Musicians Children

Janet Buster understood that things would never be the same for her son after that night last fall at the Universal Amphitheatre. She and 9-year-old Brody were given backstage passes to a concert by blues great B.B. King, and the two found a spot at the side of the stage, hoping for a chance to say hello to King when the show ended. That's when King saw the boy, raised his hand to stop the concert and directed the spotlight to fall on young Brody.

Janet Buster understood that things would never be the same for her son after that night last fall at the Universal Amphitheatre. She and 9-year-old Brody were given backstage passes to a concert by blues great B.B. King, and the two found a spot at the side of the stage, hoping for a chance to say hello to King when the show ended. That's when King saw the boy, raised his hand to stop the concert and directed the spotlight to fall on young Brody.

"The Journey of Butterfly," a poignant celebration of survival of the human spirit through creativity, is a rare family video. This award-winning documentary, originally seen on public television, centers around a stunning concert performance of composer Charles Davidson's "I Never Saw Another Butterfly," based on writings of children imprisoned in Nazi Germany's "model" ghetto, Terezin, in then Czechoslovakia. Sung with ethereal purity by the American Boychoir of Princeton, N.J.

As much a community project as a performance by the 6-year-old Kayamanan Ng Lahi company, "Lakbay Diwa: Journey of the Spirit" filled the stage of the Luckman Theater at Cal State L.A on Saturday with more than 50 local dancers, musicians, children and guests--all intent on celebrating the centennial of the Philippine revolution with maximum spirit and splendor.

Actress Elinor Donahue will sign her book, "In the Kitchen With Elinor Donahue: Favorite Memories and Recipes From a Life in Hollywood," 3 p.m. Saturday at Bookstar, 12136 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. (818) 505-9528. In addition to recipes, this memoir has 200 photos from Donahue's professional and private life. Donahue first burst upon the national consciousness in the role of daughter Betty on the long-running TV sitcom "Father Knows Best," starring Robert Young.

A splash of color has been added to downtown Long Beach by 12 local artists who have painted boarded-up storefronts with scenes of jazz musicians, children and abstract designs. The project, sponsored by the Downtown Long Beach Associates and the city Redevelopment Agency, has given the 10 vacant storefronts new life as they wait for seismic upgrading and restoration of their facades.

A celebration of American Indian heritage will fill Ojai's Libbey Bowl on Saturday to commemorate the United Nations' declaration of 1993 as the International Year of Indigenous Peoples' Rights. The Second Good Red Day, sponsored by the Rainy Mountain Foundation, offers a lineup of musicians, storytellers, children's performers and other activities. The 2 p.m.

The Fifth Annual Make-A-Wish Foundation Wine-Tasting and Auction includes drink from vintners Clos Du Bois, Stag's Leap, Clos Du Val, Grgich Hills and Veuve Clicquot and food from restaurants Le Colonial, Chaya Brasserie, Citrus, Coco Pazzo and McCormick and Schmick's.

A beaming First Lady Laura Bush opened the first National Book Festival on Saturday by hailing it as an "exciting chapter for American book lovers"--thousands of whom turned out to hear a diverse array of prominent authors discuss and read from their works. The event, the brainchild of Laura Bush, was the first major venture by the first lady promoting her signature cause of literacy. But, as with most things in Washington, political concerns also were part of the mix.

Santa Ana city officials and downtown merchants are at odds over the city's most celebrated event, a September street festival marking Mexican Independence Day that draws 200,000 people. Not only is it city versus merchants, but merchants versus merchants. The result is that Fiesta de las Americas, run for the last 15 years by the Downtown Santa Ana Business Assn., has been renamed Fiestas Patrias California and will be run by the city.

The wooden floor of the gymnasium at Hughes Junior High School vibrated last week with the strains of Beethoven, Mozart and Bizet. On it--divided into two separate sessions--sat about 500 hearing-impaired children who otherwise might not have heard a thing. "The loud music felt like you were driving over a bumpy road and the soft music felt like you were floating on water," declared Stefanie Ellis, 11, speaking in sign language through an interpreter.