Dreams Are Theme for Arts Fest : Activities: More than 30 groups will participate in the annual nine-day, countywide Imagination Celebration.

The eighth annual Imagination Celebration of Orange County, an arts festival for children and families, will take place April 24 to May 2 at locations throughout the county.

More than 30 performances are scheduled, including a high school choral festival, an opera performed by GroveShakespeare and a production by South Coast Repertory’s Young Conservatory Players. Also on the bill: the KanKouran West African Dance Co. and the tropical music group Bochinche. Tickets for each event will be $5 or less; many events will be free.

In addition to the performances, the festival will feature exhibitions, workshops and demonstrations at more than 20 sites including parks, civic centers and shopping malls. About 150,000 people are expected to take part in the nine-day event, which will involve more than 30 local arts and educational organizations.

The theme for this year’s festival is “Share the Dream.” Highlights will include:

* A festival at the Koll Anaheim Center and Celebrity Theatre on April 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with performances by the Pacific Symphony and a street fair with art activities, poetry and storytelling.

* The KanKouran West African Dance Co. at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on April 28 at 7 p.m.

* “The Emperor’s New Clothes” performed by SCR’s Young Conservatory Players in Founders Hall at the Performing Arts Center on April 29 and 30 at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.

* Fifteen high school choirs in the center’s Segerstrom Hall on April 30 at 9 a.m.

* “The Geek,” an original opera performed by and for children, presented by GroveShakespeare at the Gem Theatre in Garden Grove on May 1 at 11 a.m.

* “Imaginarium,” a multistage festival in the Performing Arts Center’s back lot May 1 and 2 with workshops and performances by various groups, finishing with the concert by Bochinche.

Information: (714) 556-2787.

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In a related announcement, the George Hoag Family Foundation has awarded $100,000 to expand education and community outreach programs at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Programs that will benefit from the grant include the Imagination Celebration; “Informally Yours,” a series in which performers talk to audiences at various sites about their training and careers; and “Summer at the Center,” a musical theater workshop for “at risk” high school students.

The Hoag foundation, established in 1940, gave $1 million to the center’s building fund.