Commerce as Child’s Play : Youngsters will offer thousands of bargains from their booths at a swap meet they’ll stage Saturday.

Kids looking for used sporting equipment, games and toys should bring Mom and Dad to the Thousand Oaks Community Center on Saturday where, for the seventh year, local youths will stage their own swap meet.

The Kid’s Swap Meet will run from 8 a.m. to noon in the center at 2525 N. Moorpark Road, next to Thousand Oaks High School. More than 100 spaces, artfully decorated by young entrepreneurs ages 6 to 12, will offer thousands of bargains.

“We get people from all over that come and buy stuff,” said Marcel Verdugo, a recreation coordinator for the center. “Kids love to buy other kids’ stuff.”

As in past years, all the vendor spaces sold out quickly at $5 apiece. Each child who rented a space is required to provide his or her own materials for decorating, and during the meet the young sellers must manage their mini-stores and make change. Some sellers even name their booths.

Event organizers said the meet generally draws more than 500 shoppers from throughout the county who are searching for everything from used bicycles to video games to books.

Organizers also said the meet is a good place for teachers and parents to find collectibles.

No food is sold at the event, and none of the items for sale can be new or from an established business. The selection, though, is large, and the items for sale are in good shape, organizers said.

Sellers keep all the proceeds from their booths--not a bad way to save for the coming holidays.

For more information about the swap meet, call the center at 381-2793. Admission is free.

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Children won’t be selling items at this weekend’s Peddlers Fair in Ojai, but dozens of boys and girls will benefit from a donation fair officials make to the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation.

The foundation, a nonprofit organization launched a couple of years ago, pairs kids and adults in the Ojai Valley for educational and recreational activities in order to strengthen community relations, said Caryn Bosson, the executive director.

The foundation currently runs a mentoring program and its staff is planning other projects, including planting an organic garden, building a fitness center and launching a bicycle repair program, Bosson said.

At the fair, which takes place Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Chaparral High School auditorium at 414 E. Ojai Ave., artists, crafters, collectors and antique dealers will sell merchandise at costs far below most stores, said Dody Miller, the fair’s organizer.

“It’s not a judged and juried show, but it’s a very, very nice sale and the items are very modestly priced,” Miller said.

There will be beaded purses and a massive selection of antique jewelry. Holiday crafts, antique ornaments and collectibles such as Pokemon items and Beanie Babies will be available, along with hand-painted furniture and glassware.

The vendors, many of whom are prize-winning artists, come from all over Southern California, Miller said.

“We don’t have a lot of lookers who come to the fair,” she said. “It’s usually people who are serious and interested about finding things.”

There is no admission to the event, which has been hosted monthly for the last 15 years. For more information, call Miller at 646-7808.

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Colorful floats, equestrians, marching bands and antique autos will be just some of the sights during the first Pacific View Community Holiday Parade on Saturday at 10 a.m.

The parade, which is being organized by mall officials in cooperation with the Ventura Elks, will begin at Loma Vista Road and Purdue Avenue and follow a one-mile route to the mall. The 70 entries will travel along Loma Vista Road to Mills Road and then on to Telegraph Road. Trophies will be awarded to winning entries.

The theme of the inaugural event is “Holiday Traditions, Ventura Style.” The grand marshal will be Santa Claus, who will pose for pictures inside the mall daily through Christmas Eve.

For more information, call 642-5530.

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Tip of the Week: The Oxnard Gem and Mineral Society will host its 30th annual gem show, “Rainbow Reflections,” Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Oxnard Community Center, 800 Hobson Way. There will be more than 100 displays, vendor demonstrations, silent auctions, a country store, a book sale and prize drawings. Admission is free. Call 525-5415 for more details.

Ideas for Jaunts can be forwarded to holly.wolcott@latimes.com.