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Sand, singing and dancing, kites and fans...

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Sand, singing and dancing, kites and fans will be all over the Puente Hills Mall on Saturday during the center’s Asian Arts Festival.

The sand will be in the form of a 25-ton sculpture of Asian themes and landmarks by Sandscapes artists Brad Goll, Kevin Crawford and Greg Glenn. It will remain on display in the Robinson’s Court, lower level, through the end of the festival on Feb. 13.

The singing and dancing will be performed at 2 and 3 p.m. on the lower-level Broadway Court by the Korean Classical Music and Dance Company.

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The kites and fans will be made by children, ages 2 to 12, on the lower-level Center Court between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. under the direction of Suzie Oh, an educational/cross-cultural consultant.

“I enjoy promoting Korean culture,” said Oh, who was born in South Korea. “I’ve been here (in the United States) 25 years, longer than I’ve been in Korea.”

She says that kites are a big part of the lunar new year’s festivities that are celebrated in South and North Korea, Vietnam and China. Jan. 23 marked the start of this year’s 15-day festival. During that time, Koreans “play many games, and flying kites is one of their favorite things,” Oh said.

The traditional Korean kite is rectangular, with a hole in the middle and made of rice paper and bamboo sticks. But for the mall workshop, the children will use Manila paper, like that used in envelopes, and shish kebab sticks, Oh said. Such kites “are a little bit heavier, but they will fly if you run on a windy day,” she said.

The festival continues for the next two Saturdays, with Chinese arts featured Feb. 6 and Japanese arts Feb. 13.

All events are free and open to the public. Puente Hills Mall is off the Pomona Freeway (60) at Azusa Avenue and Colima Boulevard. Saturday hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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