GOINGS ON SANTA BARBARA : On the Face of It : All the folk tales enacted by the expressive puppeteers Michael and Valerie Nelson feature animals.

Michael and Valerie Nelson know they’re breaking some hard-and-fast rules of puppeteering when they move their facial muscles--but hey, puppets have feelings too.

“Our faces express the emotions the puppets are feeling because they don’t have the capability that humans have to show emotions. We get some criticism from the puppet community, but I’ve never had an audience complain,” Michael Nelson said.

Local audience members will have a chance to judge for themselves when the Nelsons bring their Magical Moonshine Puppet Theatre to Santa Barbara for four shows next week. The Magical Moonshine cast consists of the Nelsons, their 6 1/2-year-old son Benjamin, on occasion, and between 12 and 18 puppets, ranging from three to seven feet in height.

The theme for the upcoming shows is “Animal Folktales of the Americas,” featuring traditional animal stories from North, South and Central America, with musical accompaniment. Most of the stories are humorous and many are performed in voice and character appropriate to the story’s time and place of origin. All of the stories center around animals.

“Animals are an area where puppets have a very strong suit,” Michael Nelson said. “A puppet can portray an animal better than a human can.”

Though the puppeteers wear black and work in front of a black cloth, their faces can be seen. Audiences will get an opportunity to see how closely Michael Nelson--with a full beard and long hair--resembles the late master puppeteer Jim Henson. In fact, Michael Nelson studied with Henson in France four years ago and some of the local folk confused the two.

“Everybody (in the community) knew he was going to be there and the people would see an American with a beard. . . . I was constantly being recognized as him.”

The Magical Moonshine Puppet Theater will perform Tuesday at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History at 1 p.m. and at the Farmer’s Market at 5 p.m. On Wednesday, shows will be performed at the Santa Barbara Public Library at 11 a.m. and at the Goleta Public Library at 3 p.m. Admission to all of the shows is free. For more information, call 682-4711.

A series of aerial photos of the Channel Islands, taken by Santa Barbara resident William Dewey will be on display at the Sea Center Gallery in Santa Barbara beginning today. The exhibit, “Island Light,” is a prelude to Channel Islands Awareness Day at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History this Saturday. Businesses, environmental and recreational organizations, and educational groups will be on hand to discuss the goings-on off the coast. The Sea Center Gallery is located at 211 Stearns Wharf. The Museum is at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road.

Here’s your chance to get to know David Prochaska and his family. Who’s David Prochaska? He’s the artist whose oil paintings will be on display at the Contemporary Arts Forum beginning Friday. His show, “Acceptance,” features nine portraits of people close to him, including himself and his parents. Prochaska was born in Guam and now lives in Shell Beach. He is working on a master’s degree in fine arts at UC Santa Barbara. CAF is located at 653 Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara.