What makes this festival very special? Creativity.

WE’VE come a long way since the days when disabled children were separated from their peers and shunted off to special schools. Now inclusiveness is the name of the game, with many LAUSD classrooms harmoniously integrating disabled youngsters with their classmates for a more positive and expansive approach to education.

The Music Center’s 29th Annual Very Special Arts Festival highlights this diversity, bringing together more than 5,000 disabled and non-disabled L.A. County kids -- from preschool through high school -- for a celebration of the artistic achievements of its talented students.

“It’s a very moving experience,” says Mark Slavkin, the Center’s vice president of education. “Many of these kids face enormous obstacles in their lives and it’s incredibly rewarding to see them with huge smiles on their faces because they’ve just performed or watched others perform.”

The festival, a partnership among the Music Center, LAUSD and the L.A. County Office of Education, features more than 50 performances on two stages, plus art exhibits and workshops. 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wed. 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A. Free. (213) 972-3305; www.musiccenter.org

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-- Jason.Gelt@latimes.com