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| Bellingham Queer Collective connects, celebrates, unites, and advocates for the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities. |
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| April 2026 BQC Newsletter |
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| Dear Friends,
We want to thank everyone who attended the Transgender Day of Visibility event on Tuesday, March 31 at the Bellingham Senior Activity Center! We had a full house and were thrilled to welcome more than 80 attendees for an evening of connection, learning, and celebration. We could not have hosted this event without the help of our event and outreach volunteers, so a big thanks to you too!
Guests had the opportunity to socialize prior to the program, enjoying a beautiful charcuterie table provided by Hela Provisions; thanks Anna! The warm and welcoming atmosphere set the tone for a meaningful gathering.
We were honored to have Erika Shepard as our keynote speaker. Erika, a retired geologist, author, and transgender advocate, shared her personal journey with honesty and insight. In her remarks, she celebrated the progress the transgender community has made in past 70+ years by noting key figures and events in our history, and highlighted different forms of activism in which we can all participate in some way. All forms require us to first come out and be visible, then to seek others like ourselves and create community. Erika emphasized that not all activism is loud; personal activism, referring to the intentional, everyday actions, behaviors and choices that trans and other marginalized people make to assert their identity, claim their humanity, and fight against cisnormativity and transphobia. We are “doing activism” when we just show up as ourselves. Remember that coming out is a revolutionary act!
Following the keynote, Henry Ohana moderated a thoughtful panel discussion featuring four community members who are supporting the transgender community in diverse and impactful ways. The conversation highlighted both the progress being made in gender affirming care, mental health supports, and the ongoing advocacy work needed to ensure safety, dignity, and inclusion for all. JoeHahn, Director of LGBTQ+ Western closed the event with a call to action and shared many ways to support our trans and gender diverse community.
Transgender Day of Visibility is an important opportunity to celebrate the successes and contributions of transgender individuals in our community, while also raising awareness about the challenges many still face. It is a time to uplift voices, foster understanding, and strengthen our collective commitment to equity and inclusion.
The event also served as a reminder of the importance of advocacy. Attendees were encouraged to stay informed and engaged around two proposed Washington State initiatives that would negatively impact all youth, particularly transgender and queer youth.
IL26-001 and IL26-638 are petition driven measures that will make it to the November 2026 ballot due to the efforts of right wing conservative billionaire Brian Heywood. They will harm youth and do not protect women and girls in sports as they claim; and instead raise serious ethical concerns, including the potential for invasive and unnecessary scrutiny of young athletes. Additionally, the proposals would require school counselors to disclose conversations around abuse and a student’s gender identity to parents. This can create risk in unsafe home environments for youth who rely on trusted adults at school for support. Learn more from NO HATE WA STATE and please advocate to your circles to vote NO on these harmful measures!
We are grateful to everyone who joined us in recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility, including several members of our City and County Councils, Bellingham PD and our greater Bellingham community; all of us together are contributing to a stronger, more informed, and more compassionate community.
With gratitude,
Michelle Harmeier
On behalf of the BQC Board of Directors
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| | Important Dates:4/10 – National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day 4/17 – Day of Silence 4/18 – National Transgender HIVTesting Day 4/26 – Lesbian Visibility Day
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| | | | In This Issue:WWU Gaypril Events Kick off April 3 First Friday Art Walk @ BQC Center April 3; Sierra James Queer Clothing Swap @ BQC Center April 4 WWU 31st Annual Drag Show April 10 Queer Picnic @ the Farm April 18 Lesbian Visibility Day April 21; FLINTA Night @ L&L Libations WWU Queer Con April 25 Generations of Pride April 29 @ WWU Viking Union WWU Queer Fantasy Ball May 7 Volunteer Update by Lynx WA State History Project - tell a story! WA Friends For Life Fentanyl Awareness Campaign NO HATE WA STATE - Vote No on these 2 initiatives
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| | Check out the many events that LGBTQ+ Western will be hosting throughout April! Since the College is out at the end of May, Gaypril gives the students to celebrate Pride on campus! All of our intergenerational community members are invited to attend these events! |
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| First Friday Art Walk on April 3Featured Artist Sierra James @ BQC Center | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
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| Each month, we showcase the work of a local queer artist by hosting a reception during the Downtown Bellingham Partnership’s First Friday Art Walk, and then displaying their work on the walls of the BQC Center in a month-long exhibition.
Our April artist is Sierra James, a Pacific Northwest mixed‑media artist whose work blends painting, design, and experimental technique. With over 20 years of creative exploration, her practice spans resin, watercolor, oils, acrylics, collage, fluid art, jewelry‑making, and digital design. Her nature‑inspired pieces have been exhibited across the Pacific Northwest, New York City, and internationally. As a neurodivergent LGBTQIA+ artist and mother of three, Sierra brings a unique, justice‑driven lens to her practice, centering stories shaped by trauma, resilience, and social equity.
Would you like to apply to be one of our upcoming featured artists? Please email us at info@bellinghamqueercollective.org! |
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| Queer Clothing Swap at BQC CenterFirst Saturdays in April, May and June from 2:00 to 4:00 PM |
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| Join us for a free clothing swap for queer and trans folks! Bring your old stuff that no longer suits your presentation or just doesn’t work for you anymore. Browse other people’s items, and take home some new digs! Please only bring clean clothing, accessories, and shoes- no undies, unwashed items, or housewares please. Join your community for a fun afternoon of trading and sharing! |
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| WWU 31st Annual Drag ShowBright: Our Futures Through Drag | Friday, April 10 at 6:30 PM |
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| LGBTQ+ Western is hosting their 31st Annual Drag Show will take place in the WWU Performing Arts Center. Tickets are on sale now here on their website. This is their primary fundraiser of the year to support the queer students on campus. If you cannot attend, considering making a donation to support their programs! Come early and catch up with friends in the lobby before the show starts! |
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| | Celebrate community with animals! Bring your own picnic and come for animal snuggles! All ages and FREE! Thanks to Janie for sharing her adorable animals and cute little farm with our community each season of the year! Located a short drive north of Bellingham, about 15 minutes. |
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| April 21 is Lesbian Visibility Day! |
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| Join us on April 21st as we celebrate Lesbian Visibility Week at FLINTA Night! Three years ago, when BQC was just getting started, we gathered at the Admiralty Lounge to mark the occasion. The enthusiasm and demand to keep that energy alive led to the creation of FLINTA—a monthly, more inclusive night centered on community, laughter, food, and cocktails (and mocktails!). Since those early days, our community has grown, and so has our gathering space. This April, we’re also celebrating one year of hosting FLINTA at L & L Libations, a queer-owned cocktail bar with fun food options that has become a beloved home for our events. Come out and celebrate our lesbian community, our favorite bar, and—most importantly—each other! |
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| WWU Queer Con 2026Saturday, April 25 | 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM |
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| WWU QueerCon is an annual award-winning and student-organized LGBTQIA2S+ art, comics, society, and media fan convention and conference held at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA on the last Saturday of April. April 25, 2026 is our 10th year running! |
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| Generations of PrideWednesday, April 29, 5:00 PM @ WWU Viking Union |
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Generations of Pride is our intergenerational community dinner centering LGBTQ+ people and allies in the Bellingham/Whatcom community. We gather on the last Wednesday of every month at Bellingham Senior Activity Center at 315 Halleck St. or WWU. Each month we have a different topic for discussion with breakouts to help connect LGBTQ+ people across generations.
This month we are honoring the 2026 Gaypril event at WWU that inspired this program to be created! After we eat, we will revisit why intergenerational queer connections are needed and wanted by our community, and hear from a panel of speakers across many generations.
The free dinner event is hosted by Western Washington University's LGBTQ+ Western, Bellingham Queer Collective, and the Bellingham/Whatcom Chapter of PFLAG, and was inspired by research from Western's Psychology Department's Listen Lab. |
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| Queer Fantasy Ball at WWU |
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| The BQC is not hosting its spring dance this year so be sure to put this dance on your calendar by our friends at WWU! The Queer Fantasy Ball will be on May 7th from 7-10 pm in the WWU Viking Union Multipurpose Room. They will have music, performances, food, and many fun surprises! Everyone 18+ is welcome! Donations accepted. More information will be on their website soon! |
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Thank you to our outreach volunteers supported the efforts of Community Allies for Queer Equity (CAQE) with outreach efforts during the No Kings Protest Saturday, March 28. |
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| | Spring is Springing🌷and our volunteer program is continuing to GROW 🌱
We have been working on creating a new coordination circle of volunteer administrative leads who are skilled in volunteer management scheduling, center programming, outreach, volunteer recruitment and orientation. This is crucial to our mission of staying a volunteer powered organization and we are excited to welcome Clarice, Navi, Nova, Taylor and Bran to the team.
Are you curious about our IMPACT? Here are some April stats…
📈 We logged 340 volunteer hours this month, 100 more than last month!
👥39 people filled greeter, outreach and affinity group leader shifts.
📅 We hosted, tabled and held 78 events and meetings.
😎 Our center programming and Affinity Groups served over 130 people at the center, 1/4th of those folks were newcomers to the center.
🛼We’ve trained 6 new volunteers. Welcome Maddie, Jay, Sara, John, Emerson + Kasia.
Did you know it takes over 30+ volunteer shifts to run all of our programs each week?! That is a lot of QUEER SUPER POWER.
🌟Special Shout Outs to the Volunteers putting in the extra hours!🌟 Shayla - 19 hrs Drake - 24 hrs Soren - 24 hrs Navi - 17.5 hrs Clarice - 29 hrs
🥰Shout Outs to the Volunteers who have been rocking their recurring shift for a long time!🥰
Erika Pauline Adrian Sally Rory Sarah
🏳️🌈🪩And thank you to all of our amazing VOLUNTEERS, we could not and would not do this without YOU.
Learn more about our programs and how you can help as a volunteer: |
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| LGBTQIA2S+ History ProjectHelp document LGBTQIA2S+ history in Western Washington!
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| Many of queer our community’s stories risk being lost unless we gather them together. That is why the Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation (DAHP) is leading a project aiming to record LGBTQIA2S+ places, stories, and memories across Western Washington.
LGBTQIA2S+ history is not always written in textbooks or marked by plaques. It is found in everyday places: A former bar or gathering spot A protest route or organizational headquarters The home of a queer activist or artist.
By identifying and sharing these places, we take steps to make our history more visible and valued for future generations to know we were here. Your privacy matters. Any identifying details will only be shared if you’ve given us permission. You’re welcome to remain anonymous. We will not share your contact information without your consent.
Share your story or suggest a site by scanning the QR code on the flyer, or by clicking the link here: bit.ly/westernwa
Want to learn more? Visit DAHP's LGBTQIA2S+ history page: https://dahp.wa.gov/.../preservation.../lgbtqia2s-history
Please share this with your network to help us reach more of the community! |
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| Friends for Life Campaign Update |
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| Our Campaign to inform LGBTQ+ and BIPOC folks about how to help prevent opioid overdoses in young adults in our community is underway. In March, we attended the Whatcom Community College Staff Wellness Fair and got to share resources with adults that support young adults in Bellingham. Also, we trained LGBTQ+ and BIPOC student leaders at WWU so they could incorporate new tools into the work that they do to support peers. In April, we have a Train the Trainer event for folks that would like to bring this information into organizations they work with; a Facts about Fentanyl presentation friends, parents, and trusted elders of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC young adults in partnership with PFLAG; and a Know about Naloxone presentation by the Whatcom County Health Department. For the events that require registration, please sign up by April 17.
The goals of the Friends for Life Campaign is to inform people about: What illegal fentanyl is and how it’s affecting Washington state Ways to help young adults avoid opioids like fentanyl Strategies to spot and respond to an opioid overdose How to get and use naloxone (Narcan)
Friends play an especially important role in keeping one another safe. Campaign messages are designed to inform and educate people about what illicit fentanyl is and to give people specific action to take to help keep themselves and their loved ones safe.
Our queer elders, parents and young adults already support each other in many ways; and, with these education workshops, we can all learn more about what is out there and how we can keep each other safe—for Life!
We are seeking volunteers to help us deliver these messages to our community. If you would like to volunteer to table at a health fair, co-facilitate a community presentation to an area PFLAG chapter or young adults in one of the local colleges or universities, or facilitate an event to a part of the community that is important to you, please register for the Train the Trainer/Tabler event using the by clicking here. If you were trained last year and want to participate, sign up for tabling opportunities in the Point volunteer platform. Since the event is during dinner time, a pizza supper will be provided to participants.
Upcoming Friends for Life Workshops and Outreach Events
Wednesday, March 11, 8:30 - 11:00 AM Whatcom Community College Wellness Fair Tabling Syre Student Center 235 W Kellogg Road Bellingham
Sunday, April 19, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Train the Trainer/Tabler Event 310 W. Champion St. Bellingham Registration is open now. To register, click here.
Tuesday, April 21, 5:00 - 6:00 PM Know about Naloxone training by the Health Department No need to register for this event, just come to the center at 310 W Champion St. Bellingham
Wednesday, April 22, 6:30 - 8:00 PM Facts about Fentanyl for Friends, Families, and Trusted Elders of Queer and BIPOC Young Adults. Click here to register.
Saturday, May 16 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM East Whatcom Health Fair Tabling 8215 Kendall Road, Maple Falls |
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| No Hate in WA StateVote No on These Two Anti-Trans Initiatives by Michelle Harmeier |
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| Two proposed Washington initiatives could force invasive genital exams on girls who want to play school sports and require schools to “out” LGBTQ+ students to their families—policies that would put young people at risk. Our BQC Board is opposing these initiatives and hope you will learn more and help us defeat these measures.
As a retired educator and someone who is deeply invested in the well-being of our local queer and trans community I’ve seen firsthand how important safe, supportive environments are for transgender and queer individuals—especially youth. Every young person deserves dignity, safety, and trusted adults in their lives.
IL26-001 would undermine that trust by forcing teachers and school counselors to disclose a student’s gender identity to parents, even when it may not be safe to do so. For many LGBTQ+ youth, school is the only place where they can speak openly. Research shows that forced outing can lead to devastating consequences. LGBTQ+ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness, and according to The Trevor Project, 40% of LGBTQ+ homeless youth were kicked out of their homes because of their identities. Policies like IL26-001 risk increasing those numbers.
This initiative would also remove critical protections for abused children by allowing parents under investigation or charged with abuse to access their child’s private records. In Washington alone, there were over 116,000 reports of child abuse or neglect in 2023. At a time when 58% of adolescents report anxiety or depression—and one in ten say they have no one to turn to—we should be strengthening access to confidential support, not dismantling it.
IL26-638 is equally concerning. Despite the fact that only a small number of transgender girls participate in school sports, this initiative would impose a sweeping ban and require medical certification of a girl’s sex—potentially including invasive examinations of reproductive organs or costly testing. These procedures are not only unnecessary for sports participation, they are opposed by major medical organizations. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists makes clear that pelvic exams are not recommended for young girls without specific medical need. Such requirements would disproportionately harm students from low-income, rural, immigrant, and marginalized communities who may not have consistent access to a family physician. No child should be subjected to embarrassment, scrutiny, or medically unnecessary procedures just to participate in school athletics.
Washington has had a policy in place since 2007 that allows for thoughtful, case-by-case decisions about student participation in sports. It has worked. Replacing it with a rigid, one-size-fits-all ban does not solve problems—it creates them.
We all want to protect young people. But these initiatives do the opposite. They isolate vulnerable students, erode trust in schools, and introduce harmful, unnecessary barriers to participation and support.
We must stand up for the safety, dignity, and well-being of all children in our state. Vote NO on IL26-001 and IL26-638 this November. Learn more about these harmful proposals and how to take action at NoHateinWA.org. |
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| | | 2025-2026 Sponsors/Partners |
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| | | | Support Bellingham Queer CollectiveWill you consider becoming a BQC Partner by making a small contribution each month or year? Recurring donations are the cornerstone of our fundraising efforts. We are a community funded organization. A gift of $5, $10, or $20 monthly or annually may have a modest impact on your giving budget, but it has a HUGE impact on covering our operational costs of running an all volunteer organization. Thank you BQC Partners! |
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