Youth Artwork Going on Block to Aid Wildlife

Young Thousand Oaks artists will display and sell their work this weekend to raise money for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center.

The event, at the Promenade at Westlake in Thousand Oaks, will feature a silent auction of work by the Young Artists Society, an artists’ reception and presentations Saturday and Sunday. It is sponsored by the Westlake-based art school Young at Art and the Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory, which puts on many of the performances at the Civic Arts Plaza.

The featured work consists of professionally displayed original paintings and drawings by more than 100 young artists. Attendance is free. It is the first fund-raiser for the artists, who range in age from 4 to 16.

Young at Art co-owner Diane Demeter said 6-year-old student Rachel Wood came up with the idea. “She wanted to sell artwork to raise money, and her mother told us about it. It’s a great idea.�

The reception and awards ceremony will take place at 11:15 a.m. Saturday at the shopping center on the Bristol Farms side, shortly after a presentation by the superintendent of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The silent auction and festivities will begin at 11:30 a.m.

“We don’t have a fund-raising goal,� Demeter said. “This is our first time, so whatever we can get is great.�

Musical presentations will include performances by the Aspen All American Kids, the Madrona Senior Chorus, the Redwood Chorus and the Banyan Senior Chorus.

All feature local children from fourth to eighth grades who have performed at Disneyland, Conejo Valley Days and Knott’s Berry Farm.

Young members of the Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory will perform the “Bremen Town Musicians� and an original piece titled “Art Speak� adapted from the writings of young artists.

Other presentations include a hands-on wildlife exhibit by the Raptor Rehabilitation and Release Program at 3 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, and a live animal exhibit by America’s Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

For more information, call Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory at 497-8607.