Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce

By Doralee Booth

Birch Bay is a vibrant, inviting unincorporated Urban Growth Area community where folks live, work and vacation: sometimes all three at once! The year kicked off with the usual traditions on the shore, always very well attended, the Ring of Fire and Hope on December 31 and the Polar Bear Plunge on January 1 hosted by the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber also hosted the following summer weekend events: Kite Festival, Sand Sculpture Competition, Rollback Weekend and Discover Birch Bay Days and always organizes the epoch July 4 beach cleanup. The Chamber reported over 12,000 registered visitors at the Visitors Information Center, 7900 Birch Bay Drive, this year to date. It is a well-known fact that Birch Bay often triples its population in the summer months.

This last summer “Whisper Lake,” the new 145-home residential subdivision located in the 7400 block of Blaine Road broke ground.

In April, the Whatcom County Library system purchased the Vogt property at 7968 Birch Bay Drive for a future full-service library to serve the 8,540 residents in 2010 of the Birch Bay Census Designated Place.

In October, the Friends of Birch Bay State Park and the Blaine Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 cut the ribbon for the new children’s playground on the beach at Birch Bay State Park.

In November, the voters of the Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 passed an M&O levy over six years with an impressive 71 percent yes votes.