Entertainment - Entertainment News

POSTED: Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009

Good times go boom: Celebrate independence in Whatcom County

Watch the skies light up at a Whatcom County Fourth of July celebration this week. Here is what's going on:

• The Haggen Family Fourth of July celebration, from 1 to 9:30 p.m. at Zuanich Point Park, offers live music, kids' activities, food and craft vendors and a beer garden. Fireworks begin at 10:30 p.m. Call 676-2500 or 734-1330 or go to Bellingham.com for details.

• "Blaine's Gonna Rock" is the theme for downtown Blaine's festival, which includes a parade at noon, a community picnic, a car show and a jazz concert. Fireworks are displayed over Semiahmoo Bay at 10:15 p.m. The fun continues downtown from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 5, with more music and kids' activities. Go to blainechamber.com or call 332-6484 for more information.

• Travel the border for Point Roberts' parade and family dfestival at Lighthouse Marine Park, with the theme "Outer Soace Fantasy." Call (360) 945-2313 or visit pointsrobertschamber.com for more.

SUMMER THEATRE

Mark Kuntz directs three plays in theater-in-the-round settings on a rotating schedule this summer at Mount Baker Theatre's Walton Theatre, 104 N. Commercial St.

On stage are "Butterflies are Free," "The Star-Spangled Girl" and "Doubt," Wednesday, July 8, through Aug. 1. Go to the theater's Web site, mountbakertheatre.com, for the schedule.

Tickets are $18 and are available by calling 734-6080. In addition, Western Washington University's Summer Youth Theatre Institute present the works they created at Old Main Theatre on campus in July performances.

The elementary school-aged kids perform at noon and 7 p.m. on Friday, July 3. The secondary school-aged students perform at 7:30 p.m. July 10.

Both casts perform "School House Rock" with their teachers July 23-25 and July 29-Aug. 1 at Old Main. For information on other productions, go to wwu.edu/depts/theatre.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

The 2009 Bellingham Festival of Music welcomes cellist Joshua Roman (joshuaroman.com), the Romero Guitar Quartet (romeroguitarquartet.com), soprano (and Lynden native) Katie Van Kooten, pianist Stephen Kovacevich and baritone Charles Robert Stephens, along with the Bellingham Festival Orchestra and Chorus.

Opening night, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 3, at Western Washington University's Performing Arts Center Concert Hall, features Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The festival runs through July 19, and also offers master classes and free pre-concert talks. Artistic director is Michael Palmer.

For a full schedule, call 201-6621 or go to bellinghamfestival.org. Find details on individual events by going to calendar.bellinghamherald.com and entering "festival of music" as the event keyword.

ART ON PARADE

Take a stroll in downtown Bellingham between 6 and 10 p.m. Friday, July 3, to take in works by emerging and established artists. Highlights include Mira Kamada's paintings at Allied Arts Gallery and works by children from the La Galta village in Egypt at Blue Horse Gallery. For a complete list of participating venues, call 527-8710 or visit downtownbellingham.com.

ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC BLEND

Multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, who's played and recorded with Ry Cooder Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Rod Stewart, Holly Cole, Bob Dylan and many others, performs on Wednesday, July 8, at the Nightlight Lounge. Doors open at 8 p.m. Cover is $17. For tickets or more information, visit nightlightlounge.com.