GOINGS ON : Ex-Olympic Gymnast Stars in ‘South Pacific’ : Production features Cathy Rigby. Other offerings include music and dance programs representative of the Mideast and Polynesia.

Cathy Rigby, the Olympic gymnast turned Broadway actress, is starring in the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera production of “South Pacific,” which runs through July 2 at the Granada Theatre.

This is the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that introduced the songs “Younger Than Springtime,” “I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair,” “Some Enchanted Evening” and “Bali Ha’i.”

General admission is $24.50 to $32.50. Performances are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 7 p.m. Sundays. Matinees are 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with an additional 3 p.m. show next Wednesday. Call 966-2324. The Granada is at 1216 State St.

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UC Santa Barbara’s Middle East Ensemble will present a variety of Armenian, Persian, Turkish and Arabian music and dance styles on Friday at the Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall. General admission is $10. Call 893-3535.

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Santa Barbara’s Punahele O’Polynesia troupe will present the dance, music and drumming of the South Pacific from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at UCSB’s Corwin Pavilion. The presentation is part of a benefit for the Santa Barbara elementary and secondary school districts. There will also be an appetizer buffet and live and silent auctions. Tickets are $45 ($25 tax deductible). Call 963-4331, Ext. 206.

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The 1995 series of cultural festivals at Santa Barbara’s Oak Park will continue with an Irish Festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. Oak Park is at Alamar and Junipero streets. Call 564-5419 for more information.

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Judy Lewis, the daughter of Clark Gable and Loretta Young, will discuss her Hollywood insider book “Uncommon Knowledge,” on Monday at the San Ysidro Literary Club luncheon at the San Ysidro Ranch.

Though Lewis was unaware of it until she was an adult, she grew up as a focal point of Hollywood gossip. Young gave birth to Lewis after having an affair with Gable in 1935. She put Lewis up for adoption at birth, only to adopt the girl herself two years later. As a child, Lewis was unaware that Gable was her father and that Young was her birth mother.

The program will begin at noon. Admission is $45, which includes lunch and a copy of the book. Call (800) 368-6788. The Ranch is at 900 San Ysidro Lane.

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The Santa Barbara Oratorio Chorale will present the California premiere of “Canto General” on Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. Constance St. The piece combines the writing of Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda and the music of Mikis Theodorakis, composer of “Zorba the Greek.” Neruda has written about the creation of the world. The performance will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 (general), $12 (seniors, students, and the disabled). Call 967-8287.