Family festival is slated for Getty Villa this weekend

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sat., May 20, the inaugural Family Festival at the Getty Villa will celebrate the arts and cultures of the ancient world with music, storytelling, artmaking and more.

Admission is free. Advance, timed tickets are required. Tickets are currently available by calling (310) 440-7300.

The Getty Villa is at 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy., Pacific Palisades. Entertainment will be on the landscaped grounds or in the auditorium.

Damian Draghici will perform Mediterranean music on the panpipes. Accompanied by violin, guitar, and percussion, he brings one of the ancient world's most popular instruments to life.

Roberto Catalano and Enzo Fina perform music from southern Italy's oral tradition with an emphasis on songs created by untrained Italian musicians.

Guests will see and hear native Italian instruments including the tamburello (a frame drum), the chitarra battente (a 10-string guitar of Renaissance design), and benas (Sardinian single and double-cane clarinets).

"The Whole Life of Hercules" chronicles the life, the death, and all 12 labors of the greatest hero in Greek mythology. Performed in a fun-filled, improvisational style by We Tell Stories, a multi-ethnic touring children's theater company, "Hercules" features gods and goddesses, legendary monsters, and audience participation.

Take a humorous look at some of the more bizarre creatures of Greek mythology as storyteller David Prather raps the 12 labors of Hercules. Prather has been entertaining young audiences in Los Angeles for two decades as host of "Summer Sounds" at the Hollywood Bowl and as an actor and storyteller for the Music Center and the Central Library.

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum's Living History Program presents Homer, the blind poet-author of the great epic adventure "The Odyssey." Meet Homer in the garden and hear firsthand about his adventures as the greatest bard of the ancient world.

In ancient Greece, Olympic champions and other victors were crowned with wreaths of olive and laurel. Children can become champions themselves when they make their own wreath. Or, children may create a greeting card that explores the shape, form, and design of ancient vases at the Villa.

Children can become Zeus, Athena or Dionysus by creating and wearing their own theater mask depicting one of these famous characters of Greek mythology.