The Rambling Writer: A Pacific Northwest Small-Town Holiday Festival

Join Thor and me as we celebrate the season with our new community of Blaine, WA, on the border with Canada.

NOTE: This event took place in a lucky lull between many days of rain in late November, but before the devastating atmospheric river that is now taking place, bringing catastrophic flooding to the Pacific Northwest. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated in my Whatcom County and nearby Skagit County, with towns flooded, and the flooding, landslides, and road washouts continue far down the I-5 corridor. Luckily, Blaine is farther from the rivers and so far has been spared. So we’re grateful for any cheer this season.

I grew up fourth-generation in Whatcom County, Washington, the “far corner” of the Pacific Northwest. And now that Thor and I have moved, with our address officially in bordertown Blaine, we actually are in the farthest-north town of the contiguous U.S. What with the pandemic and now the insane tariffs, Blaine is suffering the loss of important Canadian business and visitors. So we decided we should support our new community and join in the Harbor Festival. Definitely a PNW small-town vibe, from the locally-beloved working draft horses pulling a wagon for rides, to the crazy tractor-pulled kiddie train. Everywhere people were smiling and full of good cheer!

There were crafts and treats for sale, the high-school choir singing, and a Christmas tree lighting. Along Main Street, many of the storefronts were decorated, including a picturesque Starbuck’s.

This year, an Abominable Snowman theme seemed to be intent on bringing the creature to life, but I felt safe with my hero big Thor.

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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and an International Pulpwood Queens Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). It’s also a love letter to the stunning beauty of her native Pacific Northwest wild places. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com