Keeping Kids in Touch With Arts

The event: Party Round the World at the Bowers Kidseum, a celebration of international food, clothing and crafts--for adults only. The Kidseum Advisory Council staged the multicultural event Saturday at the children’s museum in Santa Ana to raise money for its educational arts programs.

World of fun: More than 200 guests showed up at the Kidseum to, well, act like kids. In keeping with the museum’s hands-on philosophy, party-goers experimented with face and body painting, Tarot card reading and crafts such as Mexican bark painting.

Throughout the night, they visited food stations that served Chinese, Mexican and Native American fare. Many guests wore authentic clothes from around the world, from an Indian sari to a Navajo tunic.

“Most of our major events are a lot more formal,” said Joan McSunas, chairwoman of the Kidseum Advisory Council, who wore an embroidered Mexican dress. “Because this is for the children’s museum, we thought we’d make it fun.”

Please touch: Like the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana, Kidseum offers multicultural exhibits, but here visitors are encouraged to touch and handle the ethnic works. There’s a puppet theater, trunks filled with international clothing, musical instruments and games to play. “This is a museum where we try to give children an art experience,” said Ann Andres, event chairwoman.

Quote: “We live in Santa Ana, the most culturally diverse place on this earth. The Kidseum offers an opportunity to teach children about that and to appreciate the richness of different cultures,” said Mary Jane Schrader, Kidseum supporter.

Faces: Peter Keller, Bowers museum president; Genevieve Barrios Southgate, director of Kidseum; Anne Shih; Jack Schrader; Carl and Peggy Boatwright; Bic and Maryann Lockhart; Larry and Cookie MacNevin; and Jack McSunas.

Bottom line: The event netted about $10,000 for Kidseum. Proceeds will be used to conduct art classes in Orange County schools and to provide scholarships for Santa Ana children to attend summer art camp at the museum.

What’s ahead: An Asian Family Festival will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kidseum, 18th and Main streets, Santa Ana. Children can make a dragon puppet, learn Chinese brush painting or have their faces painted to celebrate the Asian New Year.

Kidseum will be open for President’s Day on Feb. 15. For a schedule of exhibits and events: (714) 480-1520.