As the 2008 Columbia Festival of the Arts enters its final days, the remaining ticketed events make for a diverse mix of art and entertainment.

Exhibit A is the Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Company, which stops into town Sunday, June 22 at 3 p.m. in The Jim Rouse Theatre for the Performing Arts at Wilde Lake High School. This Maine-based ensemble is helmed by "pneumatic wizard" Fred Garbo - who conceived the "blow up" costumes -- and features Brazilian ballerina Daielma Santos.

The two artists have a reputation for mounting highly physical shows that offer comedy, dance, juggling and, of course, inflatable costumes that grow in size in relation to the story being told. In one, the ballerina's skirt even upstages her.

The troupe has been lavishly praised in the New York Times and appeared on TV's "The Late Show with David Letterman." It has also performed at the Kennedy Center and in places as far away as Chile, Japan, Ireland and Brazil. Tickets at The Rouse Theatre run $10 to $25, with student discounts available.

On Saturday, June 21 at 8 p.m., magician Mike Super will suddenly materialize at The Jim Rouse Theatre. This favorite Los Angeles-based performer is known as an "interactive magician" because of a certain "audience-inclusive" approach to his craft. He was selected to appear with mentalist Uri Gellar on the NBC television show "Phenomenon," where he received the top audience ranking. Tickets run $20 to $45.

A New York City string quartet, Sweet Plantain, can be heard Wednesday, June 25 at 7 p.m. at the Belmont Conference Center in Elkridge. This classical group was founded to give a voice to Latin composers. It specializes in works by such unheralded writers as Aldemaro Romero and Eddie Venegas.

The group is perhaps best known, though, for the pop artists with whom they have played. These notably include Marc Antony, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys and k.d. lang. Tickets for Sweet Plantain's Belmont performance are $45, and include a buffet dinner that starts at 6 p.m.

The 2008 Columbia Festival of the Arts closes with a bang when the East Village Opera Company makes a promised return visit to Howard County June 28 at 8 p.m. in The Jim Rouse Theatre. The six-member group was a surprise hit at the 2006 festival, where audiences thrilled to its blend of social satire and opera with a rock'n'roll orientation.

Their music has been compared to groups like the Electric Light Orchestra and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, though the East Village Opera Company goes farther than those groups by adding power wattage to its arias and other classical pieces.

Founder Peter Kiesewalter said in an interview with this writer two years ago that originality was the key to their approach. "Quite honestly, it's a pretty radical thing we're doing with the music," he said. "But I like to think that the classic arts need to be turned on their heads every so often to survive.

"I don't think they can be treated like museum pieces and evolve. I think the arts are a living and breathing thing. If that means offending some people, then so be it." Tickets here run $30 to $45.

For calendar and ticket information on any Columbia Festival of the Arts events, call 410-715-3044 or go to www.columbiafestival.com.

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