A month of inspiration

They’re fun, they’re family-friendly, and many are free.

The theme for this year’s countywide Imagination Celebration is “Spark Your Imagination!” The monthlong celebration begins Saturday, and includes free and low-cost entertainment and education options for kids and their families put on by Arts Orange County and the county Department of Education.

Below are several of the local events that will be going on this month.

Digital Diversions

At Family Day at the Beall Center of the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, families can enjoy free, hands-on art and science activities for all ages. Participants will learn about light and vision, check out 3-D modeling and laser cutting, design a new digital species and enjoy an art exhibit by Shih Chieh Huang, “EX-I-09,” that combines recycled materials and stripped electronic parts. For more information, visit uci.edu.

Symphonic Selections

The Pacific Symphony presents family concerts featuring popular selections by Leonard Bernstein, including music from “West Side Story” and “Our Town,” at 10 and 11:30 a.m. Saturday. There will be a musical carnival in the hour before each concert. Tickets are $18 to $35. The symphony presents the final season performance by its three Youth Ensembles at 4 p.m. May 17. Tickets are $20 for adults and $16 for children and students. Both programs will be in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. For more information, visit pacificsymphony.org.

Dancing Divas

Jennifer Backhaus and her company, Backhausdance, take kids on a behind-the-scenes peek at the world of dance at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. Youth will see examples of different kinds of dance, and learn about how dancers train and audition, then selected kids will come onstage to learn a new dance. Admission is $8. For more information, visit backhausdance.org.

Theatre Antics

South Coast Repertory will hold a free Kids Open House from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Kids 8 and older will turn the repertory’s education studios and take mini acting workshops and enjoy theatre games. For more information, visit scr.org.

Puppets and Stories

New York’s Das Puppenspiel Puppet Theater brings its newest production, Beyond the Bean Stalk (The Jack Tales), to the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, from May 1 to 3. Tickets are $22. For more information, visit ocpac.org.

The Newport Beach Public Library, 1000 Avocado Ave., will host a free Handmade Puppet Dreams for Families film screening and an interactive puppet workshop with Alan Cook from 1:30 to 4 p.m. April 26. The day begins with puppet film shorts from ages 2 and older, and is followed by a live puppeteer who will present an introductory workshop on shadow puppetry. For more information, visit newport-beach.ca.us/nbpl.

The Mesa Verde Branch Library, 2969 Mesa Verde Drive, Costa Mesa, will present puppeteers and storytellers Bob Pruit and Linda King Pruit, who will use puppets and sound instruments to help folk tales come alive in a free show at 3:30 p.m. April 23. For more information, visit ocpl.org.

The Costa Mess Donald Dungan Branch Library, 1855 Park Ave., presents Stories to Light Our Lives at 7 p.m. May 6. Storyteller Jim Cogan gives kids a free interactive storytelling experience that includes active listening, call and response, prediction, rhythm, rhyme and mime. For more information, visit ocpl.org.

Be sure to check out the free Fabulous Fables and Fairy Tales program from noon to 3 p.m. May 17 at the Newport Beach Public Library, 1000 Avocado Ave. The program begins with a Pacific Symphony brass quartet performing music based on fairy tales in the Friends Room from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Then children can listen to storyteller Rebecca Martin of Dream Shapers tell Russian folk tales, and draw firebirds in the bamboo courtyard with recycled sparkly materials, along with other activities. For more information, visit newport-beach.ca.us/nbpl.

Film Fun

The Newport Beach Film Festival has several programs planned for young audiences, including the Family Film Series on April 25 and 26, which showcases a series of films for all ages from around the world. Tickets are $5 to $12.

The Nickelodeon Family Fun Day begins at 10 a.m. April 25 with the Nick Jr. Animation Showcase, featuring advance screenings of new episodes of shows like Dora the Explorer and Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. Afterward, artists from Ni Hao, Kai-Lan will teach kids to draw characters. Then at noon, kids ages 5 and older can participate in the Spongebob Squarepants 10th anniversary celebration with special screenings and a character drawing session. Tickets are $5.

All shows will be at the Edwards Island Cinemas, 999 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. For more information, visit (949) 253-2880 or newportbeachfilmfest.com.

May Day

The Waldorf School of Orange County, 2350 Canyon Drive, Costa Mesa, presents an old-fashioned May Faire beginning at 10 a.m. May 2. Kids will perform maypole dances until 11:30 a.m., when attendees can partake in crafts, create floral hair garlands, learn folk dancing, and enjoy food and wares from local merchants. For more information, visit waldorfschool.com.

Floral Fantasy

The Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach, presents a special free family day to enjoy their new exhibition, “Illumination: The Paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe, Agnes Pelton, Agnes Martin, and Florence Miller Pierce,” from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 10. The day will feature live entertainment and free guided tours. For more information, visit ocma.net.

Power of the Pen

The Orange County Department of Education’s Young Authors Faire will be from 9 a.m. to noon May 16 at the department headquarters, 200 Kalmus Drive, Costa Mesa. The free annual event showcases original student writing. For more information, visit ocde.k12.ca.us.

Reporter CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (714) 966-4631 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.