City announces 2018 Essence of Bellingham winners

Reception to be held June 1 at City Hall


Out of more than 250 submissions, four photos were selected to receive public recognition for their photographs in the 13^th annual "Essence of Bellingham" Photo Competition. 
The following are the top four winning entries.

• Best of Show - 1^st Place – Broadway Park by Lauren McClanahan
• Best of Show - 2^nd Place – Highline by Colby Mesick
• Best of Show - 3^rd Place – Racing on the bay by Patricia Hochreiter
• Best of Class – 5-8 Grade – Surfs up by Malcolm Evans

Winning entries​, along with 103 best of class and honorable mention photographs, will be displayed in the City Hall lobby during a public ceremony and reception at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 1. Following the reception, City Hall will be open and participating in the Downtown Art Walk. 
The competition was sponsored by the City of Bellingham and the Whatcom Museum. Submissions were juried by representatives from the Whatcom Museum, City of Bellingham, Western Washington University and the 2017 Essence of Bellingham winner of Best in Show. Winning entries were selected based on how well they captured the essence of Bellingham and the quality of the photograph.
All entries will be added to the Museum's photo archives and may appear on BTV or other City publications.
Residents of Whatcom County are invited to begin taking photographs for next year's competition starting now.