Best Bets: Traveling Pickford Show

Whatcom Film Association’s Traveling Pickford Show is staying put this season at Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro, 1107 Railroad Ave., to concentrate its efforts on the remodeling of the Pickford “Dream Space” building on Bay Street. Audience members must be at least 21 to view Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little in Mel Brooks’ 1974 classic, “Blazing Saddles,” which starts at dark tonight, July 12. Robert Blake and a variety of musical friends provide tunes before each film in the series, shown on the big screen in the outdoor beer garden each Thursday through Sept. 6. Suggested donation is $3 ($5 gets you unlimited popcorn). Dress up in Western attire for tonight’s event. For more information on the rest of the season’s lineup, go to www.bbaybrewery.com or www.whatcomfilm.org.

The fifth annual Samish Bay Bivalve Bash and Low Tide Mud Run will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 14, at Taylor Shellfish Farms off Chuckanut Drive near Bow. The 250-yard Low Tide Mud Run starts at low tide, 11:35 a.m. and the kids’ mud run precedes the race at 11 a.m. The Bivalve Bash features oyster-shell sculptures on the beach, oyster shuffleboard and music by The Atlantics. For race information, call (425) 501-0709. Bivalve Bash admission is $5, with kids 6 and younger and Mud Runners admitted free. For information on other events, call (360) 766-6002 or visit www.bivalvebash.com.

The Port of Bellingham presents BayFest, a day of live music, food from local restaurants and area organizations, kids’ activities and information booths on water-oriented businesses, clubs and activities, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 14, at Zuanich Point Park. The U. S. Coast Guard performs an air-sea rescue helicopter demonstration in the morning, and the Coast Guard Auxiliary offers free vessel safety checks for boaters. The Port offers free guided bus tours of the New Whatcom site from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Music is provided by the Bellingham Youth Jazz Band, Tom Hunter and Maggie’s Fury. For information, call 676-2500 or go to www.portofbellingham.com.

Skagit County’s Bow Diddlers provide the music for the second Bite of Bellingham, which takes place during the Downtown Sounds concert from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, in the alley between the Wild Buffalo and Mindport on West Holly Street. Sponsored by the Downtown Renaissance Network, the free, all-ages event features samples from food vendors and area restaurants, including the Mount Bakery, Bayou on Bay, Diego’s Mexican Grill, Rocket Donuts, India Grill and Lynda the Hot Dawg Lady. Call 527-8710 or go to www.downtown bellingham.com for details.

History’s in your own backyard: Hear stories from the Tenmile Creek and Laurel area as told by elders from the community by Doug Banner, Rob Astyk and Brian Flowers, all members of the Bellingham Storytellers Guild, in “Living Near the Nooksack,” at 7 p.m. Friday, July 13, at Lynden Pioneer Museum, 217 W. Front St. The event is part of a project coordinated by Dorie Belisle, who lives on Ten Mile Road near Lynden. For more information, call her at 398-9187.

The Be Good Tanyas are among the dozens of performers on stage at the Vancouver (B.C.) Folk Music Festival, taking place Friday through Sunday, July 13-15 at Jericho Beach Park. More than 70 hours of music, dance and spoken word artists are scheduled to perform, including David Francey, Jim Byrnes, Ganga Girl, Utah Phillips, Po’ Girl, Tapia eta Leturia, Hawksley Workman and the Twilight Circus Dub SoundSystem. Ticket prices vary; family passes, weekend passes and day passes are available. For a full schedule and online tickets, go to www.thefestival.bc.ca.

The 13th annual Skagit Valley Highland Games features Celtic games, music, dancing, athletic events, crafts and kids’ activities from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 13-14, at Edgewater Park in downtown Mount Vernon. Admission is $10 for a full-day adult ticket, $15 weekend pass, $25 family per day and it’s free for ages 5 and younger. Call (360) 416-4934 or visit www.celticarts.org for details.