Some Bach in your life.

• We’re in the midst of the first few waves of summer arts series stuff right now. Like the 10th Annual Big Sur International Short Film Screening Series, which continues about 8-ish on Thursdays. 667-2574.

• The CSU Summer Arts stuff continues with public presentations of high-level artists, including projection artist Yannick Jacquet (see the Weekly’s Arts & Culture blog for his interview) this Thursday, poet Jimmy Santiago Baca and Friends on Monday and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (Deliverance, Deer Hunter) on Tuesday. And, there is a story and interview with newly appointed U.S. poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera (coming July 21) at left, with the full interview available on the Weekly’s Arts & Culture blog. For a full Summer Arts schedule, go to www.blogs.calstate.edu/summerarts. 262-2714.

• The Hollywood Fringe Festival just wrapped up their sixth annual event and awarded prizes for new plays like Alien vs. Musical and Shakespeare’s Last Night Out (Or What? You, Will?). Paper Wing Fremont is doing a fringe festival of sorts in their playwright reading series, the second installment of which continues this Sunday with I’m Just Wild About Harry by Phillip Pearce at 3pm, and Mozambique by David Norum at 6pm (see the Weekly’s Arts & Culture blog for a story and preview excerpt). 905-5684.

• Elizabeth Leavy (Betsy) Stroman, author of the new book The Art and Life of Jean Varda, is the third speaker in the Henry Miller Library’s Under the Persimmon Tree lecture series, scheduled to talk there 4pm this Sunday. The next day she comes into Monterey to talk at Old Capitol Books 2-4pm Monday for us townies. 333-0383.

• The Carmel Bach Festival is getting ready to unpack its prodigious bags of joyous music July 18-Aug. 1, though preview events begin July 11. Get tickets (9am-5pm this 4th of July, four major concerts are going for $17.76 in honor of Independence Day) and get ready by calling 624-1521 or visiting www.bachfestival.org/fourth-of-july-sale.htm.

• You know what summer arts festival/series I’m missing? Films in the Forest. That series in which films are shown on an inflatable screen outside at night at the Outdoor Forest Theater, when attendees can bring picnic baskets full of goodies and libations. It’s put on by the Forest Theater Guild, but the outdoor amphitheater is under renovations and the Guild is looking to improvise another venue soon. www.foresttheaterguild.org.