Placemake Arts

06/01/2026

What to do in Blaine this weekend, June 5–7 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🌊

Friday: celebrate the grand opening of Carrefour Market on Kickerville Road, then catch Cuarto Sueño's Latin jazz on the deck at The Vault Bistro & Wine Bar.

Saturday: the Bellingham Scottish Gathering takes over Blaine Marine Park & Semiahmoo Spit with pipe bands and Highland games, and Market by the Sea fills G Street Plaza with fresh fruits, veggies, and handmade crafts.

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

06/01/2026

Your Ferndale weekend, June 5–7 🌟 Friday kicks off with the grand opening of Carrefour Market on Kickerville Road, First Friday with violinist and storyteller Swil Kanim at Wildflower, and live music from Sockeye Sawtooth at Main Street Bar & Grill.

Saturday brings the Spring Powwow at the NWIC Health & Wellness Center (continuing Sunday — everyone welcome!), a cartooning workshop with Martha Savage, Community Crafting Day at Fringe Brewing, Sip & Shop at Bella's, and the "Where the World Breaks" opening at Sophia Grace Gallery.

See the full guide: https://placemakearts.org/our-creative-districts/ferndale/this-weekend/

05/15/2026

We have been a bit dormant for the last few months. A big project is nearing completion, our website. https://placemakearts.org/ is live. The events calendar is functioning quite well. Now we need to start filling in the artists, venues, and creative businesses. If you are one of those things in Ferndale or Blaine, please join up. Thank you.

Placemake Arts Northwest builds creative communities in Northwest Washington. Explore Whatcom County's Creative Districts.

09/12/2025

Ferndale Murals: Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future

Big news from the Ferndale Arts Commission! Our amazing volunteers just wrapped up the Portal Way I-5 underpass project - if you haven't seen it yet, take a drive by and check it out!

Now we're preparing to update the Main Street wall near 3rd Avenue. We approach this transition with deep respect for the artist who created the current mural and the joy it has brought our community for over two decades. As we honor their legacy, it's time to welcome a new chapter.

We're proud to announce that local artist Ivan Colin Art will be creating a "Greetings From Ferndale" postcard-style mural. Ivan worked closely with our team and Placemake Arts Northwest, incorporating community input about what truly represents our town. He researched Ferndale's rich history and character to create something that celebrates our community's spirit.

Over the next few weeks, you'll see this wall transform as we add another beautiful piece to Ferndale's artistic story.

We're grateful for all the artists who have contributed to making Ferndale more vibrant and welcoming. Stay tuned for progress updates!

08/09/2025

🎨 Rock the Block - THANK YOU! 🎨

What an incredible day! Rock the Block at the 4th Annual FerndAle Block Party exceeded all our expectations, and we're overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone who made it possible.

HUGE THANKS TO:

🍺 FrinGe Brewing - for anchoring this amazing event and providing the perfect backdrop for our community art installation

🎉 Ferndale Arts Commission - for hosting the overarching Block Party that brought our entire community together

👥 Our incredible Placemake Arts Northwest board and volunteers - Tasha, Amy, Ali, and Ḵaa Shaayí Maulkeet who worked tirelessly to make this vision a reality

🙋‍♀️ Our amazing booth volunteers - Darick and Lily, who helped us connect with the community and gather input for the upcoming "Greetings from Ferndale" mural

🎨 And most of all, our phenomenal artists - Bea, Ivan Colin, Christina Talstra Lopez, Artist and Todd from Empress Tattoo - who brought "Community in Motion" to life with their incredible talent and creativity

With an estimated 4,000 visitors throughout the FerndAle Block Party, so many people stopped to watch the artists work and admire the artwork in action. The energy was electric, and the community connection was everything we hoped for!

Thank you, City of Ferndale (Government) for embracing the arts and supporting local creativity! We also would like to thank our sponsors for their support, Whatcom Educational Credit Union, Barb's Pies and Pastries, Empress Tattoo, Westside Pizza, and Ferndale/Blaine Ace Hardware.

Photo credit to Tristyn MacDonald

08/09/2025

08/04/2025

🎨 Meet Our Artist: Bea 🎨

We're wrapping up our artist spotlights with the incredible Bea, whose philosophy on art and life is as beautiful as her work. Bea brought her unique vision to Rock the Block at our 4th Annual FerndAle Block Party, interpreting "Community in Motion" with her distinctive style.

Bea's approach to art is deeply philosophical and wonderfully human. As she puts it:

"I enjoy the act of taking up space. Humans are made of stardust, we are inherently miraculous! The heavy metals in our bodies were formed within the first 20 minutes of the Big Bang. We are made of stardust and we have been scattered across the universe, but the stardust collects sometimes. It shines in the statistical miracle of a solar eclipse, the feeling of your heart dropping after you hit reply all instead of reply on a group email, the collection of miracles lining up to check out their groceries. Stardust, miracles, and genuine beauty to me, is statistical. I like reaching across the dinner table and knocking a bottle of red wine over a white tablecloth just to shake the hand of a stranger, an act of irreversible PERMANENCE in order to present my love to the world. Art is the act of a deliberate carving of my love into spacetime itself! We are miracles made of stardust and chance, and we have no clue what's going on. I love us all the more for it!"

Her portraits capture something ethereal yet grounded - that sense of wonder and connection she speaks about. Regardless of medium, Bea brings a thoughtful intensity to her subjects that reflects her belief in the statistical miracle of human existence and connection.

Thank you, Bea, for sharing your talent and your beautiful perspective with Ferndale!

08/02/2025

Come down to FerndAle Block Party and meet the artists painting Rock the Block. We are here until atleast 6pm.

08/02/2025

Empress Tattoo Go Todd!

07/31/2025

Attention. Traffic revision!

Ferndale Block Party Street Closures – Friday, August 1st -through Sunday, August 3rd

Alder Street between Rite Aid and Second Avenue
Third Avenue between WaFd Bank and Pioneer Center

The block party zone will be closed to all vehicle traffic starting at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, August 1st and remain closed 24 hours a day until Sunday, August 3rd. Customer access to WaFd Bank and the Ferndale Pharmacy drive-through will remain available throughout the closure.