GOINGS ON : Lamas on a Cultural and Political Mission : Buddhist monks will present ancient music and dance. The program will also focus on the present social climate in Tibet.

They are trying to spread universal healing and harmony. They are trying to educate the world about the plight of their homeland. They are on a mission.

The 10 monks who will visit UC Santa Barbara’s Campbell Hall on Sunday as part of their worldwide “Sacred Music, Sacred Dance” tour will share ancient Buddhist traditions of spiritual music, song and dance, while bringing attention to the political and social climate in Tibet.

All of the lamas are from the Drepung Loseling Monastery, founded in 1416 near Lhasa, Tibet. The monastery was once home to more than 10,000 monks, but it was shut down in 1959 after the Chinese invasion of Tibet. The monastery was soon reopened in India by 216 monks who survived the invasion.

The monks will perform, or enact, pieces that represent various regions of central Asia. Head lama Gangkar Tulku, through a translator, described a couple of them.

Shey-Chin Dra-Yang (The Song of Wisdom): “A vocal piece typical of monastic multi-phonic singing traditions,” Tulku said. “The sounds of the piece, the melody of the piece, as well as the meaning of the words, point to how, from the time we achieve a human reincarnation up until the levels of highest spiritual perfection, the essence of life is reflected in our cultivation of wisdom.”

Sha-Nak (The Black Hat Dance dating to the mid-17th Century): “The meaning of this is that the root of all delusion within human beings, and therefore of all human suffering, is the syndrome of ego-grasping, which is the belief of the self separate from the universe,” Tulku said. “So the dance is an exorcism of this tendency toward dualism. The dancer catches the ego and then with his mystical dagger punctures its bubble.”

The monks will begin their presentation at 7 p.m. General admission is $18, $15 and $12. Call 893-3535.

Also at UCSB: The internationally acclaimed Los Angeles Guitar Quartet will be in concert Friday at Campbell Hall. The chamber ensemble will perform Luigi Boccherini’s “Introduction and Fandango,” Michael Praetorius’ “Dance Suite,” Ian Krouse’s “Folias,” Leo Brouwer’s “Cuban Landscape with Rain,” Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio Espagnol,” and Sergio Assad’s “Varekena.” The concert will begin at 8 p.m. and ticket prices are $18, $15 and $12.

On Wednesday, the San Francisco Mime Troupe will present “Offshore,” a comic, behind-the-scenes look at free trade on the Pacific Rim. Show time is 8 p.m. General admission is $18, $15 and $12. Call 893-3535.

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There are plenty of pianists with a knack for making audiences laugh, but there are only a handful who do it intentionally. Victor Borge is among the foremost of the latter group. The performer will combine humor and music Friday at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St. The show will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $36, $31 and $26. Call 963-4408.

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Be careful where you step Saturday at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Part of the festivities may be crawling on the floor.

Yes, it’s the museum’s Second Festival of the Arthropods, starring hissing cockroaches, hairy tarantulas, five-inch butterflies and other local and exotic invertebrates. Various collections will be on display, including African beetles the size of potatoes and silkworm moths with six-inch wingspans.

It’s definitely a bug fest. And what would a bug fest be without bug lectures, bug skits and musical acts, not to mention--please, not to mention--bug edibles? The menu includes Chocolate Chirpies (chocolate and cricket-filled cookies), Beetle Bars and sugar-free lollipops with crickets in the middle (Licket Crickets).

The event will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Events are free with admission to the museum, $4 (adults), $3 (teen-agers and seniors) and $2 (children age 2-12). The museum is at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road. Call 682-4711 for more information.

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Elaborate playhouses, created by top area architects and designers, will be up for bid Saturday at the Robinson-May store in Santa Barbara’s La Cumbre Plaza. The ritzy abodes, a castle and mountain chalet among them, were created by members of the Santa Barbara Contractors Assn. to raise money for the Westside and Santa Barbara Boys & Girls Clubs and The Adoption Center. Bids are expected to reach tens of thousands of dollars. Admission to the auction is $30. A buffet dinner and entertainment are included. Call 962-0220 for more information.

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Comedian Sandra Bernhard will take the stage at UCSB’s Campbell Hall on Saturday evening. General admission is $21 for the show beginning at 8 p.m. Call 893-2064 or a Ticketmaster outlet.

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Bob and Irma Eubanks will turn their Santa Ynez ranch into an art gallery Saturday and Sunday, when they host the 35th Peppertree Ranch Art Show. The show and sale will feature more than 50 artists, exhibiting Southwestern and Americana paintings and sculptures. Saturday’s showing is for serious art buyers and collectors. But Sunday, the general public is invited. Admission is $5. The ranch is at 3617 Roblar Ave.

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UCSB’s department of dramatic art will present the Obie Award-winning play “Trouble in Mind” today through Sunday in the university’s Main Theatre. The comedy-drama by playwright Alice Childress became the first play written by an African-American woman to be commercially produced in the United States when it debuted in New York in 1955.

“Trouble in Mind” tells the story of a company of actors rehearsing a “liberal protest” play about a lynching in the South while schoolchildren are being attacked in Little Rock, Ark., and Martin Luther King is speaking up for civil rights in Montgomery, Ala. The African-American cast members are forced to deal with the dilemma of playing stereotyped, demeaning roles while dealing with racism, relationships and identity. Show times are tonight through Sunday at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. General admission is $8.50. Call 893-3535.

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Administrators of Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre will unveil the completed first phase of the facility’s $3-million renovation program with a celebration party Wednesday afternoon. Festivities, beginning at 4:30 p.m., will feature theater tours, hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and music by the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. Admission is free, but reservations are required. Call 962-4310. The Lobero is at 33 E. Canon Perdido St.