An Afternoon with Erik Larson
Bestselling author Erik Larson celebrates the paperback release of his No. 1 New York Times bestseller, “The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz” at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26 at Sehome High School, 2700 Bill McDonald Pkwy. He will be in conversation with Dan Chard, visiting professor of history at Western Washington University. Each ticket ($22 for one; $27 for two) purchased through Village Books, 1200 11th St., in Bellingham; or 430 Front St., in Lynden; includes one copy of the book. “The Splendid and the Vile” is an intimate chronicle of Winston Churchill and London that examines how Churchill and his “secret circle” went about surviving the German air campaign of 1940-41. Seating is limited, so secure your spot early. Get details and tickets at villagebooks.com.
Brothers, Sing On!
The Choir of the Salish Sea, directed by Kevin Allen-Schmid, presents its winter program, “Brothers, Sing On!,” at 3 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26 at Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1207 Ellsworth St. The all-male choir will be led by member Christopher Giffen, who brings his professional opera-singing brother, John Giffen, from Montreal to lead the choir in choral classics including Jonathan Quick’s “Loch Lomond,” Morten Lauridsen’s “Sure on this Shining Night” and Aaron Copland’s “Zion’s Walls.” The program also features the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship Chalice Choir, who will add their voices to Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria.”
Audience members must show proof of vaccination to enter and remain masked. Seating capacity is limited to allow for distanced seating. Choir members are fully vaccinated and must show negative COVID test results within 72 hours of the concert to perform unmasked. Tickets are $5 for students and veterans (with ID) and $20 general. Get them at choirofthesalishsea.com.
Mardi Gras with The Atlantics
The longtime Bellingham band The Atlantics will play Fat Tuesday danceable music from New Orleans musicians, including zydeco tunes from The Meters, soul and funk from The Neville Brothers, blues from Allen Toussaint, funk from Jon Cleary, rumba from Henry Roeland “Roy” Byrd (Professor Longhair), and jazzy blues from James Booker. The fun takes place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 1 at the Firehouse Arts and Events Center, 1314 Harris Ave. Find out more at firehouseperformingarts.com.
Music Club Morning
Bellingham Music Club, now in its 106th season, will showcase top winners of the BMC High School Piano Competition in honor of Nancy Bussard, and the BMC High School String Competition in honor of Ethel Crook at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 2 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 119 Texas St. While results of the string competition are pending at press time, winners of the piano competition are Annika Jonson, first place, followed by Penelope Keep, Miriam Alexa Garcia Jimenez and Eligh Nichols. The adjudicator for the piano competition was Cole Anderson, a multiple BMC award-winner who studied with Bussard approximately 20 years ago. BMC requires that all attendees wear a mask and show proof of vaccination. Entry is free and open to all. Head to bellinghammusicclub.org for the particulars.
Whatcom READS welcomes Michael Christie
After months of online-only presentations, registration is now open for in-person Whatcom READS events taking place March 3–5 with Canadian author Michael Christie related to his book “Greenwood.” Whatcom READS celebrates reading, readers and strong communities through the shared experience of one book. Entering its 14th year, Whatcom READS is presented by all the public and academic libraries in Bellingham and Whatcom County — including Whatcom County Library System, Bellingham Public Library, Bellingham Technical College, Northwest Indian College, Western Washington University, and Whatcom Community College. Village Books is Whatcom READS’ community partner, and donates 10% of each sale to Whatcom READS.
Kicking off the three-day lineup is a book discussion with Christie from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 3 at the Deming Library, 5044 Mt. Baker Hwy. Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) development librarian Emma Radosevich will lead the discussion, and questions from the audience will be welcomed. That night, Christie will be the featured author at Village Books’ Chuckanut Radio Hour from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m at Bellewood Acres, 6140 Guide Meridian. Attendees can enjoy music, comedy, poetry and a conversation between Christie and Michael Feerer, executive director of the Whatcom Million Trees Project. Devin Champlin will be the featured musical guest. The event will also be live-streamed on Village Books’ Facebook page. The morning event is free; tickets for the Chuckanut Radio Hour are $5 (includes a voucher toward a book purchase at the event) or $20 (includes a copy of “Greenwood”).
From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, March 4 gain insight into Christie’s writing process at an “Art and Craft of Writing” workshop at Western’s Wilson Library Reading Room. “An Evening with Michael Christie” will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Mount Baker Theatre, 104 N. Commercial St. At the free event, Christie will share how he conceived and wrote “Greenwood.” The evening culminates with the announcement of the Whatcom READS 2023 book selection. Capacity for this event is limited, with seating available only in separated pairs. Free tickets are required for entry and can be ordered at mountbakertheatre.com. This event will be recorded by BTV and will be shared via the Whatcom READS website.
Whatcom READS 2022 wraps up with “A Conversation with Michael Christie” online from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 5. Watching the free-ranging conversation between Christie and Village Books co-owner Kelly Evert is free, but registration is required. Where possible, event recordings will also be shared on the Whatcom READS website. Participants will be notified of guidelines for in-person events and will be updated if events change from in-person to online in response to public health guidelines. Get more details and register at whatcomreads.org.
