The Lynden Music Festival returns for another fall run from October 7 through 11, filling downtown Lynden's cafes, restaurants, pubs, and other venues with live music across a wide range of genres. Behind the festival is a remarkable story: a Finnish musician who moved to Bellingham, found a community in Lynden, and built a cultural institution from scratch because there was simply no music festival in town and she thought there should be.
The Finnish Founder Who Started It All
Terhi Miikki-Broersma founded the Lynden Music Festival in 2009, by her own description, as a self-described "newbie" to the community. She had earned a master's degree in music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, one of Europe's most prestigious music conservatories, and worked as a cantor-organist in Finland. She met her husband Doug Broersma in 2002 when his a cappella quartet traveled to Finland to perform at a music festival she was organizing there. They married in 2004 in Bellingham, and Terhi brought her festival-building experience to the Pacific Northwest.
She also brought her instrument collection. A bassoonist with the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, Miikki-Broersma is also a pianist, organist, and accordionist who performs across multiple genres. Her festival reflects that eclecticism: she describes the concept as a "fish soup" with a variety of tastes, drawing from jazz, swing, pop, bluegrass, and what she calls her favorite, hymns. "Putting a festival together is like a puzzle," she said, "and you just need to have a strong faith that all the performers are meant to come."
Her faith is not a metaphor. Miikki-Broersma's Christian values are explicitly part of how she describes her approach to the festival and to community life in Lynden. As she learned more about Lynden's strong families and faith-driven entrepreneurs and their various ministries, she said she found it "amazing." The festival has become woven into the fabric of a community where Christian Reformed Churches dot the landscape and the arts have historically had a quieter presence than in urban Bellingham.
The Claire de Lune Connection
The festival's full name is the Claire de Lune Lynden Music Festival, and the naming carries a touching history. Miikki-Broersma became close friends with Claire VG Thomas, a beloved musical figure in the Lynden community who inspired generations of local musicians. After Thomas's passing, the Broersmas decided to hold the festival on or near the dates of her birthday and the anniversary of her death. Debussy's "Clair de Lune," Thomas's favorite piece, gave the festival its name.
That connection to Thomas runs through the festival's DNA. It is not just a commercial music event but a community tribute, organized in the spirit of someone who dedicated her life to the musical life of a small town. Doug Broersma described it directly: "We feel that when a community has arts happening and supports the arts, this pulls people together and enhances our humanity in so many ways."
The 2026 Lineup and Special Events
This year's festival features blues headliner Kevin Burt, whose guitar work will anchor multiple performances across the five-day run. The ABBA tribute band ABRA Cadabra brings a crowd-pleasing dance energy to the lineup, while guitarist BJ Block and the Nova Antique Players add variety. Miikki-Broersma herself will perform, and festival regulars note they can never be sure which instrument she will be playing on a given night.
One of the distinctive recurring events is the Psalter Hymnal Marathon, a tribute to Lynden's deep roots in the Christian Reformed tradition. This year's marathon is scheduled for 3 p.m. on October 11 at Third Christian Reformed Church, featuring performances of 641 hymns on the church's pipe organs. Miikki-Broersma launched a similar marathon in Finland years ago, and she transplanted the tradition to Lynden as a way of honoring both her musical heritage and the community that adopted her.
The festival's annual fundraiser, the Whiskey Walk, draws attendees to downtown Lynden venues in a more casual, social format. Atlantics keyboardist Paul Klein, a festival veteran, described Miikki-Broersma as "a great musician, ever-ready positive force, warm, loves to laugh, one of my favorite friends, wonderful sense of humor, a collaborator, and a huge warrior for the arts in Lynden and Whatcom County."
A Festival That Pays Its Musicians
One of the things that distinguishes the Lynden Music Festival from many community arts events is its commitment to paying performers fairly. Doug Broersma noted a key difference between the European and American music scenes: in Finland and most European countries, musicians are compensated well enough to support themselves through their work. In the United States, most musicians need a second job to survive. That reality bothers Miikki-Broersma deeply and has become one of her primary motivations for organizing the festival.
When COVID-19 shut down venues in 2020 and the festival could not take place, Miikki-Broersma asked supporters to donate anyway, and directed all proceeds directly to the musicians who would have performed. It was a gesture that reflected both the financial precarity of working musicians and the genuine care the festival's organizers have for the people who make the event possible.
Lynden Mayor Scott Korthuis, a festival supporter, captured the local appreciation simply: "It's always fun to see her perform because you never know what instrument she will be playing." The festival runs October 7 through 11 across multiple downtown Lynden venues. For the full schedule, performer details, and ticketing information, visit the festival's website or check with downtown Lynden venues directly. Additional Whatcom County arts and community coverage is available in earlier local event stories.
