Fund-Raiser Set to Develop Arts Council

Local art organizations and artists in all media will take part in the Calabasas Arts and Crafts Festival on Saturday.

The first-ever event will raise money to develop an arts council in Calabasas. It will feature art activities for children and offer an opportunity for more than 100 Southern California artists to showcase and sell their work, said Dan Huncke, faculty manager at the Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center.

“So far, preparations for the festival have gone real smoothly and it has been well supported by the community. They have done a great job getting the word out to make this event successful,” said Huncke, who expects between 500 and 1,000 visitors. “We anticipate having an event every year.”

A highlight of the festival will be an auction of an original limited edition lithography by artist Alexandra Nechita titled “Earth Is a Planet With One Peace Missing,” Huncke said. The auction is scheduled for 1 p.m.

A three-hour acting workshop for children will be conducted by a member of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, a Topanga Canyon-based ensemble troupe, Huncke said.

Representatives of Tarzana’s Monart School of the Arts will also be on hand to help children create gingerbread houses, and artists from the Clay Cafe, an art studio in Calabasas, will assist children with hands-on pottery activities, he said.

“We see the arts as a way of bringing the people in the community together,” said Calabasas resident Tracy Arnold, a festival volunteer. “The arts serve to cross over cultural, generational and ethnic lines and allow the community to acknowledge and appreciate our differences.”

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Park Sorrento and Park Centre in Calabasas. For more information, contact the Tennis and Swim Center at (818) 222-2782.