Whatcom Cultural Arts Festival
March 12, 2023 at 2:13 p.m.
![Ivan Colin, an abstract painter and semi-pro soccer player for Bellingham United, sells his work at a vendor table. "The same mentality when I was trying to sign a professional soccer [team] has directly translated into going full time this year [as an artist]," Colin said.](https://cascadia.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2023/03/12/230310_cdn_photo_WhatcomArtsFestival-04_t1110.jpg?86c3b3ce6e536231b1331a9413d91adf0581eba1)
The Whatcom Cultural Arts Festival, which provides a unique opportunity to learn more about different cultures within the community, was held at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal from March 10–12. Thirty vendor tables hosting a wide range of artists and informational booths circled around the upper floor, with performances held in front of a view of the bay.
The festival, now in its sixth year, aims to celebrate all of Whatcom County’s diverse cultures, said Kelly Hart, executive director of Allied Arts of Whatcom County, which organized the festival.
Savannah LeCornu, an Indigenous artist who has her art currently hanging in the Seattle Repertory Theatre, shared similar sentiments. “Usually I don’t get to meet other Indigenous people and I’ve gotten to meet a lot more at this event,” LeCornu said. “That’s been really cool to get to connect with them.”
— Kelton Burns, Staff Reporter