‘Best year yet’: Bellingham’s Northwest Tune-up festival sticks another landing
Bikes and music took over Bellingham’s waterfront last weekend for the fifth annual Northwest Tune-up festival. The summer festival drew visitors from Washington and all over the world to ride bikes, eat local bites and listen to live music.
“[We] love it. We didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t even ... buy a ticket. We just said we’ll just go and see, and it’s cool because you can just watch all this for free,” said Katie Flanagan, who came up from Seattle for the festival. “Our kids are 5 and 6, so we want to get them seeing this kind of stuff, so that they can look at something they like and can get into it, and just experience that kind of feel.”
Festival goers who are mountain bikers were able to purchase demo passes, which allowed them to try out various mountain bikes from local and national vendors, such as Kona Bikes and Zink.
The festival also provided a free shuttle that ran trips every 15 minutes from the grounds to the trails near Galbraith Mountain. Visitors were allowed to demo the bikes for as long as they liked. Once they were done, the same shuttle returned them to the downtown festivities.
“Every single person has come back with a huge smile on their face. For me, that’s my highlight, no doubt,” Dustin Watson with Kona Bikes told The Herald. “Getting people out on bikes, you know, buses and bikes — that’s kind of our thing, right? Everyone’s come back with a smile, and they’re having a great time.”
The majority of the visitors come for the bikes but stay for a newfound sense of community.
“I think mountain biking is a refreshing community,” said Joe Green, a visitor from Utah. “Like so many other things, it’s looking at the natural resources that are already a part of the place, and I think trails and all the effort there is just this outgrowth of like effort from people who are being in that space. I think it speaks to how much Bellingham cares about the natural spaces.”
In addition to trying out new bikes, there were also a variety of biking competitions in which anyone could participate, from a speed contest to the Best Trick contest sponsored by Red Bull.
Bikers of all ages soared down the new and improved dirt jump line featuring a 22-foot vertical drop, which had a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday night. Competitors landed flips and removed hands from their handlebars as they crested each ramp.
Volunteers kept things running smooth throughout the weekend, from providing first aid, driving bikers to and from Galbraith, distributing wristbands and taking photos. Anyone over 18 could volunteer in exchange for a three-day pass.
On the festival grounds, visitors wandered through the free Maker’s Market, which included local jewelry vendors, painting and clothing. Featured food trucks included Outpost Eats, Dick’s Drive-In, Tacos El Tule and Seashells Coffee.
To accompany local eat, the seating areas also had live music.
On a smaller stage open to the general, non-paying public was the Rainier Tune Town Stage, hosting Bellingham talent in the afternoons. Music ranged from banjo-laden Blue Collar Grass Band to heavier sounds like Old World Astronaut and Pyrocene.
“The reason why I signed up to be in this thing was to get to know people,” said festival Box Office Co-lead Arlene Pivutrzak.” I will say that the volunteers that I’ve worked with have been next level. They’re so good. They’re wanting to have a great event [and are] so ready to show up and work.”
While eager bikers continued to take on the jump line in the near distance, music permeated the air for many hours of the festival.
In the evenings of Friday and Saturday, tucked in the back was the Main Stage, and large crowds gathered as the nights went on and each of the 10 headliners had their respective spotlight.
Henry Mansfield, winner of the Doc Swinson’s Opening Act Contest, kicked off music for the festival. He featured a fellow contestant, Bellingham-based Veronica North, in his set. Together they debuted a song they co-wrote, filled with cheeky Bellingham references like, “a latte from Café Blue” and “Rumors, if you wanted to.”
“I love this. I love this festival, said Doc Swinson’s Chief Marketing Officer Joe Mattson. “I think it’s because it feels like our whiskey — it’s a blend of things. That’s what I’ve been telling people. Bikes and music together has been really fun.”
Other musical highlights included Thunderpussy, Sierra Hull and Dirtwire. During the sets, people gathered, danced and cheered for their favorite artists. Directly above the action, scores of outside spectators lined the Chestnut Street bridge walkway.
A collision of two worlds, Northwest Tune-Up once again brought the noise — and stunts — to downtown.
“This has probably been the best year yet. The festival’s growing so much every year, our fleet’s getting bigger every year, the best bikes we’ve ever had and the most smiles,” Watson said.