thursday 6|6 Horse Bill

66th MONTEREY NATIONAL HORSE SHOW All right, so it''s not really a "national" horse show. It''s the horse show for the Monterey County Fair, it''s just gotten too big for the fair''s britches. This weekend event features the astounding wealth of horse breeds and equestrian arts that Monterey County has to offer. One day Dutch Warmbloods and Hanoverians are bounding over high jumps in the Gambler''s Choice Jumping event (in which big jumps=big money), and the next day Quarter Horses and Appaloosas are cutting cattle with catlike agility. A few highlights are Friday''s All-Around Cowboy and Cowgirl contest for the 6- to 10-year-old set (4pm), Friday evening''s Gambler''s Choice, Saturday evening''s High Jump, Native Costume Show and Cowhide Races (in which galloping horses pull competitors riding pieces of leather-like waterskis) and Sunday''s all-day cattle-roping event.

9am-10pm Thursday-Sunday. Monterey County Fairgrounds, Monterey. Free. 769-9255.

friday 6|7

Story Time

RAMAYANA Any legend that''s lasted 2,600 years has to have a compelling storyline, and the Ramayana certainly claims that. The classic Indian tale of good versus evil, it tells the fantastic story of Prince Ram, who is banished to the forest and must make his way back to the castle to rescue his beautiful wife Sita from the wicked King Ravana. Good ingredients to begin with, but the spices-a forest, giants, wizards, monkeys, a demon and even a magical golden deer-make it tasty even for the tykes. This mega-production by Mount Madonna School (the cast members number 180 and range from age 4 to 18) is an annual event that''s now in its 23rd year. You might even call it a legend in its own time.

7:30pm Friday and Saturday, 2pm Sunday. CSUMB World Theater, Sixth St, Seaside. $26/$21/$16. 582-4580.

Nudes On View

PG ART CENTER Bellydancing, live music and an overflowing buffet table are on tap when the PG Art Center unveils its June exhibit this evening. Monterey photographer Robert Elllis takes center stage in the main gallery with 40 nudes from his series "Figuratively Speaking." Look for intriguing juxtapositions of natural and human-made objects highlighting the curves of the human form. Lovely stuff. Recent acrylics by David Fleming, gold creations by the Monterey Bay Metal Arts Guild and watercolors by Bradley Hawn round out the show. PGAC openings are always wall-to-wall people, which is good and bad. The artists are there, even if it''s hard to see the art, and there''s plenty of food (free) and wine (not free) to enhance the experience.

7-9pm. PG Art Center, 568 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove. 375-2208.

saturday 6|8

Water Music

JAZZ AT THE AQUARIUM The Jellies: Living Art exhibit was justly praised for its use of music to "accompany" the action in the tanks, but the Jazz at the Aquarium series, now in its tenth year, is even cooler. This year''s event offers a particularly interesting match-up between fish and player in headliner Bobby Hutcherson, whose mastery of the vibraphone brings out the liquid psychedelia inherent in the instrument, whether he''s exploring musical realms or playing classic bop. Also appearing in this concert (a fundraiser for education programs at the Aquarium and Santa Cruz''s Kuumbwa Jazz Center) are Modern Gypsies, pianist Weber Iago, chanteuse Claudia Villela, and three more acts.

8pm. Monterey Bay Aquarium, 886 Cannery Row. $50/members; $70 non-members. For tickets: (866) 468-3399.

John and More John

STEINBECK''S ROOTS IN THE WEST The National Steinbeck Center continues its hoo-hah celebration of John''s 100th with a three-hour look at how the Old West influenced Steinbeck''s writing. Local historian Gary Breschini gives a slide presentation on the history of the Salinas Valley, with a focus on how Old Town Salinas figures in Steinbeck''s novels. Then Gerald Haslam, author of Coming of Age in California, and UC Davis English professor Jack Hicks, co-author of The Literature of California anthology, share the stage with cowboy poetry and music by Cowboy Jack and the Amigos, while Western Stage actors try to get a word in edgeways with dramatic readings of popular Steinbeck works.

1-4Pm. National Steinbeck Center, One Main St, Salinas. $10/$5 members, includes museum admission. 796-3833.

I Am Not an Animal

ELEPHANTIASIS Look Ma, no makeup! PacRep artistic director Stephen Moorer recreates the role of Victorian England''s John Merrick, a seriously deformed man "rescued" from a freak show and turned into a model citizen in The Elephant Man. In 1988, Moorer portrayed Merrick''s anguish through face and body contortions alone, and he''s doing it again in this revival. See story p. 27.

7:30 pm tonight, 7pm tomorrow. Golden Bough Playhouse, Monteverde between 8th and 9th, Carmel. $22-$30. 622-0100.

sunday 6|9

Track Stars

SHELL 300 For serious fans who travel the globe to witness CART-series races, the featured race of this weekend''s Bridgestone Grand Prix of Monterey will be about whether Team Rahal will continue to dominate at Laguna Seca. (Back when he was a driver, Bobby Rahal ruled the track since he first won here in 1984, and his team driver Max Papin staged a come-from-behind surprise victory last year). For locals seeking some fast fun, this weekend''s event offers the aesthetic pleasures of 800-horsepower technological wonders pushing 180 mph on the straightaway and throttling down to drop through The Corkscrew. The biggest names in motorsports-Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Dario Franchitti and Adrian Fernandez will be on hand.

Shell 300,1:30pm; Mazdaspeed Cup Race 4:45pm. $40 general admission; $15 grandstand. Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway, Highway 68. For tickets or weekend schedule call 648-5100. or go to www.laguna-seca.com.

Squeeze Me

JASON WEBLEY This accordian-wielding madman makes his living on the streets of Seattle and at summer music fairs, sometimes wearing a gruesome mask, often surrounded by paper mache vegetables, always singing in a very loud rasp. Okay, it''s a bit of a gimmick. But it is accompanied by real musicianship, real emotion and real poetry, and has attracted critical praise from his hometown scribes-the Seattle Times says "his sandpaper baritone swells with desolation and intoxicated goofiness." Once again, this show is a seemingly perfect fit for a wild afternoon on the lawn in front of the Henry Miller.

3pm. $5-$10 sliding scale tickets. Henry Miller Memorial Library, Highway One, Big Sur. 667-2574.

monday 6|10

Thundering Alt-Folk

PETER MULVEY In February, the last time singer/songwriter Jeffrey Foucault pulled through town, he delivered an outstanding solo performance at Ocean Thunder, a place more known for its raucous rock and blues gigs (see story, page 32). This time around, he''s bringing his friend and mentor Peter Mulvey with him. Mulvey, who''s recorded four CDs of thoughtful, lyrical alt-folk, honed his craft by performing on the streets of Dublin, Ireland, and the subways in Boston-places where a performer has to be dynamic to catch an audience''s attention. It''s experience that has served him well. Foucault describes his pal as one of the best performers he knows. "There are very few people who rank higher, in my opinion," says Foucault. "Most people who love his recordings-or even if they don''t-when they see his performances, they''re floored."

9pm. Ocean Thunder, 214 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey. No cover. 643-9169.