FOR THE KIDS : Show Sheds Some Light on Holiday Traditions : Production in Newbury Park tells how different festivities are celebrated by different people.

With Santas beckoning from the malls and stenciled all over store windows, try telling kids that the season means more than Christmas to many people.

But that’s the point of “Season of Lights,” a production for children that will be staged Monday night at the Newbury Park branch of the Thousand Oaks Library.

It’s for children 5 years and older. Best of all, it’s free. Two performances are scheduled for 5 and 7 p.m.

The show is an offering from the Los Angeles-based Imagination Company Traveling Children’s Theater. They’ve been around 11 years and have performed at the library and other spots in the county before.

“Season of Lights” is one of many programs the group puts on for schoolchildren during the year. According to the troupe’s director, Tom Provenzano, the idea behind the show is to tune youngsters into the cultural diversity of the United States, especially California.

The show gets its name because the winter months are loaded with celebrations of one sort or another, many of them using candles and bright lights to fight the darkness and cold.

Using three adult actors, the production focuses on four celebrations, using a mix of singing, dancing and storytelling.

For the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, they tell the story of the Maccabees who fought for religious freedom long ago and how that evolved into lighting the candles on the menorah. Christmas is shown in traditional Mexican style, with luminarias and marionettes. Kwanzaa, the African American tradition started in 1966, is presented through a singing game.

The last holiday during the 40-minute show is the Chinese New Year. That arrives, complete with dragon, which the actors use to bring children from the audience into the show.

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Santa is not only at the malls, he’s at the Ventura Harbor. Children can chat with him over breakfast Saturday at Hornblower’s Restaurant. Then they can see “Christmas Under the Sea,” an underwater version of Christmas performed by Stroud’s Puppets.

The kids pancake breakfast from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. is $1.95 and includes treats, a clown show and a treasure hunt. Tickets for the puppet show at 11:30 a.m. are $2. Call 658-2202 for reservations.

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Santa will be chatting with kids in Moorpark too. For the second year, the city is sponsoring home visits by Santa. He’ll be knocking on doors Dec. 17 through Dec. 23. Visiting hours are 5:30 to 9:30 on weekdays, and 8 a.m. to 9:30 on weekends.

The real McCoy may be free, but this one isn’t. This drop-in Santa charges $20 for a 20-minute visit. For information, call the city, 529-6864 Ext. 231.

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If you want a break from all the holiday mania, budding young actors in Thousand Oaks and Santa Paula are presenting productions that put a comical spin on fairy tales.

In Thousand Oaks, the Young Artists Ensemble is doing “Into the Woods,” a mangled version of Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel and others. The musical, which opened Friday, is running on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 17 at the Conejo Valley Adult School, 1025 Old Farm Road, Thousand Oaks.

Tickets are $6.50. For information and show times, call 499-4355.

In Santa Paula, Hundred Hats Youth Theater is taking some comical liberties with “The Princess and the Pea.” It opens Friday and runs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 18.

Tickets are $5. The theater is located at 125 S. 7th St. For show times and information, call 525-4645.

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Here’s something for the artist in your child. Adventures for Kids bookstore in Ventura is holding a Family Art Day Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. Kids can whip up some art projects that have a cultural favor. It’s all under the direction of Ventura and Oxnard college students studying early childhood development. Girl Scouts also will be on hand for storytelling. The event runs until 2 p.m., and it’s free.

Details

* WHAT: “Season of Lights.”

* WHEN: Monday, 5 and 7 p.m.

* WHERE: Newbury Park branch of the Thousand Oaks Library, 2331 Borchard Road, Newbury Park.

* CALL: 496-6282