On Pace With Fashion

If you’re a creative junior high or high school student in the greater Los Angeles area, you may want to turn those artistic talents to this worthy cause: the Second Annual Terry Fox Run T-Shirt Design Contest.

The winning design will be worn by participants in the John Wayne Cancer Institute’s Terry Fox Run, which will be held Nov. 9 at the West Los Angeles Veterans Center. Prizes for T-shirt design winners include Niketown gift certificates from $50 to $500 and public recognition at the run.

Perseverance, hope and determination are the themes competitors should represent in their T-shirt designs; the colors are to be red, white and blue; and the design (which should be done on paper) needs to measure 11-by-8 1/2 inches. The first-prize winner will receive a $500 gift certificate from Niketown; first, second and third runners-up will receive $100, $75 and $50 gift certificates, respectively.

“The Terry Fox Run is a 5K, a 10K and a ‘Children’s Fun Run,’ ” said Sandy Cohen, co-chair of the event, which is co-hosted by the Regent Beverly Wilshire and Four Seasons hotels in Los Angeles. “It’s named after a young man, who at 18 years old, in 1981, had his leg amputated due to bone cancer and then started a Marathon of Hope run through Canada to raise awareness about cancer.”

Fox’s accomplishment of “about 20 miles a day,” Cohen said, attracted the attention of Isador Sharp, the chairman and founder of the Four Seasons Corp., who had lost a son to the same disease two years earlier.

Sharp helped Fox attract media attention for his cause, including arranging for major sports figures to meet with the young Canadian in cities along his route. When Fox died of a recurrence of his cancer after accomplishing more than half his goal of running 5,000 miles across Canada, Sharp “made a vow to continue his fight by instructing all the Four Seasons Regent hotels [in North America] to have a Terry Fox run,” Cohen said, “and wherever the race is run, the money that’s raised goes directly to a cancer research facility in that city.” In this case, the John Wayne Cancer Institute is the designated recipient.

Last year, 3,000 people participated in the event, which raised $180,000 for the institute.

In addition to the run, the event is a full day of free family activities, Cohen said. “We are having all kinds of things for children--a festival with face painting, children’s races, a petting zoo and all kinds of attractions.”

There will also be celebrity appearances, music, refreshments and expo booths.

The winning T-shirt design will be judged by Neil Hoffman, the president of the Otis College of Art and Design, and his committee, Cohen said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the young people of the greater Los Angeles area to be involved and to show artistic abilities and have people pay attention, because the winning design is going to end up on the front of 5,000 T-shirts.”

* The deadline for all entries is July 14. Entries, which will be judged by the Otis College of Art & Design, should be sent to Dianne Thompson, John Wayne Cancer Institute, 2200 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90404. Information: (310) 582-7073.

Antsy Antics: A new take on the Aesop fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” at the Chi! Center for the Arts in Santa Monica, is a good idea that hasn’t yet jelled into a good play for young children.

The characters--the hard-working ant and carefree grasshopper, a caterpillar who eventually becomes a butterfly, a boy ladybug with a fear of flying, a lurking spider and a haughty queen ant--are promising. But a lackluster script, directed by R.G. Cantalupo, delivers static blocks of dialogue--or monologue, as in the case of the Grasshopper (Deborah McGee)--and the adult actors don’t perform with enough assurance or dynamism to give the characters the life they might otherwise have.

Ian Jung, as Ant, comes closest to understanding the rhythms and clarity required to make his character interesting. His fast-paced fussiness is nicely rendered and could be quite comical if played against contrasting performances as well defined.

Paul Maletich’s leaf-strewn set design and Paul Hinojosa’s costumes are fine; taped classical music doesn’t enhance the action.

* “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” Chi! Center for the Arts, 1714 19th St., Santa Monica, Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. through July 27. $5 in advance, $7 at the door. (310) 453-5553. Running time: 1 hour.

Music to Your Ears: The award-winning, 61-member Concert Choir of the Los Angeles Children’s Choir will present a free concert featuring great choral works from around the world, at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Madison Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, July 7 at 7:30 p.m. Information: (626) 793-4231.