ARTIFACTS: Kids take over museum, a race-car driver’s book, David Gordon’s curtain call.

In this issue you’ll find stories about West End Celebration’s music, films and fashion. But we’re not forgetting the parties that started it all – artists. They’ll occupy booths lining the streets around the ground zero of the Independent Building. One such collective is Open Ground Studios, which is featuring a rotating panel of artists Saturday and Sunday (11am-5pm), including Linda Lay who explores consumer culture, athletics and more, and Renata Abma, a Brazilian artist who lives in Monterey and paints urban and natural landscapes. 241-6919, opengroundstudios.com.

As kids return to school to delve back into the three R’s – reading, writing and ‘rithmetic – theMonterey Museum of Art offers up the three F’s in the Free Family Fun Day. It’s made up of seascape activities, marine conservation, watercolor experiments, sun prints, paper weaving and more. It’s 11am-5pm Saturday, Aug. 18. 372-5477, montereyart.org.

Car Week is coming and the Center for Photographic Art is ready. They’re putting on an exhibition called A Historic Retrospective of Automotive Race Photography by Jesse Alexander. Influenced by photographers like Edward Steichen and W. Eugene Smith, Alexander has been in the game since the early 1950s, covering the original Mexican Road Race. He went on to photograph Formula One, 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio. Aug. 19-Sept. 2. photography.org.

I’m not a big car racing fan, but I get the appeal of these speedy machines. Few will understand it like Hurley Haywood does. He’s billed as the world’s most successful Porsche and endurance sports car racer, based on stats like winning three overall victories at Le Mans, five at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and two at the 12 hours of Sebring. He’s released a 420-page book (full of 600 photos) which he’s signing 5-7pm Wednesday, Aug. 22, at Light+Shadow Fine Art in Carmel. Get there fast. 624-2090.

David Gordon, 70, has been part of the Carmel Bach Festival for 30 years now. He writes that he’s taking his final bow and leaving the festival: “To describe this decision as difficult would be a vast understatement. I enjoy my duties at the Festival, and I love and esteem my colleagues in the ensemble.” He and his wife, Ginny, aim to give more energy to their business, Lucky Valley Press, helping independent authors publish books. And he’ll be coming back in October for a solo concert. So his endeavors in creativity will continue. He has been an awesome performer and ambassador for the festival, and deserves a standing ovation.