ENLIGHTENING THE ARTS LAMPSHADE FUNDRAISER
Sat. April 21, 5-8 PM: Exit Realty, 1419 Cornwall Ave.
Allied Arts Education Project / www.alliedarts.org
Allied Arts artists are lighting up education with their art through the "Enlightened Art” silent auction of lampshades they have creatively adorned. Members of Allied Arts have the opportunity to use their arts skills to make unique lampshade art in support of the Allied Arts Education Project. Enlightened lampshades will be sold by silent auction and raffle in downtown Bellingham at Exit Realty. Proceeds provide funding for arts education in Whatcom County schools. FREE! of the added elements includes focals created from discarded watch cases and parts incased in resin. Some of the other upcycled elements that are used in Dinglewear jewelry are recycled electrical wire, brass planters, discarded copper items, vintage water valves, skeleton keys, jewelry, and buttons, hardware and used shotgun shells.

BIKE TOUR OF RARE HOTSPOTS
Fri. April 20, 4-6 PM: Throughout Downtown Bellingham, Starting at the RARE Expo Hall
EverybodyBIKE / www.everybodybike.com
Enjoy a guided ride by staff at everybodyBIKE of venues participating in the RARE Expo! Hot spots featured in the RARE Expo include the Spark Museum of Electrical Invention, Whatcom Museum, Allied Arts of Whatcom County, The RE Store, Pickford Film Center, Mindport, and more. Inspire yourself through creative reuse. Departs from Spark Museum, Bay Street, Bellingham (tentative location). The ride will be at a social pace (10 mph) and will be about 6 miles total. All ages welcome. Children may attend with supervising adult. Bring your bike and wear appropriate gear for weather and safety. Please check out our everybodyBIKE Summer Rides FaceBook page for a listing of similar rides happening all summer long. No advance registration required. FREE!

RARE EXPO HALL AT THE SPARK MUSEUM OF ELECTRICAL INNOVATION
Fri. April 20, 11-8 PM / Sat. April 21, 11-8 PM / Sun. April 22, 11-3 PM: 1312 Bay St. www.sparkmuseum.org
The SPARK Museum will be hosting the hub for the RARE Expo Hall. The Expo Hall will feature a great assortment of booths representing regionally recognized artist that incorporate found objects into their creations. Businesses that promote reused art, and local organizations that focus on the arts and sustainable lifestyles will all be under one roof. Explore the role the arts can play in the sustainability movement during the first annual RARE Expo. FREE admission!

ART OF RECYCLING: FAMILY ACTIVITY DAY AT THE WHATCOM MUSEUM
Sun. April 22, 12-4 PM: Lightcatcher Building, 250 Flora St. www.whatcommuseum.org/learn/family-interactive-gallery
Have a RARE experience viewing our new The Art of Recycling exhibit and making creative recycled sculptures, assisting in making a banner for the Procession of the Species parade (May 5th) in our art studio and a Procession bird in the FIG. Also tour our Lightcatcher Building to find out how we use recycled materials in our green building! $3 admission, museum members free.

WALK THRU OF RECYCLED ART EXHIBIT, WITH ARTISTS!
Sat. April 21 & Sun. 22, starting at noon: Allied Arts Gallery, 1418 Cornwall Ave.
www.alliedarts.org
Get the inside scoop - walk through the exhibit with participating artists and learn about their inspirations, tips and techniques. FREE!

BAG IT SALE @ ALLIED ARTS REUSE THRIFT STORE (AARTS)
Fri. April 20, 10-8 PM / Sat. April 21, 11-8 PM / Sun. April 22, 11-3 PM: Allied Arts Gallery, 1418 Cornwall Ave. www.alliedarts.org
The Allied Arts Reuse Thrift Store (AARTS) will be holding a special event during the RARE expo weekend! From April 20th thru the 22nd, the store will be giving customers recycled bags and allowing them to fill them for a set price. Small bags start at only $10.00! The store, located in the Allied Arts Gallery sells donated art supplies and much more! If you are inspired by what you see at RARE and want to make some recycled art of your own this is the perfect opportunity.

WASTELAND FILM WITH SPEAKER
Sun. April 22, 12:00 PM: Pickford Film Center, 1318 Bay St.
Alice Clark / www.pickfordcinema.org
Screening of the movie, Wasteland. PFC Members $6.25 / General admission $9.50 / children under 12, $7.

REVISION FILM WITH SPEAKER Q&A
Sat. April 21, 4 PM: Pickford Film Center – Limelight, 1416 Cornwall Ave.
Alice Clark / www.pickfordcinema.org
Using themes from philosophy of art, psychology, and environmental ethics, ReVision is an attempt to reconcile the differences between recycled artists and the traditional art world. ReVision also explores the philosophical question, "what is art?” among several other important questions such as "who gets to decide what counts as art?” and "what’s the difference between art and craft?” The film is followed by a Q & A with creator Angela Pesta as well as some Trash Fashion live models. PFC Members $6.25 / General admission $9.50 / children under 12, $7.

WWU INDUSTRIAL DESIGN TRASH FASION SHOW
Sat. April 21, after 4pm show - PFC - Limelight, 1416 Cornwall Ave.
Arunas Oslapas; www.wwu.edu
The Western Washington University Industrial Design program presents "Trash Fashion: Paper or Plastic?" Two dozen sophomore industrial design students are presenting their fashion concepts designed from paper and plastic trash commonly found on campus. The runway show is set to music with a student MC describing the materials and concept of each piece. FREE!

THE GALLUS BROTHERS LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Fri. April 20, 6:30-8 PM: RARE Expo Hall, 1312 Bay St.
Devin Champlin & Lucas Hicks
The Gallus Brothers are a two person band that uses suitcases and other found objects as instruments.They sound like a record collection found in the basement of a retired acrobat with a penchant for good old fashioned blues. Devin Champlin savagely syncopates on a reso-phonic guitar, while Lucas Hicks amps it up by playing percussion on a suitcase full of bones, bells and antique tomfoolery. Both are talented multi-instrumentalists and their sets are a mix of country blues, old tin pan alley songs, mandolin and fiddle tunes, and a dash of danger by way of acrobatic antics. FREE!

STREET PERFORMANCE
Fri. April 20, from 8:00 PM on: Corner of Bay St. and Holly St.
Strangely / www.strangelyandfriends.com
Strangely's charming blend of interactive circus performance, music and storytelling have delighted audiences across North America. Ever since making a Christmas Eve entrance as a baby in a Christmas stocking, Strangely has been a performer. His childhood was filled with books and alternative learning experiences, including participating in a variety of dramatic productions at primary school and classical music studies, with both instruments and voice.

THE MONKEY PUZZLE ORCHESTRA LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Sun. April 22, 1:00 PM: RARE Expo Hall, 1312 Bay St.
Doug Banner, Joe Jowdy and John D'Onofrio
The Monkey Puzzle Orchestra is a free-form musical ensemble from Bellingham. Multi-instrumentalists Doug Banner, Joe Jowdy and John D'Onofrio perform on an eclectic array of instruments, many of which have been constructed by the members of the group out of PVC pipe, flower pots, propane tanks, metal tubes, cookie tins, bits of train track, salad bowls, etc. Sometimes they also use synthesizers, electric guitars, Indonesian gamelan instruments, African hunter's harps, Chinese string instruments, native American flutes, and a host of other instruments both familiar and very strange indeed. With an emphasis on improvisation, no two performances sound alike. FREE!

FIRE SCULPTURE PERFORMANCE
Fri. April 20, 8:30 PM: Corner of Bay St. and Holly St.
Tim Alexander  
A fire sculpture that shoots fire poofs high into the air using propane as a fuel. What fun! FREE!

World's Coolest (and Weirdest) Recycled Art Projects
Sat. April 21 at 1 & 3:30 PM: Dakota Art Class Room, 1415 Cornwall Ave.
Michael Ricciardi / www.chaosmosis.net
Michael Ricciardi is a semi-retired teacher of art and science, naturalist, poet, video artist and art/tech designer. Michael has been a core writer for the Important Media (.org) blog network since January of 2010, covering science/nature, technology, environmental policy and climate change news (blogs: planetsave.com, ecolocalizer.com, cleantechnica.com). Additionally, he is a free-lance writer of non-fiction, satire, short fiction and experimental poetry. FREE!