WWU’s Back to Bellingham weekend 2023
Announcing: Fairhaven Now! A Cornucopia of Fairhaven Alumni Weekend Events!
Friday, May 19 & Saturday May 20, 2023
Fairhaven faculty, staff, and students invite you to join us during WWU’s Back to Bellingham weekend for special Fairhaven College events. The theme: Fairhaven Now!
This is our chance to share with you some of the amazing things going on in the College in 2023, as well as providing an opportunity for our alums to enjoy good times with friends, and our emeritus and current faculty. We are hoping to see alums from all of Fairhaven’s 50+ years! The full schedule is below, but here are some highlights:
Friday, May 19:
- Fairhaven Today, hosted by Dean Caskey Russell – student and faculty presentations, and a chance to reconnect with the Fairhaven community past and present.
- Tours of the College
- Alumni Dinner at the Bellingham Ferry Terminal with current and emeritus faculty.
- Music Jam – open to everyone!
Saturday, May 20
- Tours of the Outback Farm with Outback staff
- Birding the Outback & Sehome Arboretum with John Bower
- Tour of the Champion Street Recording Studio with Erik Wallace
- Panel Discussion with Ceci Lopez: Law, Diversity and Justice and the Legacies of the Law and Diversity Program: The Impact on Social Justice Continues
- Panel Discussion: Tribute to David Mason & 20 Years of the Adventure Learning Grant
- Panel Discussion with Mark Miyake: Audio Technology, Music, and Society at Fairhaven and Beyond (including the first reveal of the plans for Fairhaven’s new recording studio!)
- Introduction to the June & Farrar Project with Skye Burn and Tracy Spring
- Lunch and Happy Hour at Gruff Brewery
Please note, All Events except dinner are free, open to everyone, with no registration required, with free parking in the 12G lot. The Friday dinner is only $25, which includes food and drinks. Register for the Fairhaven Dinner and non-Fairhaven WWU events
You can also use this website to register for any of the many non-Fairhaven events during the Back2B’ham weekend.
Here is the detailed schedule:
Friday, May 19th
3:00pm-5:00pm: Fairhaven Today Presentation
Come to campus to meet Dean, Dr. Caskey Russell and hear from current students and faculty about the Fairhaven College of today! Refreshments available.
3:00pm and 4:00pm: Fairhaven College Tours
Take a short walk around the college (yes, the same building as 50 years ago) and see today’s Fairhaven: Our art studio, science lab, recording studio, artwork, and more!
6:00pm-10:00pm: Alumni Dinner and Music Jam at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal
Cost is $25/person (dinner and drinks included). This is a 21+ only event. Chaquieterie and Caribbean food provided by Calypso Kitchen – options available for all diets. Bring your instruments for a music jam session from 8pm-10pm. Online Registration Required
Saturday, May 20th
9:30am-10:30am: Tour the Champion Street Recording Studio with Erik Wallace
(Big news: The studio is moving to Fairhaven College in Fall 23) 1429 Forest St., enter the studio via the alley off Champion St.
9:30am-10:45am: Birding the Outback & Sehome Arboretum with John Bower
Fairhaven’s resident ornithologist reveals that secret lives of WWU’s beautiful birds! Beginners welcome, binoculars provided! Meet at the entrance to the Outback Farm behind Fairhaven Residential Hall Stack 8 (see map below).
11:00am-12:00pm: Tour the Outback Farm!
Join Outback Farm student leaders on a tour of WWU’s own organic farm. The farm has been a place of food growing and learning for 50 years, with so many exciting changes made in the last decade. Come tour today’s Outback Farm, with chance to reminisce about the Outback’s rich and storied past along the way! Meet at the entrance to the Outback farm behind Fairhaven Residential Hall Stack 8 (see map below).
11:00am-12:00pm: Panel Discussion with Ceci Lopez - The LDJ and the legacies of the LDP: The Impact of Social Justice Continues
We will honor the tremendous vision of those who dreamed up the Law and Diversity Program and we will celebrate the accomplishments of our law and social justice students from then and now. Please join us for a short report on today’s LDJ program, and updates from current LDJ students and faculty. We will also discuss opportunities for engagement – mentorship, class visits, volunteering for mock trials and moot court, etc.
11:00am-12:00pm: Panel Discussion with Mark Miyake – Audio Tech, Music, and Society at Fairhaven and Beyond
Join current and former students of Audio Technology, Music, and Society for an hour of questions, answers, and discussion of the ways in which this experience has shaped the lives and careers of graduates and has become a central part of many arts communities in our region. Recent alums will share their experiences both inside and outside Fairhaven College with other alums, current students and all others interested in learning more about this central but often literally underground part of Fairhaven’s history and future. We will also be treated to the first public unveiling of the plan for the new Fairhaven College Salish Sea Recording Studio, scheduled to open in the Fairhaven building in fall, 2023!
11:00am-12:00pm: Panel Discussion: 20 Years of the Adventure Learning Grant
A tribute to David Mason, ALG alums and current students share their experiences and reflect on what the ALG experience has meant to them in their educations and careers.
11:00am-12:00pm: Introduction to the June & Farrar Project with Skye Burn
The story of June & Farrar has inspired Fairhaven students since the 1970s, when students began the Outback program and lived in the cabins that Farrar built. Come hear about that story from Fairhaven alum Skye Burn!
1:00pm-2:00pm: Tour the Outback Farm!
Join Outback student leaders on a tour of WWU’s own organic farm. The farm has been a place of food growing and learning for 50 years, with so many exciting changes made in the last decade. Come tour today’s Outback Farm, with chance to reminisce about the Outback’s rich and storied past along the way! Free event, no registration needed. Meet at the entrance to the Outback farm behind Fairhaven Residential Hall Stack 8 (see map below)
1:00pm-3:00pm: Fairhaven Alumni Happy Hour at Gruff Brewing, Free event: attendees must purchase their own drinks & food, 21+ only. 104 East Maple St.
Questions? Would you like to host something in addition to the schedule? Contact John Bower
And feel free to let us know if you are planning to attend any of the events by emailing John Bower
And, in the meantime, please check us out on Instagram & Facebook
![small map of the Fairhaven building, parking lots and Outback Farm](/sites/fairhaven.wwu.edu/files/2023-05/fairhaven%20college%20map.jpg)