GOINGS ON : Weekend Events Will Take Arts Lovers to Broadway and Bach : Chamber music will be played at two locales. Veteran actors will perform in ‘Joan of Arc.’

Welcome Bach.

Santa Barbara’s Bach Camerata will open its inaugural Chamber Music Series on Friday at the Music Academy of the West’s Lehmann Hall. Adrian Spence, the ensemble’s executive director and flutist, will lead the group in Martinu’s “Nonet,” Nielsen’s “Wind Quintet, Opus 43,” and Schubert’s “Trout,” a quintet for piano and strings. The Music Academy of the West is located at 1070 Fairway Road, Montecito.

The program will be repeated Saturday--yes, back-to-back Bach--at Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli St. Both performances will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14 ($5 for children under 14). Call 966-3492.

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Two Broadway veterans will share the spotlight when Penthos Productions of Santa Barbara presents “Joan of Arc” on Friday night at the Trinity Episcopal Church. Pamela Winslow, who starred in the Broadway version of “Meet Me in St. Louis” will play the title role in the local production. Clark Sterling, who originated the role of Joel in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” will co-star. The production will run through March 6. Show times are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $16 ($14 for seniors). Call the Arlington Ticket Agency at 963-4408. The church is located at 1500 State St.

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Some folks travel all the way to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, so don’t complain about driving up to San Luis Obispo for a small-scale version of the festival.

The city will host its 16th Annual Mardi Gras Celebration on Saturday, beginning with a fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. along Garden Street. There will be crafts, entertainment, food and mask- and costume-making booths as well as a gumbo cook-off with local restaurants competing for top honors. At 6:30 p.m., the Mardi Gras parade will make its way downtown. Like its Louisiana counterpart, it will have floats, elaborately costumed marchers and festive music.

The day will wrap up with the “Masque Bal” gala at the Veterans Memorial Building at Grand Avenue and Monterey Street. The $25 admission includes a buffet dinner and blues and zydeco tunes by Sunpie Barnes & the Louisiana Sunspots. For more information call 781-2777 or 541-2183.

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If you’re looking for more music, check out what UC Santa Barbara has to offer in the week ahead.

Six-time Grammy Award-winning gospel group The Mighty Clouds of Joy will perform Saturday at Campbell Hall. The 30-year-old group, which originated when its founding members where high school students in Los Angeles, has played at the Montreaux Jazz Festival and has opened for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones and Marvin Gaye. The group’s album “Pray for Me” earned the Grammy for Best Gospel Album of 1992. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. General admission is $18, $15 and $12. Call 893-3535.

On Wednesday, the Chilean septet, Inti-Illimani, will perform its popular style of “Nuevo Cancion” (New Latin American Music) at Campbell Hall beginning at 8 p.m. The critically acclaimed acoustic ensemble performs music of the Andes on more than 30 instruments. Inti-Illimani’s songs feature socially and politically conscious lyrics, which led to the group’s exile from Chile in 1973. General admission is $20, $17 and $14. Call 893-3535.

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Winners of pow-wow dance competitions across the country will demonstrate traditional Native American dances at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre on Sunday night in a performance by the American Indian Dance Theatre company. The program will include wintertime dances from North American tribes: winter Pueblo Dances from the Hopi and Zuni pueblos, the Red Cedar Bark Ceremony of the Kwakiutl Tribe of British Columbia and an Eastern Woodlands Suite from the Iroquois Confederation and other northeast tribes. Dancing will be accompanied by traditional songs and drumming. The performance will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20, $16 and $12 for adults, $16, $12 and $8 for children. Call 963-0761.

The theater is at 1317 State St.