For 12 years, Washington and Jefferson College has offered youngsters a grab bag of entertaining activities, including a live theater performance, through its annual Children's Play and Festival.

While this year's festival, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, will feature free activities such as a petting zoo, pony rides, and balloon and caricature artists, the college also will stage an original, family-oriented play to address social issues and to introduce young audiences to important works that they are likely to encounter as an advanced student or adult.

"Our play selection philosophy sets us apart from other more conventional programs as an alternative to what I like to call 'fuzzy bunny loses a tooth,' nonconfrontational children's plays," said Dan Shaw, faculty member in the college's theater department.

"While the latter definitely have their place, we try to do something with more nutritional value that's a light-hearted, entertaining, tongue-in-cheek look at a classical work that honors the original intent of the author but is, at the same time, amusing."

In the past, the festival has offered original stage adaptations of works such as "The Time Machine," "The Three Musketeers," "William Tell" and "Moby Dick."

This year's work will be a fresh look at Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities," but the adaptation will also interweave a local historic connection whose lessons reinforce Dickens' original message. To make the play more family-friendly, Dickens' tale will be told in the context of another story that will strike a more personal chord with the audience.

"I've incorporated local elements that deal with the Industrial Revolution as it affected the Pittsburgh area, including Washington, and the characters in that part of the story will retell the Dickens classic novel, which is set in the French Revolution," said Mr. Shaw. "The issue that both stories address is that of a successful individual's responsibility to his or her community and fellow man."

The two intertwined tales spotlight similar questions, such as good citizenship and civic and personal accountability.

In southwestern Pennsylvania, successful business leaders such as Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie, gave something back to their communities in the form of libraries, hospitals, parks, schools and museums. In Dickens' tale, the main protagonist, Sydney Carton, heroically sacrifices himself to save his friends during the Reign of Terror.

"Because there's a good amount of story to follow, I'm recommending the play to children of school age and older," said Mr. Shaw.

Since its inception 12 years ago, the Children's Festival and its entertainment and hands-on educational components have developed to support and compliment the theater production, making it a unique event appropriate for a venue such as W&J's Olin Fine Arts Center. In addition to the play, this year's festival will offer free outside entertainment.

Among the outdoor activities will be Science Rocks, which teaches children the basics of science such as gravity, chemical reactions, air pressure and static electricity.

At 2 p.m. the "Wild World of Animals" will entertain and handlers will recruit audience volunteers as part of the demonstration.

New this year, "John, That Guy with the Birds" will present a program about different species of parrots, their habitats, communications, witty intelligence and adaptation abilities.

The festival is free. Tickets are $5 for the theater performances at 7 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday in the Olin Fine Arts Center.

For information, call 724-223-6546.