Placemake Arts

08/28/2026

Seasons of Change is having a moment in Ferndale.

Remember the five blank canvases at Rock the Block? Come see what they became. Adrien Converse, Lily Emmerick, Nichole Hendricks, Toms Royal, and Tonimarie Costanzo each painted their own take on "Seasons of Change" live at the FerndAle Block Party. Their finished works hang together for the first time at It's About Time Cultural Arts Center, 2013 Main Street, all through September. Meet the artists at the free opening reception next Friday, September 4, from 4 to 7 PM during First Friday.

And the theme keeps growing. This week, artists Kaa Shaayí and Poem Pitzer completed a 9-foot by 24-foot mural, also called Seasons of Change, on the west wall of Kevin's Car Wash at 1980 Main Street, commissioned by the Ferndale Arts Commission. It honors the grain tower that stood over Ferndale for decades before coming down this year. Poem started sketching it from memory on a family trip, and found a way to give it back to the town it fed. Go see it, and congratulate them if you spot them around downtown.

Five canvases. One mural. Seven artists. That is change for the good in our Ferndale.

See you next Friday at It's About Time.

08/05/2026

That's a wrap on Rock the Block!

Last Saturday we had the joy of working with five great artists at the FerndAle Block Party: Adrien, Toms, Lily, Nic, and Tonimarie. Each one brought so much talent to the cube, and watching the pieces take shape all afternoon was the best part of our day.

The photos here are in-progress shots from Saturday, so no spoilers. The completed works will be showing over the next few months at several locations around town. Follow our page for details about opening receptions, and you might just become the owner of one of these amazing artworks.

It means a lot to all of us at Placemake Arts Northwest that these individuals worked with us, and we have high hopes of working with every one of them again soon.

Adrien
https://adrienconverse.com
Nichole
https://www.instagram.com/rock.and.fern.studio
https://www.rockandfernstudio.com
Toms
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094702700532
Lily
https://www.instagram.com/thisfoxrunswscissors
https://carrefourmarche.com
Tonimarie
https://www.instagram.com/tonimaroni.art/

https://placemakearts.org |

07/30/2026

One of the best seats in Ferndale is watching a painting come to life in front of you. This Saturday, August 1, Rock the Block returns to the FerndAle Block Party, where five featured artists each paint an original 4-by-4-foot canvas live, start to finish, right in the center of downtown. This year's theme is Seasons of Change, and the lineup runs from local favorites to fresh faces: Adrien Converse, Lily Emmerick, Nichole Hendricks, Toms Royal, and Tonimarie Bob. Painting begins at noon at the corner of 3rd and Alder, next to Fringe Brewing. Around 4,000 people joined us last year, so come early, stay a while, and cheer them on. And there is even more happening in Ferndale this weekend: the Windows into the Fantastical opening reception at It's About Time Cultural Arts Center, the Jack Radsliff Band and a family Rakhi bracelet workshop at the Ferndale Library, and Flicks in the Park featuring Encanto at Pioneer Park. See everything happening in Ferndale this weekend: https://placemakearts.org/our-creative-districts/ferndale/this-weekend/

07/29/2026

THIS SATURDAY at Rock the Block: five artists, one theme, painted live.

Artist interpretations of "Seasons of Change" under the Ferndale Arts Commission tent in downtown Ferndale. Four artists paint the Cube while a fifth works at the easel, and you can watch it happen in person.

Painting live:

• Adrien Converse (Bellingham), full-time artist with a studio at Make.shift: a textural, organic piece moving from vibrant greens through warm earth tones into cool, icy textures, woven with botanical shapes: flowers, roots, bark, and branches. adrienconverse.com Make sure to ask about the new studio Adrien is opening this Fall in Bellingham.

• Lily Emmerick (Ferndale). You already know her work: she painted the Tennant Lake mural at FrinGe Brewing. For Seasons of Change she turns to the sky as a symbol of the seasons, a dreamlike piece in her signature style. IG: Also recently opened Carrefour Market at the instersection of Bay Road and Kickerville

• Nichole of Rock and Fern Studio (Ferndale): a 4-foot young fox sitting in a field of grasses and wildflowers, looking back over its shoulder. A piece about growth, curiosity, and the changes we move through in life. Mostly grayscale, with color saved for the fox's eyes. rockandfernstudio.com

• Toms Royal, manager of It's About Time Cultural Arts Center: an abstract radial pattern where shape and color drive change and movement, organic forms cycling through the four seasons, expanding and contracting like the year itself.

• Tonimarie: Mount Baker wearing all four seasons at once, beneath the turning phases of the moon. IG: .art

While you're there: put a sticker on our map to vote where Ferndale's next public art should go, and sign in support of Creative District certification by 2027.

📍 Placemake Arts tent at Rock the Block, downtown Ferndale
🗓 This Saturday, August 1, noon to 5pm

placemakearts.org/2027

07/29/2026

FYI for all those attending FerndAle Block Party - Rock the Block

Notice of Ferndale Block Party Downtown Street Closures: Friday, July 31st through Sunday, August 2nd

• Alder Street between CVS and Second Avenue
• Third Avenue between WaFd Bank and Pioneer Center

The Block Party zone will be closed to all vehicle traffic starting around 12:00 p.m. on Friday, July 31st and remain closed 24 hours a day until Sunday, August 2nd.

Customer access to WaFd Bank and the Ferndale Pharmacy drive-through will remain available throughout the closure.

07/16/2026

What to do in Ferndale this weekend, July 17 to 19.

Friday, July 17: Performance in the Park with the Bellingham Circus Guild at Pioneer Park, 6:00 to 7:30 PM. Free, family friendly, hosted by the City of Ferndale Parks, Recreation, and Trails Advisory Board. Acrobatics, juggling, and big-top fun.

Friday, July 17: The teen Shakespeare in the Park theater camp finishes its week at Hovander Homestead Park, through 4:00 PM.

Saturday, July 18: Ferndale PRIDE takes over Downtown Ferndale from noon to 4:00 PM, hosted by Connect Ferndale. Come celebrate community, color, and inclusion with your neighbors.

Saturday, July 18: In Bloom, two back-to-back jewelry making workshops with local artist Robin Hood at It's About Time Cultural Arts Center, 1:00 to 5:30 PM. Beginner friendly.

Times, addresses, and everything else here:
https://placemakearts.org/our-creative-districts/ferndale/this-weekend/

07/10/2026

Final day for Rock the Block artist entries. It closes tonight at midnight. It only takes a couple of minutes, and a link to your artwork portfolio (Instagram) to enter. Form link is https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_pTVVLvaoegTfWCuPbgssgYYmMoWMvMkDfh9IjkFVTx18JQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=114630420315410552736

07/10/2026

What to do in Blaine this weekend, July 10 through 12.

The Blaine Creative District is busy, and the weather is cooperating.

Friday, 7:00 PM: Live music with Scott Rykman and Jesse Wolpow at The Vault Bistro and Wine Bar.

Friday, 8:30 PM: Movie in the Park at Blaine Marine Park. Bring a blanket and a couple of lawn chairs.

Saturday, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM: Blaine's Market by the Sea at G Street Plaza.

Saturday, 4:00 PM: Opening reception for "From Sea to Shining Sea," the Blaine Art Gallery's 1st Annual Summer Juried Show.

Sunday, 9:00 AM: The Blaine Harbor Music Festival opens downtown and runs through July 18, with jazz and big band all week.

Also worth knowing: the Peace Arch Park International Sculpture Exhibition is open air and free through the fall.

All of these are hosted by our neighbors around town. We keep the list. Full details on the guide, which updates automatically from the community calendar.

https://placemakearts.org/our-creative-districts/blaine/this-weekend/

Your weekly guide to what to do this weekend in Blaine, WA — live music, festivals, markets and waterfront fun across the Blaine Creative District.

07/07/2026

So we were just notified the form automatically closed last night due to an error creating the form. It has been resolved. You still have until this Friday to enter. Thank you.

Call for Artists: Rock the Block 2026

Last year we went big. A four-sided, eight-foot painting cube anchored the FerndAle Block Party while four local artists painted all day in front of around 4,000 people. We listened to what last year's artists said would make this even better, and this year we shrank the canvas, not the ambition: four artists, four canvases, four brushes flying side by side, live in the center of the block party.

The short version:
* Paint a 4-by-4-foot canvas live at the FerndAle Block Party on Saturday, August 1
* This year's theme: Seasons of Change
* $250 stipend, plus a credit toward art supplies
* Open to artists across Northwest Washington
* We want to see your portfolio and your idea, not a finished piece

Apply by Monday, July 10. The PANW board will notify selected artists by July 15.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/Pha13Rcy2BMYRATP6

Painting live in downtown Ferndale is one of the best seats in the house. Come make something with us.

Where: the painting station sits central to the FerndAle Block Party, at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Alder Street, next to Fringe Brewing (5640 3rd Ave, Ferndale, WA 98248).
More about Placemake Arts Northwest: https://placemakearts.org
About the FerndAle Block Party: https://fringebrewing.com/block-party

07/01/2026

Note, the deadline has been updated to July 10.

*NOTICE*

Calling Northwest Washington artists: Placemake Arts Northwest is selecting four artists to paint live at Rock the Block 2026, a centerpiece of the Ferndale Block Party in downtown Ferndale on Saturday, August 1. Each selected artist paints a 4-by-4-foot canvas on the theme "Seasons of Change" and receives a $250 stipend plus a $100 art-supplies credit. It is portfolio-based, so no finished artwork is required. Apply by July 10: https://forms.gle/Pha13Rcy2BMYRATP6