best part of the weekend for Blair was watching the Dream Science Circus perform while Acorn Productions played. “I always hear them play pretty straightforward and for me the music is the most important part. To actually hear them play super ego-free improv-jam was the highlight of the weekend. It was amazing,” he said.




Acorn Project played while the Dream Science Circus performed in the middle of the venue. The combination of music from Acorn Project and the performers was the highlight for many others as well. “That was one of my favorite parts. Everyone was huddled together tightly around the performers watching in complete awe,” said Lucero.



Lucero has attended many community events in Bellingham since she moved up here and said that the Urban Music Festival was definitely one of the most memorable to her. “I go to a lot of shows and events in Bellingham but this one stood out. Bellingham is a great community and I love when things like this bring it together,” she said.

Blog post 2: Block Party

Looking for something to do after an eventful Memorial Day Weekend? Last weekend residents of Bellingham flocked to Sasquatch, Folklife or stayed in town for the Ski to Sea festival. If you missed out on those festivals and are looking for a community event for the first weekend of June look no further than the Alternative Library on N. Forest street. On Saturday June 5 the Sushi Tribe is throwing a block party on N. Forest street starting at 12 p.m. Which will continue through Sunday June 6 until 2 a.m. The block party will have lots of live music, dancing, food and art. Take a break from work or studying for finals and enjoy the festivities!
For the Alternative Library's website click here:
http://www.sushitree.org/index.php?

To see the story about the Alternative Library and other activities click here:
http://sehomeneighborhood2010.blogspot.com/2010/06/alternative-library.html

For directions to the block party click here:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Blog post 1: Construction to Look Out For

It's getting closer and closer to summer which means trips to the lake and barbeque's for a lot of people, but with the nice weather comes something else: more construction. Recently the Sehome neighborhood had its sewer pipelines replaced as proposed in the Sewer Replacement Program. So far, the Sehome neighborhood along with a couple other streets in Bellingham have had their sewers replaced using trenchless technology. More neighborhoods, starting with down town, are expected to get their sewers replaced over the course of the year. There is a lot of planning and development going on in Bellingham other than sewer replacement, however. Other projects that are currently taking place in Bellingham involve everything from water main replacement to building/improving roundabouts and street improvement. Most of these construction projects have already begun and some even completed.
Some construction projects to be on the look out for are:
In the Mount Baker area they are resurfacing roads around Bakerview road south to Sunset drive. The next step in the resurfacing proposal is to begin construction.

Downtown street power undergrounding started its construction on 3/29/2010 and its next step is to install underground power vaults.

There is going to be a lot of work happening around Forest street. They will be replacing water mains as well as resurfacing improvements. It says they will be starting in the spring. There is also discussion about installing a roundabout.

On Northwest Avenue they have been improving pedestrian and bicycle safety. They completed storm improvements in April and the next step is to finish the retaining wall and begin construction of a roundabout.

Last month the contractor for the West Illinois Street Extension set up erosion control and cleared the site for road construction. The next step is to remove all of the contaminated soil.

Alternative Library

The library on N. Forest street in Bellingham, Wa. isn't the average library a reader would come across. The Alternative Library, located at 717 N. Forest St. was created by a group of people, the Sushi Tribe, who wanted something more than what they were finding at the public libraries.
Cullen Beckhorn, 23, came up with an idea for an alternative library about three years ago. “The books that we buy and let people check out are only books that people are asking for,” he said. According to Beckhorn, the library survives off of monthly donations. To check out books at the Alternative Library there is a $5 monthly fee, but the reader can keep the book for how ever long they want. “There is always a running request list,” he said.
The library, which consists of a little over 2,000 books, has a large collection of graphic novels and comic books. There are also specific sections dedicated to books on philosophy, spirituality and culture.
The Sushi Tribe
The library took over the living room of a 3-story house where ten people live. Jeff Krajewski, 24, has been living in the Alternative Library since it started. Krajewski said he used to live in another “sushi house” before moving into the house on N. Forest street. When asked what a sushi house was, Krajewski explained the concept of Sushi Night. Krajewski said Sushi Night is a weekly gathering where he other members and friends get together, play music, make sushi and dance.“It's basically a bad-ass community. We get together every week,” he said.
Krajewski said all of the members of the Sushi Tribe as well as people living in the Alternative Library house are talented artistically and musically. Many people living there play at least one instrument, sing, paint or express themselves through art in some other way. “The focus of the house is
Richardson

expression,” said Krajewski.
Other Activities Besides the Alternative Library
Besides living in a home with a library for a living room and creative minds all around, the Sushi Tribe has many environmental interests as well. The group participates in a growing movement called Food Not Bombs. Every Friday, the people at the Alternative Library house use food that would otherwise be thrown away and prepare meals to serve in a public area for anyone to eat.
After they feed the community on Friday's, the Alternative Library house does what they call Skills Share on Saturday's. Every member of the Sushi Tribe has some sort of skill or talent that they will teach to anyone else who wants to learn. Over the past month, members have taught others about cooking with raw foods, how to practice natural healing as well as a resume workshop. “It's very educational living here,” said Kajewski. Living among books and people who want to learn, express and share is what the Alternative Library house is all about.
“It's revolutionary and epic!” said Beckhorn.
The Sushi Tribe has been together for about 5 years now, and they don't plan on going anywhere. The group is very welcoming to new people and curious minds as well. “It only gets more powerful with more humans involved,” said Beckhorn.
The Alternative Library is open weekdays from 2 p.m. To 7 p.m. And weekends from 3 p.m. To 7 p.m.

Sewer Replacement

The Sehome neighborhood, also known as the Historic District in Bellingham, is made up of old Victorian style houses and a vintage vibe. Some of the houses date back up to 50 years old. With these old houses comes something else much older, 100-year-old sewer lines. In 2009 the Sehome neighborhood plan involved replacing the century old sewers with new, better quality sewer lines.
The 2009-2010 Sewer Replacement Program is a plan to replace old sewer mains using trenchless technology. Todd Baker, Senior Construction Inspector in Bellingham, has been a part of the project since the beginning. According to Baker, the city has the sewers inspected with a video camera to show them how damaged the sewers have become over the years. He said some sewer lines have become really rusty while others are jointed together. Jointed sewer lines are the old and less effective way they were built 100 years ago. The Sewer Replacement Program is setting out to weld the pipes together instead of having them jointed together to fix the problems. “Everything gets viewed by the camera and is cleaned out later on,” Baker said.
What is trenchless technology?
Trehcnless technology puts a camera through the drilled manhole to view the damage of the sewer. First, workers install a felt cloth that is coated in resin. After the felt is placed in the sewer line, they fill it with pressurized steam which then activates the resin and creates a pipe inside of the old damaged pipe.
How long construction will go on
The sewer replacement construction has been going on for about four months now. In the Sehome neighborhood, the areas surrounding the corner of Ellis St., Mason St. and E. Maple St. are being the most affected by the construction. According to Baker, those areas have been getting work done for the past four months and are expected to be done within the next few weeks.
If and how are businesses/residents are affected
Christy Marinovich, 28, works at The Bean Stop on E. Maple St. where the sewer replacement has been active. Marinovich said the construction hasn't made the business at the coffee stand better or worse, however, “It does make it inconvenient to pull in and out of the coffee stand,” she said. Marinovich said that she and all the employees are used to the increase in traffic that surrounds the coffee stand due to the construction. “It's not like there's a bad smell or anything, it doesn't really bother us,” she said. “We're just all used to it.”
The construction has been done on the stretch of road from Ellis St. and Lakeway Dr. up to a chunk of Liberty St. and E Maple St. close to Samish Way.. Many businesses and homes are within those boundaries and have been dealing with increased traffic and noise for the past months. Brittni Day, 21, works at Pizza Pipeline on E. Maple St. She said the construction has made it difficult for her since she is a delivery driver who needs to get in and out of the company driveway frequently throughout the day. “They usually block the driveway and make parking a lot worse, it's annoying,” she said.
With the sewer replacement also came the installation of a new cross walk on E. Maple St., right off Samish Way. This has been a very positive part of the construction for Day. “The cross walk was one of the main things they were working on,” she said. For Day, the cross walk has been worth the annoyance of lack of parking and noise. “We use the cross walk to get over to The Bean Stop for coffee or the barista's and men working at the car wash across the street come over for pizza,” she said. With the new cross walk right outside of Pizza Pipeline, businesses in the area have benefited from being able to walk across the busy street to get a slice of pizza or a cup of coffee. “The Bean Stop keeps us awake, we love it!” she said.
Benefits of the Sewer Replacement Program
There are seven neighborhood's that are going to be getting their sewer's replaced within the
next year. Within the next couple weeks the Sehome sewer replacement construction will finally be done. With the completion of the construction the Sehome neighborhood will have much less noise, less traffic blocked ups, a big cross walk for pedestrians, and sewers that gracefully flow under the concrete. “It's definitely a smoother, cleaner finished product,” said Baker.

Blurb: Local theater fills up seats when old movies jump back on the big screen.

Most movie theaters today show the newest films that are full of special effects and

3-dimensional elements. Audiences everywhere are used to using 3D glasses and being surrounded by sound in the theater. At Regal Sehome 3 Cinemas, however, old films are the new rave.

Luke E'Dell, 28, is the manager at Regal Sehome 3 Cinemas in Bellingham, Wa. He said he wanted to start a flash back film showing because it seemed like a cool idea. Regal Sehome 3 Cinemas shows older films in the original 35 mm prints. According to E'Dell, the films are in the condition they were last used in. “The films have been through a lot of hands,” he said. E'Dell said some of the films have noticeable damage, like sound quality, but overall they are still in good condition.

Although it has taken them a long time to get the process started, E'Dell said it has been something they have been talking about for years. “We've wanted to do this for about ten years, it just took someone to get the ball rolling,” he said. For E'Dell it has been a lot of extra work to prepare for the flashback film showings.

Kade Brumbaugh, 19, was excited about his first experience seeing the flashback films. “I hardly ever go see movies in the theater, I usually watch old movies anyway,” he said. Brumbaugh said what he liked the most about the flashback films was that it was easier to focus on the actual story rather than paying attention to the visual elements. “Even though it doesn't have all of the glitzy high-tech stuff and good video and sound, the story is great. It shows what the director wanted,” he said. Brumbaugh saw The Shining for the first time and for him, being able to focus on the great story line was way more important than special effects. “I'll definitely go back,” he said.

Another part of the flashback night that Brumbaugh liked was the introduction by the manager before the film. “The manager talked about the film before hand. He told the audience how water damage effects the film and the sound will cut in and out of the first couple minutes. He explained the film and it's quality really well,” he said.

Kathleen Minor, 21, has been attending the flashback film night regularly since it started. Minor heard about the flashback films when she was renting a movie at Blockbuster a couple weeks ago. When Minor was informed about the flashback films, she was told nobody really knew about it so it was important for people to go and support it. “When we showed up to the first one it was sold out in minutes!” she said. Minor and her boyfriend went to see Indiana Jones on April 13 for their first flashback film experience.

Why Audiences Love Old Films

For Minor, seeing old movies in theater is way more fun than renting them from the movie store. She said that renting the movie and going to see it in theater cost almost the exact same amount, so it is worth it to her to go see it on the big screen. “It only costs $5 to go to the flashback film. You can either see it on the big screen or go rent it at home for the same price,” she said.

Minor also noticed that the audience seems to be more together when they see old films as opposed to new movies. “Since most people have seen the old films before, we all have a sense of knowing what’s going to happen. Everyone applauds and laughs at the same time,” she said. “It's like a big slumber party!”

So far, Minor has seen Indiana Jones, Jurrasic Park and The Shining in the flashback theater. “I don't know if I'll go every Tuesday night depending on the movie, but I will definitely go back,” she said.

What Will We See Next?

E'Dell planned to do the flashback films for 8 weeks. In the following weeks they will be showing The Breakfast Club, Ghostbusters, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Titanic. With the idea of showing flashback films at a time when 3D movies with special effects are very popular, it's has been successful at the Regal Sehome 3 Cinemas. “So far it has been worth it,” E'Dell said.