UP THE COAST : A Season of Diversity at UC Santa Barbara : The 1994-1995 schedule includes a Mexico City string quartet, the National Theatre of the Deaf and a Finnish rock star.

UC Santa Barbara’s 1994-1995 Arts and Lectures schedule, as always, is filled with a wide variety of culturally and artistically diverse acts.

The season will kick off Oct. 11 with leading Mexico City string quartet Cuarteto Latinoamericano. On Oct. 18, the National Theatre of the Deaf will present the comedy “An Italian Straw Hat.” And on Oct. 22, Ramya Harishankar and the Arpana Dance Company will perform classical dance and music from India.

Some of the other UCSB performers this season: the Los Angeles-based repertory company A Noise Within, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Ying Quartet, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, Finnish rock star Varttina, the Gyuto Monks Tibetan Tantric Choir and the Margaret Jenkins Dance Co.

UCSB offers a Choose-Your-Own Series ticket plan, available when selecting a minimum of five events. Orders for those tickets, each discounted $2, are available now. Single tickets will go on sale Sept. 29. Call 893-3535.

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Popular jazz saxophone player Dave Koz will be in concert at The Gainey Vineyard in Santa Ynez on Saturday, showing off the talent that has put him atop the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart. Show time is 7:30 p.m., with the gates opening at 5:30 p.m. (for those who would like to picnic on the scenic vineyard grounds prior to the show). Tickets are $25. Call 688-0558. Gainey Vineyard is at 3950 E. Highway 246.

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Botanist Sally Isaacson will lead an evening tour through the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden on Saturday in a “Great Garden Nature Night” event. After dinner, guests will search for nocturnal animals common to the area. Then Astronomer Richard Reed will explain the various lights in the night sky. Admission is $20 per person or $50 for a family. Call 563-2521 to register. The Garden is located at 1212 Mission Canyon Road.

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A free reception will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday for four art/photo exhibits opening in the recently restored East Wing of Santa Barbara’s historic Casa de la Guerra.

Displayed work will include Henry Lenny’s architectural images in oil, water and pencil; Brooks Institute student photos of the Santa Barbara Presidio and the Casa de la Guerra; a compilation of photos from the 1920s and 1990s illustrating “El Paseo, Then and Now,” and photographs of the De la Guerra family.

The exhibits will be up through Oct. 23. Viewing hours are noon to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Casa de la Guerra is located at 17 E. De La Guerra St. Call 965-0093 for more information.

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Santa Barbara’s Parks and Recreation Department’s will wrap up its free Sunday Concert in the Park series this weekend, with a performance by the oldies-but-goodies band Nite Crew 805. The nine-piece ensemble will play rhythm and blues favorites from the 1960s and 1970s. Show time is 3 p.m. at the bandstand in Alameda Park, located at Micheltorena and Anacapa streets. Call 963-0611, Ext. 4530, for more information.

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Jamaican reggae band the “Mystic Revealers” will continue its cross-country tour with a stop at The Underground on Sunday. Local reggae band Lion I’s will open at 9 p.m. Tickets are $9 at the door. All ages are welcome. The Underground is located at 110 Santa Barbara St. Call 965-2231 or 965-5050 for more information.

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The Monotype Guild of Santa Barbara will display artwork from its Second Annual Tri-County Printmaker’s Show and Competition beginning Monday in the Faulkner Gallery at the Santa Barbara Public Library. The collection of prints will be on exhibit through Sept. 30. The library, at 40 E. Anapamu St., is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.