BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Three new murals will soon grace the streets of Bellingham following the fourth annual Noisy Waters Mural Festival.

Organizers say the festival drew over 7,000 people at the Portal Container Village over the past weekend.

Denver-based muralist Catie Michel won the grand prize in the community voting with her depiction of a wolf surrounded by native plants and wildlife.

“I feel like this festival is the salal and all of us are the bugs, getting goodness, joy, nourishment, humor and color,” Michel said in a news release. “This has been such a life changing event for me. The interconnections here are really amazing and pretty endless. These artists are my idols and I can’t believe we got to work alongside each other in such a beautiful place.”

One of the other winners, Oak Bloak (also known as Max Coleman) is also from Denver, while the third, Jessa Gilbert, is from Squamish, B.C. Jason “Wayward Walls” Harvin from Gibsonton, FL claimed the third place prize, which garnered him a cash prize but no mural location in the city.

The top three artist will return to Bellingham to create permanent large-scale murals in spring and summer of 2027.

Two of the murals will be located in Bellingham’s Sehome neighborhood at the Samish Station apartment complex and Bellingham Dental Group’s new building, while the third will be located along a bike path on Ohio Street in the Sunnyland neighborhood.

The side of Samish Station where Catie Michel will paint a mural. Courtesy of Noisy Waters Mural Festival
Ohio Street Properties from the bike path where Jessa Gilbert will paint a mural. Courtesy of Noisy Waters Mural Festival
Bellingham Dental Group on Ellis Street where Oak Bloak will paint a mural. Courtesy of Noisy Waters Mural Festival

The exact designs have not yet been determined.

You can still see all of the festival’s murals at the Whatcom Museum’s Lightcatcher building.