Powwow of Indians and Bagpipers

You can take a music and food tour of the world next Sunday by strolling down Main Street.

There will be Scottish bagpipers, a Balkan band, Caribbean steel drummers, a Korean children’s choir, Mexican mariachis and an American barbershop quartet.

Plus taste treats such as German sausage, Swedish pancakes, Russian piroshki, Greek gyros, Mexican tacquitos, Korean kimchi and Hawaiian shaved ice.

From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. the city will close off six blocks of Main Street to celebrate its 11th annual International Food Fair. At food booths and entertainment areas you can sample the native dishes, dances and music of Asia, Europe, the Americas and the tropics.

A special attraction will be a Chumash Indian celebration with performances of traditional music and dancing.

Featuring South Korea

The featured nation this year is South Korea, host of the 1988 Summer Olympics. Representatives will be on hand with information about tickets, transportation and lodging for anyone planning to attend the games in Seoul.

Flutes, rattles and bull-roarers are some of the music makers used by the Painted Cave Choir from Ojai, performing at noon and at 2 p.m. on the grounds of Ventura’s archeological museum. Members of the Indian reservation at Santa Ynez will present other demonstrations of Chumash music and dancing at 1 p.m.

The Indians will have handicrafts for sale, including jewelry and paintings. Arts and crafts from around the globe also can be bought along Main Street.

Even if you can’t make it to the food fair, you’ll have a pleasant time exploring Ventura’s reborn downtown. Along its quiet central thoroughfare are four historical museums, a Spanish mission, an array of antique shops and several dining places. Lodgings are nearby, including bed and breakfast inns.

To get there from Los Angeles, drive north on U.S. 101 to Ventura, exit on California Street and go two blocks to Main Street. (If you go for the food fair, turn left from California Street on Thompson Boulevard or Santa Clara Street to park in free public lots.)

Father Serra’s Legacy

Turn left on Main Street and go three blocks to park near Mission San Buenaventura, founded by Father Junipero Serra in 1782. Before touring its church completed in the early 1800s, visit the Albinger Archaeological Museum and dig just up the street.

You’ll see the foundation of an earlier mission church, abandoned and buried until excavations in 1974-75 disclosed the old walls and more than 30,000 artifacts. Some are on display in the museum that traces 3,500 years of local history.

There are stone bowls and other evidence of prehistoric American Indians that lived there before the Chumash. Other items are traced to the Spanish, Mexicans and Chinese.

You will see everything from shell beads and crucifixes to cowboy spurs and opium pipes. Also watch the audio-visual show that explains the archeological finds. The museum and excavations are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except Monday. Admission is free.

Other exhibits on the area’s past are across the street in the Ventura County Historical Museum. Of special interest are the lifelike figures of famous people through the ages, crafted by George S. Stuart of Ojai.

More than 200 of his one-of-a-kind images are in the collection, and some are always on display in the Smith Gallery at the rear of this free museum. Daily hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Monday).

Firefighting Museum

The green lawns of Mission Park adjoin the museum and are bordered by Figueroa Plaza, a pedestrian mall. It leads to a window-view sidewalk museum with historical apparatus and photos of Ventura’s fire department.

The A. J. Comstock Fire Museum is part of the Clocktower Inn, a 50-room hostelry that opened in 1985 in a former fire station. Doubles run $80-$95, including afternoon aperitifs and a continental breakfast. Reservations: (805) 652-0141. Opposite, in a renovated Victorian, is the Seafood & Beverage Co., open for lunch and dinner.

At the other end of the plaza, just across Main Street, you can take a self-guided tour of the mission. Enter at the mission gift shop and museum, 225 E. Main St.; adults 50 cents, children 25 cents. The tour brochure guides you through the gardens into an impressive church still used for services. Visiting hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Sunday to 4 p.m.

Antiques, Rare Books

Downtown Ventura has become a center for antique furniture and other collectibles, as you will discover while walking east along Main Street. It’s also fun to browse in the shops that feature used and rare books.

Popular for eating is Franky’s Place, 456 Main St., an airy remodeled brick building with a fountain inside. Open for Sunday brunch (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and breakfast and lunch on other days; Thursday through Saturday dinner also is served.

At 420 Main St. is the restaurant Chez Kim, a local favorite for French and Italian dinners. By reservation only: (805) 648-7028.

At 67 California St. is the 19-room Bella Maggiore Inn, a wonderfully remodeled 1926 hotel. Guests are treated to afternoon appetizers in the handsome lobby; the $70 and up double occupancy rate includes breakfast. Information: (805) 652-0277.

Ventura’s best-known B&B; is La Mer, overlooking the town at 411 Poli St. just west of the top end of California Street. Foreign flags fly from the Victorian home Gisela and Mike Baida have turned into a European inn with five bedrooms decorated in the styles of various nations. The $85-to-$105 rates include private bath and a big Bavarian breakfast. Information: (805) 643-3600.

Get lists of lodgings, eateries and antique shops from Ventura’s visitors bureau (exit at Seaward Avenue), open weekends 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information: (805) 648-2075.

Return to Los Angeles by rejoining U.S. 101 south. Round trip from Los Angeles to Ventura is 130 miles.