Simi Valley Town Center will host a weekend celebration of its first year in operation by giving back to the community.

The mall opened its doors on Oct. 27 of last year.

A twoday art and music festival will showcase artists from throughout the community from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sun

day, Oct. 28 and 29 at the mall. All proceeds will benefit art and booster clubs at the three city high schools-Simi Valley, Royal and Santa Susana.

The event is planned in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise. "We have had a phenomenal first year, and the local community

contributed so much with all the support," said Vickie Sherman, director of marketing for Simi Valley Town Center.

"When you're here every day, our events and fundraisers can seem relatively infrequent. But looking back on our first 12 months, we were very pleased with how we were able to be engaged with our

community," Sherman added. The mall features Mediterranean architecture and multiple artwork, including a 1-ton, 50-foot mosaic European dragon sculpture named "Kuyam" by local thirdgrader Amanda Smith in the dragon-naming contest.

Last month, the mall hosted the Vino Jazz Festival, the most suc

cessful event to date, which raised $100,000 for the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Foundation.

The money will help the foundation fund a new program providing interpreters for the hearingimpaired at performances, and also finance children's programs, operation of the 10-year-old center and the foundation's endowment.