Festival to Offer a Marathon of Pleasures for Children

Youngsters will discover a kaleidoscope of entertainment--music, dance, comedy, storytelling, puppetry and much more--at the “Second Annual International Children’s Festival” at Mission Bay.

Wednesday through Sunday, 12 groups will perform 81 shows on three stages, while strolling minstrels please the ear, face-painters ply their brushes, and a Saturday dance marathon offers festival-goers a chance to shake a leg.

San Diego performers, many of whom are festival veterans, include the event’s artistic director, singer-songwriter Nels Lund, with his “Peanut Butter Cookies Band”; folklorist and musical storyteller Sam Hinton; the Trio Flamenco, with Gypsy dances of Spain, and storytellers Harlynne Geisler and David Novak.

Beverly Speach’s “Bubble Mania” will allow audience members to find out what it’s like to be inside a bubble--a big bubble.

Trekking from Northern California to perform are Diane Ferlatte, with African, Southern and African-American stories, and the nationally known Magical Moonshine musical puppet troupe. Also from the north, Canada’s Al Simmons will be back with his zany “Creative Comedy Galore.”

Three Los Angeles companies making the trip include the Jim Gamble Puppets. Internationally known Gamble--who has appeared at Japan’s World Puppet Festival--designs his colorful marionettes, hand and rod puppets, and has performed with them for more than 35 years. His troupe will present “The Greatest Little Show on Earth,” an upbeat, circus theme show for all ages.

Two first-time Los Angeles participants are Parachute Express and J. P. Nightingale.

Parachute Express, the hot musical trio that has been packing in children age 18 months and up--and their parents--will perform “Bouncin’ to the Beat,” a slick mix of jazz, doo-wop and R&B.;

J. P. Nightingale, veterans of the children’s theater scene, will bring their signature musical story theater geared to preschool to sixth-graders. The multitalented trio--John and Pam Wood and Joe Tripoli--act, sing and play guitar, flute, synthesizers, kazoo and spoons, and maintain a humorous dialogue with their audience.

John, whose offbeat sense of humor always lurks close to the surface, and Pam, who has a gentle, sisterly appeal and a big, melodic voice, have been performing together for 19 years.

They tour Southland schools, host the Hollywood Bowl’s open-house summer program and work hard as the creative force behind an annual, two-day children’s theater festival in Agoura Hills. They’re also parents of 8-year-old Andy.

And, just so they don’t find time on their hands, they teach creative drama to teachers two days a week.

John Wood, 40, estimated they have done about 6,500 shows. He said they keep the performances fresh by “finding wonder in a child’s response . . . looking at faces that are absolutely absorbed in what they’re seeing. They help us give a better performance; it’s like a partnership.”

He also reflected on the value of the group’s comfortable, just-like-old-friends performance.

“Everything is so media-oriented today,” he said. “The pace is so frenetic--quick-cut, quick-edit. So many times you don’t really have to listen--you get the beat, not the words. A live performance allows a child to enjoy the moment, lets them participate, observe and listen.

“We don’t have a lot of messages in our shows,” he added. “Just basics, like the value of the written word, the similarities between people from different backgrounds and self-esteem.

“Three people cooperating and having a good time, that’s really the essence of our show,” Wood said. “It has a comfortable feel that comes out in the way we work together and have for so long.

“It doesn’t matter if anybody comes to see us,” he said. “We’ll still have fun.”

The festival will be held in Mission Bay at Mariner’s Point, on West Mission Bay Drive across from the Bahia Resort Hotel, Wednesday through Sunday, with performances on Wednesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Dance-a-Thon fund-raiser 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.) and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Tickets are $3 per child; $2 for adults, with a $10 maximum per family. Each ticket allows admission to all shows and activities. Refreshments and picnic areas are available. For information, call the festival’s hot line, (619) 234-5002.