GOINGS ON : Gathering Marks State’s Innovations in Dance : Performances, workshops and exhibits will salute California’s contributions.

California’s contribution to the world of dance will be celebrated at the American Dance Guild Conference’s annual gathering tonight through Sunday at various locations throughout Santa Barbara.

The opening reception is tonight at the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center, 1118 E. Cabrillo St., near East Beach, 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is free.

There will be panel discussions on topics including “California and the Spirit of Innovation,” “Dance in Education” and “Dance and the Environment”; movement workshops; dance film presentations; an art exhibit, and plenty of dancing.

On Friday, look for the Gold Coast Showcase, featuring the Santa Barbara Dance Theater; the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Theatre; tap-dancer Sam Weber, formerly of the Joffrey and San Francisco ballets; Stephanie Gilliland; the Isaacs, McCaleb & Dancers troupe from San Diego, and Laurie Burnaby. The dance concert will begin at 8 p.m. at UC Santa Barbara’s Hatlen Theatre. Admission is $12 general, $10 students and seniors. Call 564-7295.

The Cormorant Dance Foundation of Santa Barbara will present “Heaven and Hell in Geologic Time,” Sunday, 9 a.m. at Las Positas Friendship Park. The group will be followed at 11 a.m. by the Chumash Dolphin Dancers from the Santa Ynez Indian Reservation. Both dances are free. At 5:15 p.m. the Cormorant dancers will head over to East Beach outside the Cabrillo Pavilion to unveil a new dance. Admission, again, is free.

General admission to the conference--at the Carrillo Recreation Center on Friday, Santa Barbara City College on Saturday and the Cabrillo Pavilion on Sunday--is $40 per day or $115 for the package. Senior and student discounts are available when paying for the full conference. For more information, call 565-1949 or 962-4680.

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Arab, Turkish, Greek, Iranian and other cultures will be represented when the UC Santa Barbara Middle East Ensemble performs music and dance Friday night at the Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall. The 35 musicians, 10 to 12 singers and a dozen dancers will perform classical, folk, religious and pop music, as well as folk and cabaret-style dances. The performance will begin at 8 p.m. General admission is $10. For more information, call 893-3535.

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Visit the world of Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor, beginning Saturday, as the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History turns its Fleischmann Auditorium into a 1910 English garden as described in Beatrix Potter’s classic children’s tales.

Giant vegetables (taller than museum guests), an 11-foot watering can, a potting shed and more garden features will accompany a traveling exhibit examining Potter’s life and work, through letters, prints, photos and a timeline.

Potter’s creations will be on display through Sept. 5. The museum is located at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road. Museum admission is $5 for adults, $4 seniors and children age 13-19, $3 children age 2-12 and free for children younger than 12. For more information, call 682-4711.

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Santa Barbara’s Oak Park will play host to the Irish Festival on Saturday and Sunday, in the next installment of the summer-long Season of Festivals. It will run from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. both days. Call 969-0571 for more information.

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The Santa Barbara Oratorio Chorale, will present the Carl Orff cantata “Carmina Burana,” Saturday and Sunday, as part of its program at the Civic Center Auditorium at Santa Barbara High School. Tickets are $15 general, $12 seniors, students and people with disabilities. Call 683-2460. The school is located at 700 E. Anapamu St.

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Gregory Fried, assistant conductor of the Ventura Symphony, will lead the Santa Barbara Symphony in a Tiny Tots Concert on Saturday morning at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens.

With “The Music of the Dance” as the theme, the program will include Bartok’s “Romanian Dances,” Fall’s “Ritual Fire Dance” and Seymour Barab’s “Lordly Lion.” This latter piece, the story of a flea who teaches a lion humility and kindness, will be acted out by three local students. In addition to the concert, Ana Galindo & Co. will do some flamenco dancing.

The concert is designed for children age 2-12, but the public is invited. Admission is free. The Santa Barbara Courthouse is located at 118 E. Figueroa St. Call 965-6596 for more information.