Make it three for three. The North West Mud Racing Association (NWMRA) is back in Merritt for its third annual mud races.

This weekend, mud racers in street-class cars and in classes A through E, pro cut and pro paddle classes will once again let the mud fly through a 200-foot-long mud pit at the old Merritt Mountain Music Festival grounds.

NWMRA president Gavin McDonald told the Herald the event will have a concession on site and there will be three large tents to provide shade.

The action begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, and the mud will fly again on Sunday at noon.

Registration for the races closes at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Flood watch over for Nicola River

With winter runoff at its tail end, there is no more concern of the Nicola River flooding this summer, City of Merritt emergency program co-ordinator Sky McKeown told the Herald.

He said the river is still flowing fast and is cold, and said people who may enter it this coming weekend need to be aware of that.

The Nicola River is flowing at about nine cubic metres per second, which is about double the rate it flows in the latter half of the summer. Flood rates show the river flowing at about 35 cubic meters per second, he said.

“It’s definitely not raging by any means – it’s two and a half, three feet lower than it was – but it’s still moving along fairly quickly and the temperature of it is quite low,” he said.

He said the flow rates should remain stable or lower in the coming weeks.

McKeown said people should do some scouting to look out for log jams if they plan to go tubing down the Nicola or Coldwater Rivers.

“People need to be aware of changing river conditions,” McKeown said.

Art show reception a go this evening

The Courthouse Art Gallery is hosting a closing reception for local artist Joel Reid today between 4 and 6 p.m.

The show, titled “Robots in Disguise,” is about transcendence and how a temporary disguise can be used to transition to a new and better reality, Nicola Valley Community Arts Council vice president Anya McVean told the Herald via email.

“Joel Reid has developed a unique art style, drawing on the traditions of abstract expressionism. His raw and emotionally-charged paintings have a graphic quality and signature of urban graffiti, but his works are more introspective,” the press release states.

Reid’s artwork will be on display at the courthouse gallery at 1840 Nicola Ave. until June 28.