Village Books is thrilled to be bringing bestselling author and travel expert Rick Steves back to Bellingham! Learn how to travel Europe the smart way with tips on the entire process & gorgeous accompanying photographs.
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Join guidebook author and public television host Rick Steves as he shares the latest in smart European travel. In this entertaining, information-packed lecture made vivid with photos from his travels, Rick teaches audiences how to make the most out of every mile, minute, and dollar to plan trips that are low on stress and high on fun. Attendees learn how to travel smoothly and affordably by creating an efficient itinerary, eating and sleeping well, avoiding crowds, packing smartly, and more.
Rick Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. He is the founder and owner of Rick Steves' Europe, a travel business with a small-group tour program that brings more than 30,000 people to Europe annually. Rick lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.
We are beyond thrilled to welcome bestselling author and Emmy award-winning producer Kwame Alexander to Sehome High School! This is an amazing author event for all ages!
Kids get in for free, adults must purchase tickets. Doors open at 6:30pm.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT - REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED
Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, Emmy®-award winning producer, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 39 books, including Why Fathers Cry at Night, An American Story, The Door of No Return, Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), Rebound, which was shortlisted for the prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, and The Undefeated, the National Book Award nominee, Newbery Honor, and Caldecott Medal-winning picture book illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
Kwame is also the Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer of the Emmy-award winning series The Crossover, based on his Newbery-Medal winning novel of the same name, which premiered on Disney+ in April 2023. The series was produced in partnership with LeBron James' SpringHill Company and Big Sea Entertainment, Kwame's production company that is dedicated to creating innovative, highly original children's and family entertainment. Other current projects in development at Big Sea include America's Next Great Author, the groundbreaking reality television series for writers, as well as an animated series in production with GBH based on his beloved children's book Acoustic Rooster.
Kwame was recently appointed as the Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts for Chautauqua Literary Arts, and also serves as their Inaugural Writer-in-Residence. A regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Kwame is the creator and host of the Why Fathers Cry podcast featuring conversations about love and parenting and loss, with fathers and sons. He regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing around the world at events like the Chautauqua Lecture Series, the Edinburgh Book Festival, Aspen Ideas, and the Global Literacy Symposium in Ghana, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana.
His mission is to change the world, one word at a time.
Photo Credit Portia Higgins
Join Mount Baker Theatre and Village Books in welcoming Tony Award Winner Rupert Holmes to Bellingham for his play All Things Equal!
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In All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a new play by Tony Award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes, Supreme Court Justice "RBG" welcomes a friend of the family to her cozy chambers to convey a sense of her life and its many trials. An evening with a great and compassionate icon of straight-thinking American justice emerges, an RBG who is not only "notorious" but victorious as she takes a stand for ordinary people facing the many challenges of a changing world. Bring your scrunchies, your hankies, your humor and your heart to this entertaining and uplifting event!
Interested in writing? Sign up for our monthly Just Write enewsletter today!
Village Books and WCC Community and Continuing Education have established a writing instruction collaboration called Chuckanut Writers. Writing classes, seminars, and conferences will inspire and encourage writers at all stages of their writing journey.
This class will use established poetry and other prompts as a starting point for writing original poetry. You will read examples, analyze them, and move what you learn into your own writing. JL Wright's publications include Unadoptable Joy: A memoir in poetry and prose and Homeless Joy: An expose in poetry and prose. She received her first Sue C. Boynton award in 2020.
Instructor: J.L. Wright. There are three sessions in this class. Class meets Tuesdays, April 23, April 30 and May 7 from 9:00AM-12:00PM, and is $59; click to register to attend this VIRTUAL class.
To see the full listing of current Chuckanut Writers classes, click here.
Join us for an evening of music, comedy, poetry, literature, and beautiful cut-paper art in the Hotel Leo's Crystal Ballroom as we welcome back Nikki McClure with her newest book Something About the Sky!
Village Books and the North Cascades Institute have teamed up once again, to bring you another great event in the Nature of Writing Series!
Doors open and music begins at 6:30pm!
Spaces are limited and REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED to secure your spot so don't delay.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT
Cut-paper wizard Nikki McClure is a brilliant steward for the words of pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson in this wondrous ode to clouds. The author of Silent Spring forever changed the way we think about science and progress, and Rachel Carson's shimmering essay—previously unpublished in its entirety—has been adapted to picture book format. This art-meets-science tribute to curiosity and wonder is a gift for daydreamers and nature lovers of all ages.
Nikki McClure is a self-taught cut-paper artist renowned for her calendars and her highly acclaimed picture books for children, including Old Wood Boat. Outspoken about living well and responsibly with the earth, she makes her home in Olympia, Washington.
Rachel Carson (1907–1964) spent most of her professional life as a marine biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By the late 1950s, she had written three lyrical, popular books about the sea, including the best-selling The Sea Around Us, and had become the most respected science writer in America. She completed Silent Spring against formidable personal odds, and with it shaped a powerful social movement that has altered the course of history.
The Chuckanut Radio Hour, a recipient of Bellingham's prestigious Mayor's Arts Award, is a radio variety show that began in January 2007. Each Chuckanut Radio Hour includes guest authors, musicians, performance poet Kevin Murphy, and episodes of "As the Ham Turns" serial radio comedy performed by the Chuckanut Radio Players Les Campbell, Tonja Meyers, Lisa Colburn, Dee Robinson, Sarah Hawley, and Robert Muzzy. Not to mention groaner jokes by hosts Paul Hanson, Kelly Evert, and announcer Rich Donnelly. The Chuckanut Radio Hour's first guest was Erik Larson and has since included, Tom Robbins, Maria Semple, Christopher McDougall, Erica Bauermeister, and Garrison Keillor, among many others. Tickets for the Chuckanut Radio Hour are $5 and are available on Eventbrite.The Radio Hour airs Sundays at 7pm on Community Powered KMRE at 88.3FM and kmre.org. Co-sponsored by 12th Street Shoes.
*Online registration closes two hours prior to the event. Tickets may be available at the door.
Interested in writing? Sign up for our monthly Just Write enewsletter today!
Village Books and WCC Community and Continuing Education have established a writing instruction collaboration called Chuckanut Writers. Writing classes, seminars, and conferences will inspire and encourage writers at all stages of their writing journey.
What is a writer's voice? We all have one, we just can't necessarily see it--kind of like our own accent, it's hard to hear unless someone points it out. In this class, we will work together through three genres (poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction) to explore voice and work to develop pieces in our own unique style. This class is for both advanced and beginning writers and will primarily take a guided workshop approach to the work. Instructor Tennison Black is the Managing Editor at a small press and former EIC of Hayden's Ferry Review among others. Class does not meet May 27.
Instructor: Tennison Black. There are 6 sessions in this online class. Class meets Mondays, April 29, May 6, 13, 20, June 3, and 10 from 6:00-8:00PM, and is $225; click to register for this VIRTUAL class.
To see the full listing of current Chuckanut Writers classes, click here.
Village Books and WCC Community and Continuing Education have established a writing instruction collaboration called Chuckanut Writers. Writing classes, seminars, and conferences will inspire and encourage writers at all stages of their writing journey.
Instructor: Roby Blecker. There are 3 sessions in class. Class meets Thursdays, May 9, 16, and 23 from 6:30PM to 8:30PM, and is $109; click to register for this VIRTUAL class.
To see the full listing of current Chuckanut Writers classes, click here.
Interested in writing? Sign up for our monthly Just Write enewsletter today!
Village Books and WCC Community and Continuing Education have established a writing instruction collaboration called Chuckanut Writers. Writing classes, seminars, and conferences will inspire and encourage writers at all stages of their writing journey.
Instructor: Jennifer J. Wihoit. There are two sessions in this online class. Class meets Saturdays, May 11 and 18 from 9:00AM-12:00PM, and is $109; click to register for this VIRTUAL class.
To see the full listing of current Chuckanut Writers classes, click here.
They last spoke as teens . . .
But on a country road twelve years later, a surprise encounter reunites ornithologist Celia Burke with veterinary surgeon Burnaby Hayes, and they plunge into the most unusual romance of her life.
After a decade of marriage, Celia and Burnaby have found a unique and beautiful rhythm. Then tragedy strikes while Celia hunts for the nest of a research hawk near the Snake River. Reeling with grief, she's certain Burnaby won't understand her anguish or forgive the choice that initiated it.
She flees to kindness at a remote farm in Washington's Palouse region, where a wild prairie and an alluring neighbor convince her to begin anew. But when unexplained accidents, cryptic sketches, and a mute little boy make her doubt her decision, only a red-tailed hawk and the endangered lives of those she loves can compel her to examine her past―and reconsider her future.
A soaring tale of wonder, loss, and restoration from Cheryl Grey Bostrom, the award-winning author of Sugar Birds.
Cheryl Grey Bostrom infuses her keen interest in nature and human behavior into stories that have won the enthusiasm and hearts of mainstream and Christian market readers alike. Now, characters from her award-winning novel Sugar Birds return in its sequel Leaning on Air—which early endorsers are calling "a multi-layered, cross-generational masterpiece," and "a reader's dream." An avid photographer, columnist, and former Teacher-of-the-Year, Bostrom and her veterinarian husband live in rural Whatcom County. Learn more at cherylbostrom.com.
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Join us at the Firehouse Arts & Events Center for an evening of original Americana blending bluegrass, folk, & rock, poetry, comedy, and literature. Dive into isolated PNW mill town Humtown as the Cuban Missile Crisis eases in this novel from Port Townsend author Adrianne Harun! In On the Way to the End of the World, it's 1963, and an eclectic group of characters embark on President Kennedy’s ambitious walking challenge. Her award-winning books include Catch, Release; The King of Limbo; and A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain.
Adrianne will be interviewed by local author Ted O'Connell of the band Cape Flattery and author of K: A Novel.
Doors open and music begins at 6:30pm!
Musical Guest: Cape Flattery
cape: (1) a sleeveless cloak; (2) a headland or promontory; (3) a musical group or arrangement that gains structural integrity by use of guest musicians
Spaces are limited and REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED to secure your spot so don't delay.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT*
As the Cuban Missile Crisis eases, President Kennedy is casting around for a demonstration of American prowess when one of his Cabinet unearths an old mandate that US Marines be fit enough to walk fifty miles in twenty hours. Perfect! Kennedy decides to throw down the gauntlet to "today's Marines," but before he knows it, he's sparked a wild fad. The entire country has answered the call, it seems, and for a few crazed winter weeks, masses of Americans will embark on their own arduous Big Walks—the "JFK 50-Milers."
Yet in tiny Humtown—an isolated mill town in the Pacific Northwest—not everyone who shows up for a hastily organized Big Walk is motivated by patriotism. Not Helen Hubka, an inveterate gossip; not the suicidal Caroline, who months earlier lost her beloved husband during the Storm of the Century. Not ex-soldier/fisherman Jaspar Goode, nor the unknown man in their midst, a collared priest who seems to shift identities at will. Certainly not Avis, a battered teenager running from her terrifying brother . . . with a stolen town treasure. And when the walkers stumble upon the abandoned car of a missing young mother, they rekindle a mystery that soon reverberates among them, exposing hidden truths, talents, and alliances.
Splendidly imagined, with prose that sings on the page, On the Way to the End of the World is an adventure story riven with secrets, a national fairy tale twisted into a whodunit.
"On the Way to the End of the World is a marvel, a novel as breathtakingly suspenseful as it is beautifully written. Adrianne Harun manages to balance nostalgia, grief, and a growing sense of unease as she tracks her indelible characters on a historic fifty-mile walk that will end a certain kind of American innocence. This is one of the best books I've read in years." -- Jess Walter, author of Beautiful Ruins and The Cold Millions
Adrianne Harun is the author of two short story collections, The King of Limbo, a Washington State Book Award finalist, and Catch, Release, winner of the Eric Hoffer Award. Her first novel A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain was long-listed for the International Dublin Literary Award, a finalist for both the Pacific Northwest Booksellers' Award and the Washington State Book Award and winner of a Pinckley Prize for Debut Crime Fiction. A new novel, On the Way to the End of the World, was recently published.
Winner of the Tobias Wolff Award in Fiction, Ted O'Connell is a writer and musician whose creative products have been featured in literary magazines, taverns, and music halls throughout the country. A Bellingham local, he gigs with the Prozac Mountain Boys and Cape Flattery. His debut novel, K, made BuzzFeed News' list of "21 Great Books from Small Presses," and The New York Journal of Books described K as "a mix of Orwell and Borges, with a dash of wide-eyed Kerouac."
The Chuckanut Radio Hour, a recipient of Bellingham's prestigious Mayor's Arts Award, is a radio variety show that began in January 2007. Each Chuckanut Radio Hour includes guest authors, musicians, performance poet Kevin Murphy, and episodes of "As the Ham Turns" serial radio comedy performed by the Chuckanut Radio Players Les Campbell, Tonja Meyers, Lisa Colburn, Dee Robinson, Sarah Hawley, and Robert Muzzy. Not to mention groaner jokes by hosts Paul Hanson, Kelly Evert, and announcer Rich Donnelly. The Chuckanut Radio Hour's first guest was Erik Larson and has since included, Tom Robbins, Maria Semple, Christopher McDougall, Erica Bauermeister, and Garrison Keillor, among many others. Tickets for the Chuckanut Radio Hour are $5 and are available on Eventbrite.The Radio Hour airs Sundays at 7pm on Community Powered KMRE at 88.3FM and kmre.org. Co-sponsored by 12th Street Shoes.
*Online registration closes two hours prior to the event. Tickets may be available at the door.