Campus is Empty But Bellingham’s Not!

By: Tim Donahue

Campus can turn into a ghost town during the Summer months. The dorms are empty and the out-of-towners have all gone back to the places from which they came. It can be a lonely time for those that stay, but it can also be an opportunity to connect with Bellingham as a city in a way that’s almost impossible during the flood of the school year. So here are four ways to connect with the community that can seem so empty in these coming months.

Photos taken of an empty campus. Tim Donahue // Wavelength

Elizabeth Park Concert Series: If you don’t mind dogs and lots of kids running around by your knees, then the Elizabeth Park Concert Series might be for you. Held each Thursday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Elizabeth Park takes every Summer to transform into the bluegrass, folk, and country capital of Bellingham. Old people dance in the field wearing flowy witchy clothing and flower crowns, some dance with their children and some dance together. If you’re lucky, you might even spy one of your favorite professors. 

Food trucks line the park, and there’s lots of space to spread a blanket on the grass and enjoy the music with friends. Whether curled up with a group of friends, dancing, or enjoying the company of what might be the friendliest group of strangers in all of Bellingham, it’s hard to feel alone at Elizabeth Park in the Summertime. 

Bellingham Farmers Market: Another major community event is the Bellingham Farmers Market which is held on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. With good food, local art, and knick-knacks galore, there aren’t many better ways to tap into the city’s unique local creativity. Keep an eye out for the chai-cycle, a tea pouring bike cart that pours delicious spiced-chai from the sidewalk. Blocks are packed with vendors that take over the sidewalk outside of La Fiamma in order to experience the majesty of the community. Many vendors have been tabling the Farmers Market for years, they return to old spots and sit by the same booths as if they were old neighbors, long lost friends that have returned for the Summer. 

Once again, there’s no shortage of kids and dogs at the Bellingham Farmers Market, I’m beginning to see this as a theme of our little guide here. That being said, once I was tabling my writing at the Farmer’s Market and a ferret walked by with a leash and harness, so I suppose there’s something for everyone. 

Downtown Sounds: The streets of downtown Bellingham fill with music on a weekly basis when Downtown Sounds is in session. Bay, Prospect, and Holly Streets all fill with bands, booths and vendors as the streets make way for the people to have a central location to gather and enjoy the company of a crowd that’s joined at the point of marriage between downtown establishment and community organization. 

With good food, constant music, and a sense of festivity that spans the entirety of the downtown area, you could spend all day basking in the sun at Downtown Sounds. Whether in the streets where the festivities are at their fever pitch, or down by the water enjoying the scene from a distance at Acid Ball Park or Trackside Brewery, it doesn’t get much better than Downtown Sounds when trying to tap into the vibrant community that is emerges with the sun when most of the students are away.

Let’s Have a Trivia Night!: Our last spot for finding community in a Bellingham summer is personal to me. KPOP Fried Chicken has trivia on Monday nights, and though I’ve never been, you will find me there in the coming weeks. Games and chicken, a test of the pointless knowledge that fills those deep corners of your brain. What could be better than a Monday night of trivia to allow for those parts of your brain the opportunity to feel useful for a night! That’s a delusion I’d be happy to share, so join me for a night of shared commiseration of the fact that we don’t, in fact, remember anything about Math 107.