The Arboretum GATEways Project is still in its infancy, but this weekend brings a preview of the great things to come.

“We invite the community to experience the arboretum as a true gateway to the riches of UC Davis, including the arts, humanities and the sciences,” said Kathleen Socolofsky, the arboretum’s director.

For the preview event, Saturday, Oct. 23, the emphasis is on the arts — music, theatre, dance, painting, poetry and film — at the first Arboretum GATEways Arts Festival. It is free and open to the public — and will go on rain or shine.

“We are bringing the creative talent and work of UC Davis students and faculty out of the buildings and into the public-friendly arboretum,” Socolofsky said.

Campus officials see the arboretum as a welcome mat where three GATEways would be developed:

• City Arts GATEway — Closest to downtown Davis, where the arboretum meanders amid the art and music buildings, Main Theatre, and the Wyatt Deck and Wyatt Pavilion Theatre.

• University GATEway — Stretching roughly between Mrak Hall and Putah Creek Lodge Road. Within this gateway, the university has already starting developing a geology garden next to the new Physical and Earth Sciences Building.

• Arboretum Discovery GATEway — The arboretum’s westernmost section, where planners envision the Arboretum Discovery Center and the GATEways Learning Institute. They would be built along Old Davis Road just off Interstate 80.

“GATEways stands for Gardens, Arts and The Environment, which means that the arboretum gardens can serve as a showcase for the artistic and scientific work of UC Davis,” said Carmia Feldman, the arboretum’s associate director.

“The arboretum is working with partners across the university to create more interaction between the academic enterprise and the public,” she said. “This is already happening through student research projects, art installations and performances.”

This weekend’s festival shows the possibilities.

For example, students of Robin Hill, associate professor of art, will be working with a visiting artist, Minoosh Zomorodinia, on an environmental art installation. The work is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the north shore of Lake Spafford along the arboretum waterway.

And, from 3 to 5 p.m., students of Hearne Pardee, another associate professor of art, will be practicing plein air painting — with the art installation as their subject.

At least this is the plan. In the event of rain, the plein air painting may be called off. But the art installation is likely to go on, depending on how heavy the rain is.

The festival’s afternoon schedule includes performances on the Wyatt Deck, just to the west of the arboretum’s redwood grove, or in the University Club in the event of rain. The club is just a short walk from the Wyatt Deck, on the other side of Old Davis Road.

The Dance Studio inside the club is the venue for student films from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. — a screening of selections from the UC Davis Film Festival of 2010.

The Wonderers photography exhibition is another festival attraction. You can see it at the Nelson Gallery, just a hop, skip and a jump from Lake Spafford. Read more about this exhibition.

Here is the revised performance schedule:

• Gamelan Ensemble — Music lecturer Ed Garcia, assisted by Henry Spiller, associate professor, leads this traditional Sundanese ensemble. It will accompany dancer Ben Arcangel as he portrays multiple characters (using a mask) of Javanese mythology. Noon.

• Samba School — Music lecturer Chris Froh (percussion) leads this traditional Brazilian "school" in which students play traditional instruments, such as the tambourim (a very small, handheld drum), caixa (similar to a snare drum) and surdo (similar to a bass drum). The school plays multiple styles, such as the enredo, in which the musicians accompany a singer. 12:30 p.m.

• Tilly No-Body: Catastrophes of Love — Excerpts from this show that opened Oct. 14 and runs through Oct. 24, a production of the Sideshow Physical Theatre Company in collaboration with the Department of Theatre and Dance. 1 p.m. Read more about the production.

• Chamber music — Cello students Olivia Glass and Stephen Hudson, performing a baroque sonata by J.B. de Boismortier; Alexandra Engen, solo flute, Partita in A Minor by J.S. Bach; and Hudson, excerpts from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor. 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.

• Me Generation — Solo performance art, devised and performed by John Zibell, who is studying for a Master of Fine Arts degree. Me Generation premiered recently at the Pow! Pow! Pow! Festival in San Francisco. 2 p.m.

• Original student choreography and music — Choreography and dance by students of Professor David Grenke, and music by graduate student Ching-Yi Wang. 2:30 p.m.

• Monologues — Arboretum-inspired works by students of Granada Artist-in-Residence Lucy Gough. 3 p.m.

• DeNNiS SOmeRA — Sound poet, presenting excerpts from some of his works. 4 p.m.

On the Web

More at the arboretum.

Arboretum (for a map and directions, click on “Plan Your Visit”)

Arboretum GATEways Project

Earlier coverage: “Campus ‘gateway’ to swing open: Arboretum, arts and environment are key themes behind new entry” (April 12, 2007)