A giant stage with lively bands playing, people of all ages dancing, a beer garden, food, vendors,…read moredogs, amazing weather...yup, this is pretty much one of my favorite local events. In fact, I'd say Downtown Sounds is the quintessential Bellingham experience. Held on multiple Wednesdays during the summer months, this free concert/street festival brings together the best our sweet city has to offer. And this year it got even better as the layout of the festival was flipped on its access, creating a larger beer garden (no more long lines!) with full view of the action on stage, plus a great food truck area with local yumminess like tacos, tamales, and ice cream. If it's a warm summer night, there's simply no place better to be. Want to experience Bellingham for all it is? Check out Downtown Sounds!

After being washed out for two weeks in a row, Downtown Sounds finally got a break from the weather…read moreGods. Perfect summer weather, great Latin vibe and lots of food, kids activities and dancing!

I liked the Church so much that I joined. Great place for newcomers, made a lot of friends. Never…read moreleave on Sunday without a smile.

Fab food!!! Desserts, pastries, souvlaki!! When I went there was not a big crowd. Which was very…read morenice. Because it is a hot time of the year.

Not enough bands, but way too many fire trucks! If there was a brush fire in the county, I fear…read morepeople would have been crushed by the calvacade of fire vehicles speeding off. Other than that, this parade and street festival felt old town America. Lots of folks out on the sidewalks with their kiddos ready to enjoy a rather lengthy parade. If there were no visible cell phones, and if there were no police on the roofs of the Main Street businesses, you would swear you were back in 1980! I'd go again!

Family fun in Ferndale! I came out today for the annual…read moreRubber Duckey Derby sponsored the Ferndale Rotary Club. It's their biggest fundraiser. Although I didn't claim the $5,000 grand prize we stayed a few hours to enjoy the festivities. Tons of activities for kids, they have their very own "Kid street' complete with music, fitness demos, games. For adults, it was the car show (disorganized) the beer garden and a decent rock cover band as well as all the greasy food you'd expect at a street fair. Vendor booths were "meh." I did get some car insurance info and a free coffee card to Woods.The best was the Lipsence booth and color sampling. Who doesn't want a lipgloss that lasts 18 hours!

This year was the second for Chuckanut Brewery's Oktoberfest and, while the first year was equally…read moreas fun, the folks at CB made just enough improvements to take this event to signature status. Held on the first Saturday of Bellingham Beer Week, this year's Oktoberfest featured more seating than last year, most of which was under a GIANT hops-adorned tent with long shared tables. It was like a scene right out of Bavaria (including the lederhosen-tshirt-adorned staff). There was also an awesomely fantastic polka band, surely a staple at any such festival. And, of course, there was delicious food and beer. This year they even had a couple of food trucks in attendance, plus the usual delicious offerings from Chuckanut's own menu. A beer station kept the crowd moving, and there was also a giant blow-up play area for the kiddos (plus other games for young and old). You know it's a good event when you're already looking forward to next year's festivities!

I always used to look at animal masks online and think, "I should buy one. You never know when…read moreyou'll need this!" Against my better judgement, I didn't buy a mask....And then I saw the poster for this. Mistake! This is an opportunity for anyone to dress up as any species and march in a parade from the library to Maritime Park. There was music during the parade and then again at the park. So much fun for the entire family! I've learned my lesson. Mask ordered for next year.

Short but sweet! On this glorious sunny day creative Bellinghamsters take to the streets and…read moreparaded from the city hall down Holly Street to Maritime Park. The musicians were a crack up.

I think I was 12 years old before I realized most communities don't wait in eager anticipation of a…read moreyearly festival in celebration of logs, proudly wearing their red DEMING LOG SHOW suspenders year round. It makes sense if the livelihood of most people in the community depends on helping convert happy trees to logs :/ I was 13 years old when I realized that most people don't wear suspenders. Started in 1962, the DEMING LOG SHOW, always the second weekend of June, is a fund raising event "For Busted-Up Loggers" that rose out of loggers' lack of health benefits or disability. It's the most popular event in Deming, and is packed with people. Don't miss events include the early morning loggers breakfast, the "Bull of the Woods" award, opportunities to drive the CATs, and the many log rolling, log climbing, log cutting, etc. contests.

A great slice of Americana - entertaining show and nice venue. Friendly people, and all for a…read moreheart-warming cause (fundraiser for busted up loggers). We went on a whim, having been years earlier in our college days. Reserved an RV site and stayed from Friday through Sunday. We got the last site available, due to the ill health of one of the 'regulars' - and were immediately greeted by our immediate neighbors who were more than welcoming and friendly. Had a wonderful time. Here was information we were hazy on: No clue when the show started, or how the food situation worked. Rather expected a beer garden, but no. We brought our own dinner for Friday night, not knowing there was a huge supplier-hosted feast that evening. Forewent the long lines and ate our own food that night. Assumed (incorrectly) that Saturday evening would be flush in food as well, only to find all the vendors closed down tight by about 7 pm. So, no dinner for us that evening. Breakfast was available both days, and lunch/early dinners were available while the show was going. Dog friendly, which is hard to find anymore, although they are not allowed inside the arena (for good reason). Clean and well-maintained grounds with plenty of garbage containers. No recycling, which would be a nice addition. Both indoor and portable restrooms. The purpose of this review is to let those unfamiliar with the event have a bit better heads-up than we did. Even bumbling through as we did, it was well worth the experience. I would strongly suggest updating the web site so future 'newbies' can be better prepared.