Bellingham, WA is a Great Small City for Events, Weddings, and Conferences

Bellingham, WA is a Great Small City for Events, Weddings, and Conferences

Golf in North Bellingham, photo courtesy Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism

(Bellingham, WA) – The Bellingham area offers exceptional venues for events, retreats, weddings, and meetings.  Options range from rustic cabins in the mountains to deluxe resorts by the bay, classroom-style meeting space on a college campus to theatre space at our historic theater in the downtown Arts District. Bring your group, your party or your business to Bellingham, WA for a truly unique getaway and event.
 
Events
 
Bellingham, WA is home to Western Washington University, which can accommodate larger groups and conventions, both for housing and meeting space.  WWU has many options to custom fit various events’ needs.  Nearby Whatcom Community College can handle large groups, up to 1200 people.  Bellingham has two local theatres, The Mount Baker Theatre and the Pickford Film Center, and they can accommodate hundreds of guests; Northwest Washington Fair and Event Center in nearby Lynden can hold up to 5,000 people for an event.  If you’re looking for a cozier retreat, cabins are available for rent through Mount Baker Lodging ranging from 1-6 bedrooms.
 
Weddings
 
You don’t have to travel far in Whatcom County to find a scenic, festive and unique venue for a wedding. Hotel Bellwether is a waterfront boutique, European-style hotel with a large ballroom and several small rooms perfect for any sized wedding.  The Port of Bellingham has several waterfront facilities, including the Cruise Terminal, the gateway terminal for the Alaska Marine Highway. The Port’s Squalicum Boathouse boasts an open design with high-beamed ceilings, natural woods and stone; it’s perfect for smaller events and offers incredible views of Bellingham Bay and San Juan Islands.  In nearby Lynden, Homestead Golf & Country Club will impress your guests with its small town feel and gorgeous views of nearby farms and mountains.
 
Conferences
 
Bellingham’s conference facilities offer a nice change of pace compared to big city hotels. Silver Reef Hotel Casino Spa has 6 meeting rooms varying in capacity and size, along with several restaurants and over 100 rooms and suites. New in 2013: Silver Reef Hotel Casino Spa is opening a new convention center, which will include an event center, a theatre with 150 fixed seats in a tiered configuration and state‐of‐the art audio‐visual capabilities, and The Cantina, a venue offering Mexican cuisine with a fun atmosphere. Silver Reef Hotel Casino Spa will be adding 225 new machines, bringing their total gaming machine count to 1,200.
 
Other venues that will shine for your large conference or meeting are the Best Western Plus Lakeway Inn, a 132-room convention hotel with more than 12,000 square feet of meeting space and Semiahmoo Resort, a 200-room seaside resort just 20 miles north of Bellingham.  While Best Western Plus Lakeway Inn is close to lots of services in downtown Bellingham, Historic Fairhaven, and Interstate-5, Semiahmoo Resort offers a more quiet experience for guests with several golf courses, waterfront wildlife, and beachside trails.
 
What else can I do with my group? Why Bellingham?
 
Bellingham, WA consistently ranks among the top 10 cities with the cleanest air nationwide, as one of the best places to live, retire and “hippest, healthiest and most adventure-packed” small cities in America.  It’s a great place to bring events, weddings and conferences because of its top-rated restaurants and caterers, Arts District, historic walking tours, charter boats, and hundreds of biking and hiking trails. You can also get your employees inspired by signing up for a creative staff development workshop called BizProv (offered by our local improv troupe at The Upfront Theatre). It boosts morale, positive communication and collaborative teamwork, as well as creativity and innovation within any company or organization.
 
For more information on event, wedding and conference planning, contact Membership and Sales Director of Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism, Mike Mors, at mike@bellingham.org or check out www.bellingham.org/event-planning.
 
Founded in 1978, Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism is the official tourism agency for Whatcom County. Its mission is to improve the local economy by attracting visitors who stay longer. For more information on Bellingham and Whatcom County, visit www.bellingham.org.