Are you a history buff? If so, then you know exploring the past can lead to unexpected places. Learning about our state's story is serious work, but that doesn't mean the work needs to be serious. If you're looking for a fun history tour in Washington, check out Bellingham's Bellinghistory with the Good Time Girls. This fantastic organization pulls back the curtain on the charming college town's not-so-distant past, examining the lives of the working class with compassion and a healthy dose of levity.

Founded in 2011 by friends Marissa McGrath and Sara Holodnick, Bellinghistory hopes to animate the experiences of people whose stories might otherwise be forgotten. By putting names and faces to the working girls, loggers, fishermen, teetotalers, rumrunners, and immigrants who helped create Bellingham's unique culture, they show us that people back then weren't so different than people nowadays.

Today, Bellinghistory is Bellingham's only regular walking tour. Their primary tour season runs from May through October, but you can book a private tour year-round.

The group offers a wide variety of tours, giving guides opportunities to delve deeper into niche topics and examine the community's history through various lenses.

Sin and Gin tours, for example, flesh out the town's history of vice, from its days as a remote western outpost to the speakeasy indulgences of Prohibition. Lovers of horror may enjoy the Gore and Lore tour, which looks unflinchingly at some of Bellingham's spookiest stories. I'm excited to join one of their Queerstory tours, which celebrate the community's queer past.

You'll find representatives for Bellinghistory at many local gatherings. Be bold and ask them questions about upcoming events! The organization always has something new and intriguing in the works.

If you're interested in exploring their calendar yourself, check out their website. Whether you're a local or visiting from out of town, their tours are incredibly fun, proving that education— even when it concerns sometimes challenging historical periods— is improved through the exercise of humor and empathy.

If you're interested in a fun history tour in Washington, look no further than Bellingham's Bellinghistory with the Good Time Girls. This woman-owned organization does a fabulous job of humanizing a past we often prefer to think of as being remote from modern life, proving that the struggles and triumphs of yesteryear aren't terribly dissimilar to those we experience today.