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
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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.