The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra and Pickford Film Center team up for a free event combining outdoor cinema with live music in downtown Bellingham, WA. The family-friendly event will also include a raffle and prizes, as well as food and drink options for purchase.

The films to be shown are a selection of silent shorts curated by Spencer Sundell of The Sprocket Society, providing a sampler of the entertaining variety to be found in silent movies: hilarious comedy, thrilling action, amazing special effects and, of course, a cartoon.

The films will be accompanied live by small ensembles from the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, now celebrating its 50th year of making music in Whatcom County.

Bring your folding chair and join us for a beautiful sunset followed by five fun films accompanied by live music!

The film program will include:

• Felix the Cat causing trouble (as usual!) in Felix Revolts (1923)
• A Trip to the Moon (1902), the iconic science fiction epic by Georges Méliès presented in its original hand-painted coloring and with live narration
• Buster Keaton showing how not to build a house in One Week (1920), one of his very best comedies
• Suspense (1913), a groundbreaking thriller by legendary film pioneer Lois Weber
• Helen Holmes doing her own death-defying stunts in Escape on the Fast Freight, a 1915 episode of the movie serial The Hazards of Helen

All movies will be shown digitally.

About the music

All of the movies will be accomapnied live by musicians from the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra playing solo and in small ensembles.

BSO principal pianist Andrea Rackl will improvise accompaniment for Felix Revolts and Suspense.

One Week and Escape on the Fast Freight will each feature new scores composed by Kevin Woods, Director of Jazz Studies at Western Washington University (WWU). The seven-piece ensembles will include Dawn Posey (BSO Concertmaster) & Yuko Watanabe, violin; Morgan Schwab, viola; Samantha Sinai, cello; Mark Tomko, bass; Jill Whitman, harp; and Kay Reilly, percussion.

A Trip to the Moon will have live narration read by Spencer Sundell, and be accompanied by an arrangement by WindSync of Jacques Offenbach's 1875 opera-faerie, Le voyage dans la lune, performed by Debbie Arthur, flute; Gail Ridenour, oboe; David Bissell, clarinet; Phillip Thomas, bassoon; and Brad Bigelow, horn.

All ensemble accompaniments will be conducted by Ryan Dudenbostel, Director of Orchestral Studies at WWU.

About the presenting partners

About the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra

The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the historic Mount Baker Theatre. It performs seven concerts per season in addition to a variety of community and youth engagement programs across the calendar year. Details about the BSO and ticketing information for the current season are available at bellinghamsymphony.org.

About Pickford Film Center

Pickford Film Center, a nonprofit organization, provides a forum and resource for independent cinema, strengthening community through education, dialogue and the celebration of film. Since its founding in 1998, it has been the only independent cinema, operating 365 days a year, between Seattle and Vancouver B.C. For more information and what’s playing, go to pickfordfilmcenter.org.

About Downtown Activation with the City of Bellingham

Sunset Flicks is made possible by a grant from the City of Bellingham to activate downtown spaces. Learn more about this program and how the City of Bellingham is working to keep downtown Bellingham beautiful and vibrant and bring joy to our community.

About CASCADIA International Women's Film Festival

CASCADIA International Women’s Film Festival is a Bellingham, Washington-based festival dedicated to discovering, developing and showcasing emergent and expert women filmmakers and promoting the Pacific Northwest as a destination for film production and filmgoing audiences.

Their annual film festival and cultural and educational programs throughout the year champion the arts, community and diverse perspectives. For more information visit cascadiafilmfest.org.