2021 Local Activities

Celebrate the Holidays in Whatcom County

Celebrate Christmas in Lynden on Dec. 4 with the Elf on the Shelf Scavenger Hunt and the Northwest Lighted Christmas Parade on Front Street. Join Downtown Lynden’s Elf on the Shelf Scavenger Hunt from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. for fun and prizes. The elves are back and running wild, visiting businesses all over Lynden. Can you find all of the elves? Join in on the fun at the Elf on the Shelf Scavenger Hunt and win one of three prizes valued at more than $300 each. First 500 participants get free antlers. Then at 6 p.m., welcome in the holiday season with the annual Northwest Lighted Christmas Parade, presented by community sponsor Edaleen Dairy. Spend time with friends, family and other loved ones as a menagerie of cars, pickups, trucks, floats, wagons, and farm equipment light up Front Street. The parade starts at the Fairway Shopping Center, at Front and 18th streets. The parade then heads east on Front Street into downtown Lynden where it ends at 3rd Street. Call the Lynden Chamber of Commerce at 360-354-5995 for more information.

Olde Fashioned Christmas, Christmas Stroll both return to Ferndale

Ferndale’s Olde Fashioned Christmas and Lighted Christmas Stroll are back. Ferndale’s Olde Fashioned Christmas event returns this year with “The Lights and Sounds of Christmas” as its theme. Each cabin will be decorated accordingly. The event is set for 4 to 9 p.m. Dec. 3-4. The event won’t look quite like it has in years past. After touring Pioneer Park’s cabins, visitors will head into Pioneer Pavilion where children’s crafts, refreshments, music and a visit with Santa will be set up. While inside buildings, guests will keep socially distanced and face coverings are required per state guidelines, the heritage society press release states. While visiting Pioneer Park’s cabins, children can tour the one-room schoolhouse to write a personalized letter to Santa. That letter can be delivered to the park’s one-room post office for delivery to the North Pole. Letter templates are available at FerndaleHeritageSociety.com or on page 13. The letters need to have their names and a legible mailing address to help Santa return them. Shoppers of all ages find inexpensive trinkets for their loved ones at the Parker House cabin, which is now the general store. The stately Shields House offers baking scents, and the Foster house will showcase a huge working model train display. The log church offers quiet reflection time. Draft horses will greet visitors in the Barr Barn. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children.

Lighted Christmas Stroll

For the second and third weekends of December, Pioneer Park will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. The event features a stroll on the board-stamped concrete sidewalks to view the cabins from outside, as well as Christmas music and costumed volunteers. Letters to Santa will also take place at the Lighted Christmas Stroll, and kids are encouraged to pre-write their letters. Hot beverages will be available for purchase, and a photo booth will be created at the Barr Barn. Admission to the stroll will be free, and the stroll will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 10-11 and 17-18. Pioneer Park is home to 15 historic log cabins and is located at 2004 Cherry St. in Ferndale. For more information, call 360-384-6461 or visit ferndaleheritagesociety.com.

Bellingham

The Holiday Port Festival is a free, family-friendly event held the first weekend of December at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal. This is one of the Port’s signature events for the community and includes the Holiday Port Quest, an online Gingerbread house display, and the Lighted Boat Parade Viewing • From 2-6 p.m. Dec. 4, the Holiday Port Quest is a fun and festive treasure hidden throughout

the park. This quest may include carolers, food trucks, and possibly a visit by Santa and Mrs. Claus. You will find the hint for the location of this quest on the Port’s social media pages the morning of Dec. 4. • This year’s Gingerbread house display will be held online. Each of the competition entries will be shared through the Port website, portofbellingham.com, as well as the Port’s social media pages. The People’s Choice award voting will be done through an online poll. • Dec. 4 is the Lighted Boat Parade Viewing, with plenty of food trucks and holiday music outside of the Bellingham Cruise Terminal during the Bellingham Yacht Club’s Lighted Boat Parade. Come down to the water, see the beautiful snow globe and view Santa’s workshop through the domed windows of the Cruise Terminal as you watch the parade float by. Because of COVID-19, this year’s Holiday Port Festival will be scaled down and activities adjusted to allow for a safe and festive celebration. Visit portofbellingham.com for more information.