VENTURA : Daylong Children’s Arts Festival Planned

Art workshops, food and entertainment will highlight Saturday’s 14th annual Children’s International Arts Festival, a daylong celebration of culture and heritage.

Sponsored by the city of Ventura, the event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mission Park, directly across Main Street from the San Buenaventura Mission.

Musical entertainment will range from Japanese drums to Ballet Folclorico Do Brasil. Children are invited to participate in 16 workshops featuring Polish paper cutting, Greek folk dancing, sand painting and the Japanese paper-folding art of origami.

Puppeteers will perform a rendition of “Peter and the Wolf.”

Local artists today will install a festival arch at Mission Park to commemorate the story of Chumash Indians, the first settlers in Ventura County.

To open the celebration tonight, Bobby Matos and the Heritage Ensemble will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. at Ventura Harbor.

The festival culminates an eight-week educational program conducted this spring in Ventura’s elementary schools. Students were given art lessons focusing on indigenous art forms from around the globe.

For information about the festival, call 658-4726.