Summer Splash : It’s Always Fair Weather

Things to do this summer include a variety of fairs, festivals and family activities. The following are some of the bigger events scheduled:

Now Through June 6: The Renaissance Pleasure Faire is not cheap, especially on hot days (the days usually are in Devore). Beers are three bucks a pop, and you’ll want to sample the shepherd’s pie, corn-on-the-cob and an array of sweets. Everything reflects the best and crudest of the Renaissance, so it’s like no other craft-food-games event you’ve been to. Glen Helen Regional Park, Devore, San Bernardino County.

June 5-7: The three-day Time of Your Life Expo is a must-see event for anyone 50 or older. Exhibits, seminars, health screenings, information on everything from travel to home improvement. L.A. Fairplex, Pomona.

* Southern California Cajun & Zydeco Music-Dance-Food Festival, June 5-6. Food and bands from New Orleans, dance and instrument workshops. Rainbow Lagoon, Shoreline Drive, Long Beach.

June 9-13: The annual Marina del Rey In-the-Water Boat Show includes hundreds of exhibitors featuring boats, accessories, nautical clothing and boating services. Burton Chace Park, main channel waterside, Marina del Rey.

* Contemporary Crafts Market, artists’ works from around the country. June 11-13. Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.

June 15: Tanya Tucker is the kick-off entertainer for the Del Mar Fair, San Diego’s county fair (through July 4). Other scheduled performers are Dwight Yoakam, the Four Tops, Kathy Mattea and Jefferson Starship. There are livestock shows, carnival rides and midway, horticulture show and more. The fair ends with Fourth of July fireworks. (Concerts included in fair admission.) Fairgrounds, Del Mar.

June 19-20: The Irish Rovers and Brendan Boyers will entertain at the Grand National Irish Fair and Music Festival, returning to Santa Anita Park Race Track, Arcadia. Features include a medieval village, bagpipers, horse show and numerous stages of Gaelic entertainment and food.

* Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture. June 19. Sponsored by Cultural Affairs Department. L.A. City College, Vermont Avenue.

* The perfect Father’s Day outing, the 29th annual L.A. Roadster Exhibition, Trade Show and Swap Meet. June 19-20. L.A. Fairplex, Pomona.

June 25-27: If you’ve always wanted to learn to play an instrument, here’s your chance: The Summer Solstice Folk Music & Dance Festival will take place around the lake at Soka University, Calabasas.

* “A Taste of Orange County” food and music festival. June 25-27. Irvine Spectrum, Irvine Center Drive, Irvine.

June 26-27: The Gay & Lesbian Pride Celebration is a two-day festival of music, dance, crafts and food with emphasis on services and organizations for gays and lesbians. Gay Pride Parade June 27, down Santa Monica Boulevard beginning at Crescent Heights. Festival: West Hollywood Park, San Vicente and Santa Monica boulevards.

* Mariachi USA Festival. June 26, Hollywood Bowl.

July 8-11: Janie Fricke and the Harry James Orchestra are the headliners at the San Fernando Valley Fair. The community event includes a rodeo, entertainment (from pig races to a petting zoo), home arts, fine arts and horticultural displays, carnival games and rides. L.A. Equestrian Center, Burbank.

July 8-Aug. 29: The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters is an outdoor event featuring exhibits by more than 160 painters, sculptors, jewelers and others; art workshops and junior art displays; demonstrations of silk painting, Japanese pottery; free art tours of the grounds; entertainment. Irvine Bowl Park, Laguna Beach.

July 9-25: The 101st Orange County Fair will salute vegetables and crops with the theme “We’re Having Bushels of Fun.” Agriculture, horticulture and crafts exhibits; carnival midway; entertainment; livestock competitions. Headliners include Merle Haggard. Fairground, Costa Mesa.

July 10-11: The Wilmington Fiesta returns with folkloricos, mariachis, carnival rides, crafts, a car show, international foods and ‘50s-’60s music. Banning Park, Wilmington. (Rides included in admission.)

* Lotus Festival: Celebration of flowers highlight cultural groups from Asia and the Pacific Islands. Cultural demonstrations, art exhibit, food and games. Echo Park Lake, Echo Park.

July 19-20: About 30 restaurants will whip up garlicky cuisine you can taste-test at the annual Garlic Festival. Federal Building, Westwood.

Aug. 7-15: The Japanese-American Nisei Week celebration includes a coronation ball, sports shows and exhibits, a parade through the streets of Little Tokyo (Aug. 8), a carnival and street fair (Aug. 14-15), and Ondo dancing (Aug. 15). Little Tokyo JACC Plaza.

Aug. 21-22: Sunset Junction Street Fair. The 3600-4000 blocks of Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake are closed off for this family carnival. Rides, food & beer, crafts, ethnic dance and entertainment.

Aug. 21-29: The Southern California Home and Garden Show features more than 750 exhibits from pools to pianos; the Kitchen Center, Better Living Theater, Celebrity Lifestyle Rooms; woodworking section; arts and crafts, antiques, games. Anaheim Convention Center.

Sept. 4-6: African Marketplace & Cultural Faire: Arts & crafts, entertainment and food from more than 20 African cultures. Fine arts exhibit; gospel, jazz and rap music, Sengalese drummers and aboriginal dancers. Rancho Cienega Park, Los Angeles. Free.