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Photo by Ray Pettengell With help from Phil Fishwick of Medford, Chelsea Dunlap, 7, of Jacksonville uses a potting wheel. Budding creators strut their stuff If you go: What : 1999 Children's Festival, "Quest for Adventure" When : Today and Tuesday Hours : 9 a.m.-noon and 6:30-9 p.m. today; 9 a.m.-noon Tuesday Where : Britt Gardens, Jacksonville Admission : $2 Children's Festival is cool despite heat By DAVID PRESZLER JACKSONVILLE -- Eight-year-old Allison Inscore stared intently at her work-in-progress. Clad in an artist's smock, she surveyed the mural landscape she'd painted, checking to make sure the grass, sun and flowers were just right. She even flicked off a bug that tried to make itself part of the pleasant pastoral scene. "This is just a fun thing to do," said the soon-to-be third-grader at Medford's Lone Pine Elementary. Minutes later, Tanner Vanwey, a 2-year-old from Medford, came along and gave the painting a more, shall we say, abstract, feel. But even as young Tanner's bold streaks of green and purple began to cover the mural, Allison just gave her shoulders the slightest shrug, slipped off her smock and headed for another adventure. The unspoken message was clear: The 33rd annual Children's Festival had too much to offer to spend too much time worrying about any one thing. From face-painting to pottery, the three-day extravaganza at Jacksonville's Britt Gardens began in a flurry Sunday night -- even if soaring temperatures kept attendance down some. More than 8,000 children are expected over the festival's three days. Booths offering activities for all ages -- and staffed with more than 1,000 volunteers -- will dot the gardens until Tuesday. There's the science booth, where kids like 6-year-old Aaron Seal of Medford made "flubber" from, among other things, Elmer's glue. Tanner Vanwey, 2, of Medford concentrates on his masterpiece at the Children's Festival in Jacksonville Sunday. The annual event continues through noon Tuesday at Britt Gardens. Or the carpentry booth, where the uneven banging of hammers produced birdhouses, swords or, in the case of 5-year-old Taylor Williams, just a board with nails in it. "He's just having a good time," said Taylor's mother Toni, who brought her children from Eagle River, Alaska, to visit relatives in the Rogue Valley. But for all the activities -- the face painting, marble painting and mural painting, the carpentry, pottery and stitchery, the candle making, silk screening and storytelling, to name a few more than a few -- two of the biggest draws were the trash cans. Two talking dragon trash cans, named Pebbles and Rosabelle, brought continual delight from children who were actually looking for trash to feed the mythical -- yet sanitary -- beasts. There were real animals, too. And petting them was one of the day's big highlights for 2-year-old Caleb Howell of Medford. It was one of many reasons Steven and Dawn Howell brought their son to the festival, despite the heat. "I used to come when I was a kid," said Steven Howell, who grew up in Medford. "We had a great time." Not only did Sunday's trip stir memories for the young father, it gave him ammunition -- in the way of craft projects -- to build new ones with his son. "You don't always remember how to do all these things so you can do them at home," he said, gesturing at the booths. "But they have it all here." And the Howells hit as many as Caleb could handle. "We got our hands printed and did marble painting," said Dawn Howell, keeping one eye on Caleb as he headed for the playground maze. "And we are waiting on the hand-casting -- it's drying." Not only did the festival generate a steady stream of warm-fuzzies for moms and dads, it brought smiles to faces of volunteers as well. "It's been great, really good," said first-year volunteer Lanea Fox of Jacksonville. She paused to paint a young girl named Amanda's hands -- one red and one blue -- and press them onto to paper. "It's been lots of fun." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA