Festival ’90 : SETTING THE STAGE : Prayers, a blessing and an exchange of song and dance at the Korean Peace Bell in Angel’s Gate will open the long-awaited event Saturday

The term opening ceremonies will take on an especially literal meaning Saturday when Los Angeles Festival gets under way with spiritual prayers and blessings, incense burning and a “gift exchange” of song and dance between various Native American, Pacific Island, West African and other groups.

“We really want it to be a ceremony ,” said Judy Mitoma, the event’s co-curator. “An opening like this--when you have so many cultures and traditions involved--it’s not something you program, it’s something that really must come from the heart.”

Mitoma continued: “These ceremonies have to do with our need to not only get permission, but also the importance of getting information from the powers-that-be in the world view--to get their assistance, help and blessing. This ‘mark of beginning’ will make sure our festival is done with real care.”

The event begins at 10 a.m. at the Korean Peace Bell at San Pedro’s Point Fermin/Angel’s Gate Park, where Native American spiritual leaders and artists will gather in full traditional dress with members of 17 visiting performing groups for whom worship or ceremony is a traditional part of their art. The Korean Peace Bell--which stands on the former home of Fort MacArthur and was given to the city of Los Angeles by the Korean government in honor of the 1976 Bicentennial--was selected as the site, Mitoma said, because it overlooks the Pacific Ocean, which she called the unifying factor for the entire festival.

Paul Apodaca, a Navajo Indian who is director of Santa Ana’s Bowers Museum, will act as host at the formal ceremony. Along with Native American performers from California’s Gabrielino, Chumash, Cahuilla Bird Singers and Juaneno groups, Apodaca will welcome visitors. An opening prayer will be given by one of the Native American spiritual leaders.

Groups will then take part in a gift exchange in the form of presenting a song, dance or prayer to the others, after which each will contribute to a ceremonial incense burner. Then, after the ringing of the peace bell, the groups will form a procession down the hill to a series of waiting stages.

If all goes as planned, the estimated 45-minute procession will be completed about 12:45 p.m., followed by a series of speeches by officials and dignitaries and 6 hours of performances on seven festival stages throughout the park. *