To boost ticket sales in a sluggish economy, the Hidden Valley Community Concert Association has slashed its ticket prices by one-third for its concert this weekend in Escondido by Cody Bryant and the Riders of the Purple Sage. Tickets to the concert at 2 p.m. Sunday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, are just $10 for adults. Children and students can get in for $5.

Subscription sales for the 64-year-old concert association are down this year, and director Dennis Tomlinson of Escondido said he'd like to finish the season with a full house, so he's cut ticket prices on Sunday to draw a sizable crowd.

Hidden Valley offers an annual subscription season of four concerts in the 400-seat Center Theater at the Escondido arts center. A decade ago, the group was able to sell all 400 subscriptions to its season in advance, but in these tough times, Tomlinson said he's been challenged by slow sales and empty seats.

Riders of the Purple Sage are a veteran cowboy music band, performing the songs of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Monte Hall, Bob Wills and many others. Reserve to (760) 740-0619.

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Oceanside's El Camino High School will honor the memory of Marvin Read, who served as a drama teacher and technical director of the school's theater for nearly 30 years. Read passed away after a massive heart attack a few weeks ago.

Sharon Strong, El Camino's current drama teacher, said that Read was a big influence on her career.

"Twenty-three years ago, Marvin assisted me as a struggling student teacher," Strong said. "For the last seven years, after my return to El Camino High School, Marvin served as my mentor. At every final dress rehearsal, Marvin would offer his insights, wisdom, and Band-Aid solutions to actors, crew, and director. Praise didn't come often and was a triumph when offered."

Strong said she has mixed feelings as she prepares to open a production of "The Wiz" without Read's presence at the school next week. To make up for his absence, Strong has prepared a video tribute in his honor that will be presented before the show's opening night performance at 7 p.m. March 27.

The show runs March 27-April 5. Seniors who attend the Sunday matinees will receive a free dessert. El Camino is at 400 Rancho Del Oro Road in Oceanside. Tickets are $7-$10. Call (760) 757-8550, Ext. 3902.

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To expose local musical theater students to professional live theater, the Welk Resort Theatre is offering a "Sponsor a Student" program at performances on Saturday and Sept. 28.

For every regular ticket purchased at one of the two performances, a deserving student from Escondido High School will get to see the show for free and will get a free backstage tour led by the stage manager. Call (760) 749-3448.

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William Stout, the artist behind the epic-sized prehistoric mural series at the San Diego Natural History Museum, will be on hand Saturday at the Balboa Park museum to talk about his artwork and sign copies of his new coffee-table book based on the mural series.

Stout's work with paleo-art began when he created 45 drawings of dinosaurs for a second edition of "Dinosaur Dictionary," written by his friend Donald F. Glut. He then went on to create paleo-art for the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. The late author Michael Crichton acknowledged Stout's art as a major inspiration for his book "Jurassic Park." Stout's murals at the San Diego Natural History Museum depict the seven epochs of fossil history and are a major part of the museum's Fossil Mysteries exhibition.

Stout, who lives in Pasadena, will give a presentation on his murals at noon Saturday, followed by the book signing.

Saturday's program at the museum is part of the first-ever Balboa Park Family Day. More than 20 Balboa Park museums, arts and cultural groups will present family-oriented entertainment, crafts and programming from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Also featured Saturday at the Spanish Village Art Center will be a book signing by Chula Vista author Jennifer Lanzrath and Poway-based illustrator Joy Raab, who co-authored "Balboa Park A to Z," a toddler's ABC picture book about the various attractions at Balboa Park.

And the San Diego Air and Space Museum will have a craft project where children can make kites like those crafted by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. The craft ties in to the museum's special separate-ticket exhibition "The Da Vinci Experience," which features 60 scale models, interactive devices, drawings, books and painting reproductions based on the scientific inventions, models and designs of da Vinci.

Some of the Family Day events will be free, and others are free with paid admission to the various museums. Several museums will offer half-priced admission for part of the day. Even park restaurants are offering half-price menu items. And some venues will offer free gifts with purchase. For a complete schedule of Family Day events, visit www.balboapark.org.

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So you think you can dance? Or sing? Or juggle? The producers of the NBC television show "America's Got Talent" will hold auditions for local hopefuls from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 28 at Valley View Casino in Valley Center. Contestants will be videotaped performing their 90-second audition. All entries are guaranteed to be seen by the show's production team. Those selected will move through to the next round of auditions in Los Angeles (no date is set). Auditions are on a first-come, first-served basis. Contestants must be 21 or older to enter the casino. For rules, visit nbcsandiego.com.

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Cygnet Theatre has announced its 2009-2010 season, which will be focused in its newly renovated Old Town Theatre (the company said last month that it would close its second space, the Rolando theater near San Diego State University in light of current economic conditions). The new season will begin with "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," the edgy musical about a failed transsexual rock singer that Cygnet launched itself with seven years ago. That will be the final production at the Rolando space, running June 3 through Aug. 9.

Next up is Michael Frayn's classic play-within-a-play farce, "Noises Off," running July 2 through Aug. 23 at the Old Town space.

The fall slot will be filled with the San Diego premiere of Tracy Letts' "Man from Nebraska," running Sept. 24 through Nov. 1. This play (by the author of "Bug," "Killer Joe" and "August: Osage County") is the story of a preacher's re-examination of his faith when he wakes up one night and no longer believes in God.

The company will revive its successful holiday play "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play," running Nov. 27-Dec. 27 and featuring actor Tom Andrew in the role of George Bailey (Andrew won a San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award for his Jimmy Stewart-style performance in 2008).

Next will be August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "The Piano Lesson," running Jan. 21-Feb. 28, 2010. Set in Pittsburgh in 1936, it's the story of a poor young black man who tries to persuade his sister to sell an heirloom piano inscribed with the story of the family's rise from slavery.

The season's spring 2010 slot has not been announced, but it's scheduled as a musical.

And the season will close with Noel Coward's "Private Lives," running May 20 through June 27. The witty comedy is the story of a divorced couple who discover they're honeymooning (with their new spouses) in adjoining rooms at a resort hotel. Cygnet's artistic director Sean Murray will co-direct and star in the production.

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Nine artists will exhibit in nine different rooms in the Cedros Design District of Solana Beach this evening in a program called "nineRooms LiveArtInstallation."

From 5 to 9 p.m., the public can walk from room to room and see the artists working or interacting with the public. The exhibit will have installations and performance pieces by MiraCosta College professors Yoshimi Hayashi and Anna O'Cain, San Diego artists Chris Warr, Hollis Swan, Benjalmin Eldworlds, Jessica Gannon, Joshua Bellfy, Justin Morrison and David White. The installations will vary from live interactive performances, artists creating in solitude (visible only through a peephole), and artists documenting their work as part of their performance. Artist David White will offer the most unusual interactive piece, offering free legitimate tax preparation services for anybody who arrives with their required tax documents in hand.

Live music will be provided by The Gift Machine and DJ Nick Gaby.

The program will be presented at 444 S. Cedros Ave. in Solana Beach.

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To celebrate the 15th anniversary of his long-running show "Latinologues," former San Diegan Rick Najera returns to San Diego Repertory Theatre this weekend to perform that show as well as another of his newer plays, "Daddy Diaries."

Najera grew up in San Diego and has frequently performed at the San Diego Rep. So to celebrate the "Latinologues" landmark, he decided to bring it home for a one-night-only performance at 8 p.m. Friday at San Diego's Lyceum Theatre. Najera will appear with five other actors in the show, which comically details the Latino experience in America through a series of character monologues.

At 8 p.m. Saturday, Najera will present one performance of his latest stage comedy "Daddy Diaries," a one-man show based on his fatherhood experiences. This performance of "Daddy Diaries" is billed as the concert version, meaning it is being presented without costumes and props. Tickets to the show range from $15 to $25. The Lyceum Theatre is at 79 Horton Plaza. Call (619) 544-1000.

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The Davis family of Escondido will battle it out against the Bodell family of Highland in an upcoming episode of ABC's "The Family Feud" game show.

The Davis family includes Autumn, a writer and mother of four; her sister Allie, a mother of two; Autum's husband, Michael, a corporate computer systems director; her mother, Lori, a care provider for nine grandchildren; and her grandmother, Marilyn, a psychologist.

"We're a game-playing, game-loving family, and you could say we're a little competitive," Autumn Davis said. "If we win, there's definitely a family reunion in Fiji in our future. But if we don't win, my husband and I will probably just enroll in the Jelly of the Month club."

The episode featuring the Davis family will air at 3 p.m. Wednesday on KGTV Channel 10.

Pam Kragen is the entertainment editor of the North County Times.