Children’s Art Festival Outgrows Its Quarters

The 11th annual Children’s Arts Festival Day, today at the Children’s Museum of La Habra, is so big it cannot be contained in the museum’s converted railroad depot. The event will spill out on the grounds of the surrounding Portola Park to make this a festive, spring event for families.

This year’s celebration is conducted in conjunction with the museum’s ongoing presentation on children’s art, which reflects youngsters’ ideas of what life will be like in the year 2000. On display are works by La Habra first-graders, who will be the class of 2000.

Entertainment by Japanese taiko drummers, mime Ruben Gerard, folk musician John Yeiser, puppeteer Judy Sofer, Rainbow the Clown and Chinese dancers is scheduled every half hour between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the outdoor Portola Park stage and the indoor Depot Playhouse stage. Minnie and Mickey Mouse will drop by for a visit.

The Art Box, an inflated plastic construction created by artist Michael Marks and first-graders at Las Lomas Elementary, will be set up in the park. Children can crawl inside the room-size structure and draw and color it with felt pens--a pint-size version of the Sistine Chapel, if you will.

Art tables will be set up for drop-in workshops held throughout the day, including paper-bag puppet making, mask making and caricature drawing.

Hot dogs, cold drinks and popcorn will be available or bring your own picnic. All the events, including admission to the museum, are free today. The museum is at 301 S. Euclid St., La Habra. Information: (213) 905-9793.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Smokey the Bear, fire trucks, a helicopter and a search-and-rescue team are all part of KidSafe Saturday, today at Nu Med Regional Medical Center, 22141 Roscoe Blvd., Canoga Park. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., children ages 4 to 14 (accompanied by an adult) may learn about safety in a peppy environment of hands-on workshops and talks by experts, including police officers and firefighters. When families arrive, they will receive a map of different safety stations and may decide their own course. A magician will perform “Magic Is Fun; Drugs Are Dumb.” Younger children will be taught how to use 911 in individual role-playing sessions and parents can take home fingerprints and Polaroids of their children. For children ages 10-14, there are CPR and first-aid classes. It’s all free and no reservations are required. Information: (818) 999-6060.

At the Peace Expo today at Cal State Northridge, join family activities designed to familiarize the youngest inhabitants of the planet with ideas about working for world peace and a healthy environment. At 9:30 a.m., art professor Lenore Sorenson will lead elementary school children in a program called “Art in Action--Art as Action.” In a dance workshop at 10:30 a.m., participants are encouraged to “dance away racial repressions.” Mime David Elzey will entertain at 10:30 a.m. Students from CSN’s Dynamics of Early Childhood class will lead kids in a free-play environment, “Tale of Peter Rabbit; Deer in the Forest,” from 9 a.m. to noon. Punky Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye) and teacher Jaime Escalante are expected to make appearances. Peace Expo is free and takes place at the University Student Union, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. Campus parking is $1.50, in quarters. Information: (818) 885-3700.

The sea horse takes center stage at Sunday’s Whale’s Tales program at 1:30 p.m. at the Ralph M. Parsons Discovery Center at the Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. Art educator Neil Keller, dipping liberally into his own extensive sea-horse collection, will tell youngsters about the sea horse’s role in art and mythology, and lead them in a crafts project. The program is included with museum admission, $3 for adults, 75 cents for children 5-12; under 5 free. No reservations are taken so arrive early.