All day: Festival

East Los Angeles will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Feria de los Nin~os Festival with entertainment, arts and crafts, a 2K run, Xochimilco boat regatta, teen dance garden, children’s carnival, taste of East Los Angeles food festival, tortilla-making contest, juried art exhibition and more.

* Feria de los Nin~os, Hollenbeck Park, 415 S. Saint Louis St., Los Angeles. Saturday-Sunday, noon-9 p.m. Saturday’s 2K fun run begins at 9 a.m. Free admission. (213) 265-5757.

1 pm: Country Music

The George Strait Country Music Festival at Edison International Field in Anaheim wraps up the Southland’s week as the country capital in exile. The high-powered main-stage lineup features Strait, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, John Michael Montgomery, Lee Ann Womack, Lila McCann and Asleep at the Wheel.

* The George Strait Country Music Festival at Edison International Field, 200 S. State College Blvd., Anaheim. $47.50 tickets remain on sale. (714) 663-9000.

All day: Water Park

Not even El Nin~o the storm system can stop El Nin~o--The Ride. Raging Waters’ newest attraction, which takes riders on an inner-tube descent of 75 feet at speeds up to 40 miles per hour, opens Saturday (rain or shine), along with the park’s 25 other aquatically themed thrills.

* El Nin~o--The Ride, Raging Waters, 111 Raging Waters Drive, San Dimas. Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Open Saturdays and Sundays beginning May 2, then daily from June 1 through Sept. 21 and weekends again through Oct. 18. Call for hours. $21.99 for those 48 inches tall and over; $14.99 for guests under 48 inches tall and seniors; children 2 and under are free. (909) 592-6453.

All day: Festival

You’ll meet some of the most colorful characters in Southern California at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. Cheer your knight in a jousting contest, gnaw on a turkey leg and watch as craftsmen and women ply their near-forgotten trades at this 16th century theme park of Old England located less than an hour’s drive from Los Angeles.

* Renaissance Pleasure Faire, nine weekends and Memorial Day beginning Saturday and ending June 21. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Glen Helen Regional Park, at the northern junction of I-15 and I-215 in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, next to Blockbuster Pavilion. $17.50 for adults, $15.50 for seniors, military and students with ID; $7.50 for children ages 5-11; free to children under 5. (800) 52-FAIRE.

7 pm: Dance-A-Thon

Actresses Tichina Arnold, Lisa Nicole Carson, Joely Fisher and Tina and Tamera Mowry will host the 1998 AIDS Dance-A-Thon benefiting AIDS Project Los Angeles at Universal Studios. R&B; performers Total and Robin S will provide the entertainment. Each dancer must raise a minimum of $100 to enter. When they are not dancing, participants may get their thrills free of charge on Universal’s Jurassic Park and Back to the Future rides.

* 1998 AIDS Dance-A-Thon, Universal Studios Hollywood, Hollywood Freeway at Lankershim Boulevard, Universal City. Benefit for AIDS Project Los Angeles, which provides services to HIV/AIDS patients, prevention and treatment education and advocacy on AIDS-related legislation. To register: (213) 466-DANCE.

7:30 pm: Opera

Marking the United States debut of Benoi^t Dugardyn, L.A. Opera unveils its brand-new production of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore,” with principals Carol Vaness, Nina Terentieva, Vladimir Bogachov and Jorma Hynninen. Dugardyn’s sets and the costumes of Martin Pakledinaz are the core of the co-production with the opera companies of Washington, D.C., and Gothenburg, Sweden. Gabriele Ferro conducts; stage director is Stephen Lawless.

* L.A. Opera’s “Il Trovatore” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown. Seven performances, through May 16. $24-$135. (213) 365-3500.

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FREEBIE: Cartoonist Jules Feiffer visits Mrs. Nelson’s Toy & Book Shop, La Verne, 2-4 p.m. (909) 599-4558.