The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission invites the public to attend natural and cultural history interpretive programs at Larrabee State Park, just south of Bellingham.

Interpretive programs run from 1 to 2 p.m. on certain days this summer at the park, 245 Chuckanut Drive. Marilyn Boysen will teach visitors about the region's geology, park and cultural history, forest plant life, and animals in the intertidal zones.

The programs begin at the main park entrance, across the street from the welcome center. Boysen will lead participants on a hike down to Wildcat Cove and through wooded areas of the park with the program leader. The interpretive programs will be offered, July 14, Aug. 11 and Sept. 1. The Discover Pass is required to attend the programs.

Boysen is an authority on Whatcom County-area biology and is the speaker for Bellingham Public Library's Wonders of Whatcom series. She also has presented interpretive programs for Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department and for Whatcom Land Trust.

Details: facebook.com/WashingtonStateParks.

SKAGIT FILMAKER CREATES MOCKUMENTARY

Nathan Hamer, a student filmmaker in Skagit Valley, wrote to tell me about his latest project that he created and co-directed (he also acts in it). It's called "Re-Enactors" and it's a comedy "mockumentary" about re-enactors in the Pacific Northwest. The movie just finished post-production and will premiere July 13, 15 and 16 at Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon.

Hamer says the film stars an entertaining cast of local comedians, including some veteran performers from Bellingham's Upfront Theatre - Kent Loomer, Stephen Edwards and D.K. Reinemer - plus Bellingham's Emily Lester, who has performed at iDiOM Theater.

Co-creator of the project is Nathan's brother Zach. Instead of writing a full script (something they are accustomed to doing), they decided to take a risk and film the mockumentary like an actual documentary. So they gathered some of their favorite regional comedians, assigned them characters, created a circumstance, and then saw what happened.

Each scene was set up, but what happened from point A to point B was improvised and organic. Zach and Nathan also play in old-timey band, Br'er Rabbit.

Nathan is taking the film to New York City at the end of July to hold further screenings there.

For details about the Lincoln Theatre screenings, go to lincolntheatre.org/film/re-enactors.

SEATTLE CROATIAN GROUPS PERFORMS AT LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Traditional music and dance drawn from communities across the United States will be showcased on the historic Coolidge Auditorium stage at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., throughout the summer. On July 18, you can catch Seattle's Ruže Dalmatinke, who performs traditional Croatian singing.

Deep passion and intense devotion to Croatian musical heritage have kept Ruže Dalmatinke active since 1981, and have inspired the group's lead vocalists, sisters Binki Franulovic Spahi and Alma Franulovic Plancich, since childhood. They've often played with Anacortes' Vela Luka Croatian Dance Ensemble.

The popular "Homegrown: The Music of America" concert series is presented by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, in cooperation with the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.

All concerts are at noon in the Coolidge Auditorium, on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. Concerts are free and open to the public; no tickets are required. For a full schedule, see loc.gov/rr/perform/concert.

Performances are recorded and most are later made available on the Library of Congress web site. Previous years' concerts can be viewed at loc.gov/folklife/events/HomegrownArchives.

ABOUT BEHIND THE SCENES

Behind the Scenes focuses on the people who make the arts and entertainment world of Whatcom County happen. It appears in Take Five, The Bellingham Herald's entertainment section, each Thursday. Margaret Bikman is the Entertainment News Coordinator at The Bellingham Herald.

Reach MARGARET BIKMAN at margaret.bikman@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2273.