Calista Robbins 9/10/26 Calista Robbins 9/10/26

The Divided Line: Selah [Part 2]

Memory was a ruthless thing. It festered and enraged and filled the soul with longing, the grief of it capable of stealing his breath away, of leaving him gasping for air and clutching his chest in agony.

It was proof, too. Proof of joy and hope and the existence of good in all the places it was absent now.

Zach Youngs 9/8/26 Zach Youngs 9/8/26

Sound Cinema: Roxy Theatre

The Roxy is in an unassuming part of the building landscape, but as you turn onto 4th St. you can see the neon blade at the top of the building cutting into the sky and marking the theater's place like a beacon calling all movie lovers to it.

Parker Dean 8/27/26 Parker Dean 8/27/26

Trans* Talk: It’s Never Too Late

Trans folks have existed throughout history, but so many of us were forced into hiding due to societal pressure, laws that threatened to eliminate us, and fear. But we existed, we exist now, and we will exist forever. And it is never too late to become who you are.

Lynette Evans 8/20/26 Lynette Evans 8/20/26

Soft Life, Hard Lessons: Houston, We Have a Boyfriend!

A few weeks ago, a mutual friend played matchmaker. It all started with a simple sharing of photos and a few text exchanges. Who knew it would blossom into what it is now?

Zach Youngs 8/11/26 Zach Youngs 8/11/26

Sound Cinema: Pickford Film Center

The Pickford Film Center at Grand Ave. was an effort by the Center's board of directors to further meet the demand for the cinematic experience in downtown Bellingham. They had found a space not very far from their home location on Bay St. and in August 2021, the work began to bring the space to life. In August 2025, the Grand location opened. This makes the Grand the youngest theater, by nearly a decade, covered so far here in Sound Cinema.

Parker Dean 8/6/26 Parker Dean 8/6/26

Parker’s Pages: Hollow Kingdom

There’s one thing you should know about me: I LOVE birds. Can’t get enough of ‘em. Which you can tell by my many articles that I’ve written and shared here at the Echo. So when I found this lovely little gem, narrated by a self-assured little crow named Shit Turd (S.T. for short), I was all in.

Lynette Evans 7/30/26 Lynette Evans 7/30/26

Soft Life, Hard Lessons: Apps, Groveling Exes, and The Hug Barometer

If you had told me at the beginning of this year that I’d be simultaneously navigating 10 Jerry Springer Show seasons worth of dating apps, receiving apology tours from exes a decade late, and coaching my own dear mother through her dating life, I’d be your indentured servant for a month! But here we are, and the streets are making my edges thin.

Zach Youngs 7/14/26 Zach Youngs 7/14/26

Sound Cinema: Edmonds Theater

On this particular summer Tuesday at the Edmonds I saw the latest from Pixar, Toy Story 5. As with all franchises that have made it into their third decade, this one has quite a few diminishing returns. This feels like a rehash of Toy Story 2, mixed with the identity crises of Toy Story, and the dread of being left behind from Toy Story 3.

JeLisa Marshall 7/6/26 JeLisa Marshall 7/6/26

Evergreen Style: Rossario George at Queer NW’s PRIMAVERA

Before the show, I sat down with one of the featured designers, Tony Vicente, to hear his perspective. Eight years after founding the award-winning luxury label Rossario George, Tony was preparing to debut a new haute couture collection, La Maison de Rossario George. His work has earned recognition for designs that blend timeless elegance with bold storytelling while celebrating individuality through artistry. Our conversation explored the role fashion plays in fostering self-expression, visibility, and community during Pride Month, and why those values hold true long after June.

Calista Robbins 7/2/26 Calista Robbins 7/2/26

The Divided Line: Selah [Part 1]

Those enemies, Selah and his colleagues had learned of late, included them too. They’d hauled fifty workers off the grounds a week or so ago, shoved them in the back of black armored vans, and shipped them off to that prison across the sound. It’d been such a grand spectacle. A warning, really, to any others who thought to question the corpocratic reign.

Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 6/27/26 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 6/27/26

Perennial Conventions: The AI Grift

As the next generation exits schooling and begins their foray into the career space, the moment of their celebrated end to matriculation is being overshadowed by speakers shoehorning AI inevitability into their faces. The boos, turned backs, and walkouts have made it clear that a solid portion of the debuting generation are already fed up.

Lynette Evans 6/25/26 Lynette Evans 6/25/26

Soft Life, Hard Lessons: Collard Green Kisses and Rom-Com Reality

The magic started on a Friday in Atlanta. My sleep is always a little unpredictable when I’m traveling, and I didn’t roll out of bed until 12:30 p.m. I headed to my favorite local buffet specifically to hit the salad bar. While I was waiting in line, two friends approached me. One of them looked at me, completely unprompted, and said I was beautiful and that I had pretty toes. Look at God!

Parker Dean 6/20/26 Parker Dean 6/20/26

Trans* Talk: Trans* Pride

This year, Pride feels bigger and more important than any other. Like in years past, it feels as though the need for Pride has grown, to remind all of us in the community that we are here, we are alive, we are beautiful. It also feels like an important way to remind our allies to stand with us, and to tell our opposition that we have been here forever and we aren’t backing down anytime soon.

Zach Youngs 6/9/26 Zach Youngs 6/9/26

Sound Cinema: Anacortes Cinemas

Anacortes Cinemas is their fourth cinema to be covered by Sound Cinema (Bainbridge Cinemas, the Historic Admiral, and the gone, but not forgotten Varsity). It’s one of their youngest theaters, but it retains a certain nostalgic charm.

Parker Dean 6/7/26 Parker Dean 6/7/26

Parker’s Pages: Dungeon Crawler Carl

Like clockwork, whenever I share what I do here at the Echo, specifically with this column, I am told that I must read and review Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, a Puget Sound native and fantasy and sci-fi novelist. I must admit, it was the title that most intrigued me. I’d certainly played my own dungeon crawler once or twice, and I liked that there seemed to be humor and absurdism baked right into the title. So, after a long wait, I’m happy to announce I have finally cracked open the first book of this 8-book series (with two more on the way), and I am obsessed.

Calista Robbins 6/3/26 Calista Robbins 6/3/26

The Divided Line: Juno [Part 2]

She took a long breath, steadied herself, and veered off the main road as soon as the soldiers passed by her. After, it was a short yet steep walk to the hillside entry of the leisure district, a mockery of artistic curiosity. Bio-engineered trees stood in perfect symmetry on either side of the walkway. To the left, the movie theater and the music hall. To the right, the art museum. Each government-sanctioned and carefully curated.

JeLisa Marshall 5/27/26 JeLisa Marshall 5/27/26

Evergreen Style: Barakah Beauty Collective

After being unable to find clothes that reflected both her identities and beliefs, Michaela started a fashion label with her namesake, Michaela Corning LLC, in 2021 and has been on a mission to make modest fashion more accessible ever since. One year later, she launched the Barakah Beauty Collective to cultivate a space where fashion, faith, and fellowship could coexist.

Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 5/25/26 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 5/25/26

Perennial Conventions: My Year Without a Smartphone

I had dispersed the grip my phone had on my reality and rendered it less powerful. But it wasn’t all birdsong and silence. Outside of getting lost frequently, and the amount of time it took to send a text—which was both a skill and will issue—there were other cons. Without social media or a smartphone, the lack of ease in communication left me out of the loop. That was my goal, of course, but feelings in reality are often different from expectations.

Lynette Evans 5/22/26 Lynette Evans 5/22/26

Soft Life, Hard Lessons: The Power of ‘No’

There is a specific kind of intoxication that comes when you re-enter the dating world with a healed heart. You’re feeling good, your body looking like tea, and your capacity for joy is wide open. But I had to learn a hard lesson recently: Just because a man has the charm to grab your attention doesn’t mean he has the integrity to hold your space.

Parker Dean 5/21/26 Parker Dean 5/21/26

Trans* Talk: Grief

According to Remembering Our Dead, a website linked to Trans Day of Remembrance which houses the names of Trans individuals who have lost their lives due to violence or suicide, we have lost 11 siblings in the US since the start of 2026 (as of May 7, when the site was last updated, making Juniper Blessing the twelfth).

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