2024 Calendar for Birch Bay

Library Express COMING SOON! Renovations are planned for 2024!

Friends of Birch Bay Library www.friendsofbirchbaylibrary.org

2024

F O B B L

A fundraiser to remodel the Vogt homestead as the Birch Bay library.

Dear Birch Bay Library Supporter, Thank you for purchasing our 2024 calendar.

We want to thank all our photographers for sharing their pictures that capture our community by the bay.

This calendar has been part of our fundraising for the past few years. We thank you for helping us build up the funds to get our library project completed. Friends of Birch Bay Library have been working to garner the last $300,000 to complete our Birch Bay Vogt Library Express facility. We are asking all those who have been waiting to donate to please do so at your earliest convenience, because our project is moving to the next stage in its development.

This month, the Whatcom County Library System and the Department of Commerce signed the contract for our $2 million dollar

state appropriation for this smaller project.

The next step is to hire an architect to draw up our construction or renovation plans, that will turn the historic Vogt house into our library express. Once the architect is hired and plans are drawn up, the Friends will host a community meeting so all can look at the plans, ask any questions and see how our finished project will look. Contractors will be hired, and work will begin.

It has taken us a while to get to this phase in our journey. We are hoping you will join us in our last fundraising efforts, donating to what will be a year-round community gathering place, full of learning, programs, community meetings and of course, library materials.

Thank you for your support, your love of libraries, literature, and community.

Di Marrs-Smith, President

Events, Meetings & Endeavors FOBBL FLYER Don’t forget to check out our digital newsletter to stay informed about upcoming events and news from your neighbors.

MERCHANDISE SALES We have tote bags, T-shirts, and FOBBL beach balls and buckets!

BOOK SALES We are active collectors of donations and resellers of used, good condition, books for all ages. We are suspending donations during the renovations.

ANNUAL EVENTS You will find us at each of these Birch Bay Chamber and Blaine Birch Bay Park and Rec District 2 events each year. Kite Festival, Sand Sculpture, Rollback Weekend, Derby Day, Trick or Treat on the Berm and Holiday Lights Dash.

MEMBERSHIP We are an open group and welcome new members who are interested in volunteering their time to help us with our mission: Bringing a much-needed library to Birch Bay. friendsofbirchbaylibrary.org/membership

BIRCH BAY LIBRARY BOOK CLUB Normally, our book club meets the third Wednesday of each month, from 4 – 5:30 pm, on the library site. We regularly post dates and book titles in our FOBBL Flyers.

BIRCH BAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER 4819 Alderson Rd. Unit 103 360-371-5004 | birchbaychamber.com Next to Essence Salon in the Terrell Creek Landing Building.

Volunteers Needed

We need members to help with our various activities in 2024. Here are just a few volunteer jobs we need assistance with.

• Book Sale Coordinating • Book Sorting • Event Set-Up / Take Down Team • Food/Cooking Team • Information Tent Staffing for summer events • Library Advocacy • Fundraising

FOBBL Booths

We enjoy participating in the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce events and partnering with Blaine/Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 to bring our community together for fun events. Go to www.birchbaychamberofcommerce.com to see the 2024 events line up. FOBBL will also have a few of our own events during 2024 and you can find events by following us on Facebook or on our webpage at www.friendsofbirchbaylibrary.org.

Meetings

Keep up to date with FOBBL activities by coming to a meeting!

From October to April, we meet from 4:00 pm to 5:30pm.

From May to September, we meet from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.

Contact fobblsecretary@gmail.com if you would like to address the Board or need the Zoom meeting link.

JANUARY 2024 SUNDAY

MONDAY 1

LIBRARY CLOSED

TUESDAY 2

WEDNESDAY 3

INBOUND Photo by Colleen Moravec

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

4

5

6

11

12

13

18

19

20

25

26

27

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

Polar Bear Plunge New Year’s Day

7

8

BOOKMOBILE

9

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

14

15

LIBRARY CLOSED

BOOKMOBILE

16

22

17

BOOKMOBILE FOBBL BOOK CLUB

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

21

10

23

24

BOOKMOBILE

28

29

30

31

BOOKMOBILE

FEBRUARY 2024 SUNDAY

4

MONDAY

5

TUESDAY

6

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

WEDNESDAY

7

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

12

Super Bowl

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

Valentine’s Day

18

19

21

13

14

SATURDAY

1

2

3

8

9

10

Lunar New Year

BOOKMOBILE

11

15

16

17

22

23

24

BOOKMOBILE

LIBRARY CLOSED 20

BOOKMOBILE FOBBL BOOK CLUB

Presidents Day

25

HISTORICAL ARROW Photo by Stephen Weinhouse

26

27

28

BOOKMOBILE

29

MARCH 2024 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

NESTING EAGLES Photo by Jeff Sterling

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY 1

SATURDAY 2

Read Across America

3

4

5

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

10

11

Daylight Saving Time

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

17

18

St Patrick’s Day

24

25

6

12

13

Easter

8

9

Intn’l Women’s Day

BOOKMOBILE

14

15

16

21

22

23

28

29

30

BOOKMOBILE

19

20

Spring Equinox

BOOKMOBILE

26

27

BOOKMOBILE

31

7

APRIL 2024 SUNDAY

MONDAY 1

TUESDAY 2

SNAIL MAIL Photo by Wendy Cowan

WEDNESDAY 3

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

4

5

6

11

12

13

18

19

20

25

26

27

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

April Fool’s Day

7

14

BOOKMOBILE

8

9

10

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

Library Worker’s Day

BOOKMOBILE

15

16

17

BOOKMOBILE FOBBL BOOK CLUB

Tax Day

21

22

23

Earth Day

28

29

24

BOOKMOBILE

30

MAY 2024 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

SUNSET ON THE BAY Photo by Stephanie Robinson

WEDNESDAY 1

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

2

3

4

9

10

11

16

17

18

23

24

25

30

31

BOOKMOBILE

5

6

7

Cinco de Mayo

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

12

13

Mother’s Day

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

19

20

BOOKMOBILE

14

27

21

LIBRARY CLOSED

Memorial Day

15

BOOKMOBILE FOBBL BOOK CLUB

Victoria Day (Canada)

26

8

22

BOOKMOBILE

28

29

BOOKMOBILE

JUNE 2023 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

CANOES ON BEACH Photo by Bob Christie

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY 1

2

3

4

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

9

10

17

11

Kite Festival Weekend

30

24

7

8

12

13

14

15

Flag Day

BOOKMOBILE

18

Father’s Day

23

6

BOOKMOBILE

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

16

5

25

19

LIBRARY CLOSED

20

Juneteenth

Summer Solstice

26

27

BOOKMOBILE

21

22

Kite Festival Weekend

28

29

JULY 2024 SUNDAY

MONDAY 1

TUESDAY 2

STARFISH NOW SEA STAR Photo by Jeff Sterling

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

3

4

BOOKMOBILE

Independence Day

10

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

5

6

11

12

13

18

19

20

25

26

27

LIBRARY CLOSED

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

Canada Day

7

8

9

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

14

15

BOOKMOBILE

16

17

BOOKMOBILE FOBBL BOOK CLUB

21

22

23

24

BOOKMOBILE

28

29

30

31

BOOKMOBILE

AUGUST 2024 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

SIMPLE PLEASURES Photo by Dawny Richards

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY 1

FRIDAY 2

SATURDAY 3

41st Annual Sand Sculpture Competition

4

5

6

7

Roll Back Car Show

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

National Night Out

BOOKMOBILE

11

12

13

14

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

18

19

8

9

10

15

16

17

22

23

24

BOOKMOBILE

20

21

BOOKMOBILE FOBBL BOOK CLUB

25

26

27

28

BOOKMOBILE

Birch Bay Derby Day

29

30

31

SEPTEMBER 2024 SUNDAY 1

MONDAY 2

LIBRARY CLOSED

TUESDAY 3

WEDNESDAY 4

COTTONWOOD SUNSET Photo by Matt Berry

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

5

6

7

12

13

14

19

20

21

26

27

28

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

Labor Day

8

9

BOOKMOBILE

10

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

15

16

11

BOOKMOBILE

17

18

BOOKMOBILE FOBBL BOOK CLUB

22

23

Fall Equinox

29

24

25

BOOKMOBILE

30

OCTOBER 2024 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY 1

WEDNESDAY 2

2023 BERM HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION Photos submitted by FOBBL THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

3

4

5

10

11

12

17

18

19

24

25

26

BOOKMOBILE

Rosh Hashanah

6

7

8

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

13

14

9

BOOKMOBILE

15

16

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

Indigenous People’s Day Thanksgiving (Canada)

20

21

BOOKMOBILE FOBBL BOOK CLUB

22

23

Halloween on the Berm

BOOKMOBILE

27

28

29

30

31

BOOKMOBILE

Halloween

NOVEMBER 2024 SUNDAY

3

MONDAY

4

TUESDAY

5

WEDNESDAY

6

STORMY SEAS Photo by Chris Hyde

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1

2

7

8

9

14

15

16

21

22

23

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

Standard Time begins

BOOKMOBILE

10

11

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

Veteran’s Day Remembrance Day (Canada)

17

18

LIBRARY CLOSED

12

13

BOOKMOBILE

19

20

BOOKMOBILE FOBBL BOOK CLUB

24

25

26

27

28

BOOKMOBILE

Thanksgiving Day

LIBRARY CLOSED

29

LIBRARY CLOSED

Native American Heritage Day

30

DECEMBER 2024 SUNDAY 1

MONDAY 2

TUESDAY 3

4

TSUNAMI SIREN TEST

8

9

16

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

5

6

7

10

11

12

13

14

19

20

21

BOOKMOBILE

17

18

BOOKMOBILE FOBBL BOOK CLUB

22

23

24

LIBRARY CLOSED

Christmas Eve

29

30

SATURDAY

BOOKMOBILE

FOBBL BOARD MEETING

15

WEDNESDAY

RING OF FIRE Photo by Danielle Gaughen

31

Ring Of Fire & Hope New Year’s Eve

25

LIBRARY CLOSED

Christmas Day

Winter Solstice

26

LIBRARY CLOSED

Boxing Day (Canada)

27

28

Birch Bay is a treasure for all of Whatcom County!

- Sharon Shewmake

Friends of Birch Bay Library Raising funds to build Birch Bay Vogt Community Library

Renovating the Vogt home for Library Express Vision Our library will serve as a lifelong learning hub in the heart of our community where all are welcome to be curious, learn, and connect.

Mission Friends of Birch Bay Library is a volunteer group dedicated to bringing a full-service library to the Birch Bay community. Initially, we will raise funds to build a library as part of the Whatcom County Library System. Once completed, we will provide funding to support library programs that encourage lifelong learning, stimulate creativity, and strengthen community.

Mail Checks to: Whatcom County Library Foundation Attn: Jennifer Rick 5205 Northwest Drive Bellingham, WA 98226

www.friendsofbirchbaylibrary.org In a cold, snowy day in February of 2023, a small group of FOBBL’s went down to Olympia to speak to a few Senators and Representatives. Our hope that we could explain our scope of work change for the Birch Bay Vogt Library Community Library Project and reverse the denial of our $2 million state appropriation on our smaller building plan. That 15-minute meeting with Senators Mullet, Schoesler, and Shewmake and subsequent meeting the Representative Joe Timmon’s aid solidified this funding and gave our project a solid foundation in which we can move forward. It was the best 15 minutes we have ever spent. Now, we move forward with our final project, the Birch Bay Vogt Library Express.

• Whatcom County Library System is moving forward to the next phase in the project and has put out a Request for Qualifications notice to hire an architect to create our construction drawings.

Friends of Birch Bay Library (FOBBL) is a non-profit organization raising funds to build Birch Bay Vogt Community Library in Birch Bay, Washington. FOBBL raises funds through donations, book sales, grants and events.

• Once hired, WCLS will hold a community meeting to go over the timeline and renovation plans with the community.

• FOBBL will continue to fundraise to secure the $300,000 project balance.

• Upon completion, Library Express services will be held in the renovated 1,500-square-foot first floor (interior only) of the existing, historic Vogt house.