WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – We start this week’s Lifestyle Lookout with our featured live show. Are there any fans of country music here in Whatcom County? You bet your bottom dollar there are.

Colby Acuff is a fourth-generation Idaho native, and he’ll bring his rugged country sound to the Shakedown in Bellingham on Saturday, May 25. His honkytonk anthems are “full of spiritual scar tissue and road-weary wisdom.” This is a great opportunity to check him out in an intimate setting before he heads out for stadium shows this summer with Luke Combs.

Colby Acuff is playing with Benjamin Dakota Rogers at the Shakedown at 9 p.m. Go to shakedownbellingham.com for tickets.

Sunday is Ski to Sea, and while the deadline has long passed to register to race in this epic Whatcom County relay from Mount Baker to Bellingham Bay, there are ample opportunities to watch the race across the county.

Viewers will get the most bang for their buck up at Heather Meadows. That’s where the Cross-Country, Downhill Ski/Snowboard and Running legs take place. If you plan to take in the action up at Baker, make sure you layer up for variable weather conditions. Also note that the Mt. Baker Highway will be closed from 7:15 a.m. until they start allowing cars down the mountain at around 10:30. The race starts at 7:30 sharp.

Racers line up for the start of the Ski to Sea race at the Mount Baker Ski Area in 2022.

The most entertaining spot to watch the race might be at Riverside Park in Everson. That’s where the Road Bikes will hand off to the Canoe leg. Watching canoe teams enter the waters of the mighty Nooksack is impressive and, at times, calamitous. Show up early to get a good spot. The first road bikes should hit Riverside shortly after 10 a.m.

The Canoe leg wraps up at Hovander Park in Ferndale. You can watch the canoes roll in underneath the Metallica Bridge, the Main Street bridge and then up the muddy riverbanks where they’ll hand off to the Cyclocross riders. Hovander Park is also the location of the first beer garden. The first canoes should start rolling in around noon.

Kayakers await their Cyclocross teammates arrival before heading out from Zuanich Park to Marin Park in the final leg of the Ski to Sea race in 2023. Photo courtesy Dave Walker

The Ski to Sea race wraps up at Marine Park in Fairhaven. Grab a spot on the beach and watch the sea kayakers roll across the finish line in style. There will be a beer garden right there and all the festivities in Fairhaven are a short walk away. The first kayakers should paddle around 1:30 p.m.

For all the details, go to skitosea.com.

This upcoming Monday is Memorial Day and there are plenty of events planned across Whatcom County to honor those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation.

The 2024 Whatcom Memorial Day Parade runs from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday in Bellingham. The parades start at the intersection of Cornwall Avenue and Alabama Street before running down Cornwall. Elsewhere in Bellingham, ceremonies are planned for Memorial Park at 8:30 a.m. and at Bayview Cemetery at 10:45 a.m. on Monday.

Greenacres Memorial Park in Ferndale will host their annual Avenue of Flags ceremony on Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pathways will be lined with 2,000 Veterans flags and there will be speeches from representatives of the Disabled American Veterans, Daughters of the American Revolution and more. It will all wrap up with a dove release.

Two Memorial Day ceremonies are planned in Lynden. The Lynden Cemetery will host an event at 10 a.m. and an event will be held at Greenwood Cemetery on E. Wiser Road at 2 p.m. The Greenwood ceremony will include a performance by the Meridian Middle School band while the Lynden Middle School band will perform at the Lynden Cemetery.

How ever you plan to commemorate Memorial Day, please do it respectfully and take some time to reflect on the sacrifices made by so many brave Americans over the years.

Listen to this week’s Lifestyle Lookout segment below or every Friday on the KGMI Morning News: