The streets of Fairhaven Village filled with people on Sunday for the annual Fairhaven Festival. The festival featured live music, a beer garden and a variety of vendors and food trucks.
The Fairhaven Festival, hosted by the Fairhaven Association, is Bellingham’s biggest street fair. The festival boasts a large artisan market with 60 vendors. The vendors sold their creations of pottery, clothing, art, jewelry and more. The market provided artists with recognition and granted visitors a chance to learn more about the artists and their work.
A beer garden was set up on the street, providing festival-goers with a spot to hang out and grab a drink from local craft breweries, cideries and wineries. From the beer garden, people could enjoy The Atlantics, Cosmic Sauce and North Sound Soul, a few bands that were playing throughout the day.
Fairhaven Festival takes place on the same day as Ski to Sea, an annual team relay race. The race ends at Marine Park in Fairhaven, down the road from the festival. Crowds of people gather at the finish line to cheer on the racers. When the competitors finish, they have the chance to enjoy the ongoing festivities.
Festival-goers walking around Fairhaven Festival on May 26, 2024, in Bellingham, Wash. Food vendors offered a wide variety of eats, ranging from tacos to barbecue. // Photo by Miles Vander Vennet
Mayzie Shaver has participated on a team in the Ski to Sea race in the past but decided to take this year off to have more time to enjoy the festival. In previous races, the festival slows down by the time she has finished, so she was excited to check out the market and food trucks this year.
“It’s been great and really cool to see this side of it,” Shaver said. “It’s nice to not compete. We decided to take a year off and it’s been a fun, chill day.”
While it was rainy for this year’s festival, it did not stop people from coming out. Shaver was glad to have the rain as she didn’t feel like she was missing out on competing in the race, and felt she could enjoy the relaxing day.
Valeriya Dimova, who has competed on the same team as Shaver in previous races, was hoping to celebrate the competitors, get some food and explore the market.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the finish line, it’s really fun. There is a lot of energy around the finish line. I’m also looking forward to Bry’s Filipino,” Dimova said.
As the festival came to a close, the vendors and food trucks began to pack up and visitors left, returning the streets of Fairhaven to normal.
Miles Vander Vennet (he/him) is a city life reporter for The Front. He is a junior transfer student and is going into the public relations major. In his free time he likes playing video games, going on hikes with his dog and playing basketball and lacrosse. You can contact him at milesvandervennet.thefront@gmail.com.
