Bay Cafe to host clothes swap Friday

Those with a closet full of clothes will want to attend the 2nd annual clothing swap at Bay Cafe in Birch Bay next week. Women are invited to bring any clean usable clothing that they no longer need and trade with other residents from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 23.

Any un-swapped clothing will be donated to the May 1 Join Hands Day project benefiting the Birch Bay Food Pantry. Bay Cafe is located at 7608 Birch Bay Drive and can be reached by calling 360/371-5409.

 

Fashion show is trash, revitalized

The RE Store in Bellingham has partnered with Western Washington University's fine arts and theater department to bring one evening of trashy fashion to Bellingham. The Trash Fashion Show features fashions and accessories crafted of trash cans and dumpsters. The event starts at 8 p.m. Friday, April 30 at WWU's Viking Union multi-purpose room and will feature student work as well as professional and amateur designs.

The show is part of The RE Store’s 9th Annual Recycled Art and Fashion Show with three art galleries and three fashion shows between Bellingham and Seattle.  A community tradition, the show challenges professional and amateur designers and artists to craft fashion from landfill-bound materials.  This year’s event will add a new designer category to the mix – students – broadening the show’s scope and inspiring a wider audience around creative reuse and reducing waste.  It will also mark the first year that the show will be held in an all-ages venue.

“We create fashion out of trash in order to entertain, educate, and empower others to rethink, reuse and recycle.  Our show breaks down the boundaries of stereotypical beauty and fashion by celebrating bodies of all sizes, shapes, and ages through humor and satire.  We might change the way you see the world,” said Lead Designer and Show Coordinator, Robin Worley, a.k.a. “Rayona Visqueen.”

Tickets for the Trash Fashion Show are $14 general and $11 for students, available through the WWU Box Office, The RE Store, Village Books, and the Community Food Co-op.

WWU Box Office hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and one hour prior to the performance.  For individual tickets or disability accommodations, contact the WWU Box Office at (360) 650-6146 or visit http://www.tickets.wwu.edu or http://www.re-store.org/trashfashionshow2010.

For more information, visit www.re-store.org.

 

Donate junk cars to help Habitat For Humanity

The Whatcom County chapter of Habitat For Humanity is seeking donations of junk cars to recycle for their ongoing Cars For Homes program.

Individuals who donate their junk cars can help save energy and natural resources with the benefit of supporting their local chapter of Habitat, which works to eliminate poverty housing and homeless in the community. Donations are tax-deductible.

Donate vehicles online at www.habitat.org/carsforhomes or call 877/277-4344.

Rebates turn old appliances into cash

Many homeowners may not realize their appliances are a big energy drain, and a drain on their wallet. Cash for Appliances Washington is now available throughout Washington state and offers consumers extra cash back to help them make the switch to a new energy-efficient refrigerator or clothes washer.

The program offers $100 cash back on new, qualified Energy Star clothes washers and $75 on new Energy Star refrigerators when the old unit is recycled. These cash-back incentives are in addition to the incentives offered through Washington utilities for purchasing new and recycling old appliances. Rebates are available until funds run out.

The program is expected to result in 15,000 fridges and 45,000 clothes washers being replaced by new efficient models, saving Washingtonians approximately $1,000,000 in energy costs, saving 355 million gallons of water and preventing 8,042 tons of CO2 annually.

All Washington State households are eligible to receive one clothes washer and one refrigerator rebate. Consumers must buy their appliance from a Washington State retailer on or after March 15, 2010.

Additional information including eligibility requirements, qualified appliances as well as the application form and instructions are available at retail locations or at www.cashforapplianceswa.com. The program is Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and administered by the Washington State Department of Commerce.