An April Shower of Cultural Events

Special events for children and their families at concert halls, museums and galleries make April arts month a terrific time to celebrate creativity, from fine art and music to poetry. A sampling:

Hey, Mr. Wilson: Long before Bart Simpson, Dennis the Menace, who started life in newspaper comic strips, was TV’s bad boy--Mr. Wilson’s scourge, but a mischief-maker with no malice in his soul. That little tyke with the unruly cowlick and freckles hasn’t changed much since creator Hank Ketcham first began chronicling his adventures many decades ago.

Ketcham is still going strong, and he’ll be on hand to kick off an exhibition of his work, along with original “Dennis the Menace” TV stars Jay North, who played Dennis, and Gloria Henry, who played his mom, at Every Picture Tells a Story on Saturday.

The exhibition, “From Menace to Matisse, The Art of Hank Ketcham,” running today through May 30, includes Ketcham’s comic strip art, portraits of fellow cartoonists and their work, and the fine art oil and watercolor paintings Ketcham has done, inspired by his lifelong passion for jazz.

* “From Menace to Matisse, The Art of Hank Ketcham,” Every Picture Tells a Story, 7525 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. Reception: Saturday, 5-8 p.m.; exhibition: today-May 30. Gallery hours: Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. (323) 932-6070.

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Rap ‘n’ Rhyme: Children of all ages are asked to “bring your mind, spirit, soul, enthusiasm” to the Los Angeles Children’s Museum for Roni Walters’ “Spoken Word, Short Storiz, Cometri & Rap Poetri.”

The special theatrical performance, celebrating National Poetry Month, will play two times on Friday in the museum’s theater.

* “Spoken Word, Short Storiz, Cometri & Rap Poetri,” Los Angeles Children’s Museum, 310 N. Main St., Friday, noon and 1 p.m. Hours this Friday: 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Regular hours: Saturdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (213) 687-8800. Admission: $5; younger than 2, free.

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Music Tells a Tale: Clarinetist Zinovy Goro, mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler and storyteller Karen Golden serve up a feast of music and stories from Jewish traditions in the Da Camera Society’s “Children’s Concerts in Historic Sites” concert at the Skirball Cultural Center on April 24.

The program--which features klezmer and classical selections, including Fitelberg’s “To the Wedding,” Tedesco’s Three Sephardic Songs and Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim’s four-movement song cycle for children--will take place in a gallery displaying artist Larry Rivers’ epic mural “History of Matzah: The Story of the Jews.”

* “Children’s Concerts in Historic Sites”: music and stories from Jewish traditions, ages 4 and up, Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, April 24, 1:30 and 3 p.m. $12-$18. (310) 954-4300.

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America in Tune: Over at the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, with actor John de Lancie hosting, conductor Alan Gilbert will lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in “Viva America,” a salute to American music that is part of the Philharmonic’s “Toyota Symphonies for Youth” series, especially designed for ages 5 to 11.

The hourlong program includes Leonard Bernstein’s overture to “Candide,” Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” and “Buckaroo Holiday” from the ballet score “Rodeo”; it winds up with works by Charles Ives: “The Unanswered Question” and “Country Band March.” Pre-concert activities related to the concert’s theme will take place throughout the pavilion.

* “Viva America,” Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, April 24, 11 a.m.; pre-concert activities begin at 10 a.m. $8-$10. (213) 365-3500; (323) 850-2000. Web: https://www.laphil.org.

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Giving Voice: Take a break from your usual Friday afternoon routine April 30 and take the family to the Music Center for a musical thrill: more than 1,000 voices lifted in song in the “10th Annual Los Angeles Master Chorale High School Choir Festival” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Teenagers from 25 schools will join members of the Master Chorale in performance, conducted by the company’s music director, Paul Salamunovich.

The high-schoolers have been rehearsing for their big moment since January; choirs from six schools, chosen through audition, will also put on an individual showcase performance.

* “10th Annual Los Angeles Master Chorale High School Choir Festival,” Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, April 30, 10:30 a.m.-noon, individual school showcase; 1-2 p.m., combined performance. Free, but tickets are required. (323) 931-0249; (323) 933-0729; (310) 377-2130; (323) 299-5793; (818) 247-3368.