LIBRARY'S FETE LURES ALL AGES : ACTIVITIES PROVIDED TO ATTRACT FAMILIES.

Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer

The third annual holiday open house at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Sunday featured dancing girls in tutus, carolers in top hats and a big bearded guy in a red suit.

Such cheery attractions were chosen, said library Director Mark Hunt, to broaden the audience for the national archive and museum. Something about the name, the long winding entryway and the marble marker on the hill ordinarily keeps families away, he said.

``People think this is a quiet scholarly place where you can't really bring your family,'' Hunt said. But, ``we do our best to offer things for everyone.''

On Sunday, the atmosphere at the library was anything but stuffy.

Dozens of costumed kids performed to a courtyard packed with parents pointing video cameras and wearing big grins.

Older people clapped from the shade of oak trees, between bites of catered In-N-Out burgers.

Inside, more than 300 kids swarmed Santa Claus as other visitors helped decorate the Christmas tree.

``It's a beautiful setting and the kids love it,'' said Simi Valley teacher Jayne Tillema, as she admired a tree festooned with Australian-themed decorations, including tiny boomerangs and twists of Eucalyptus bark.

Tillema said she enjoys bringing her children, Sarah, Logan and Rachel, to the library year round.

When a current exhibit on the 1960s opened, a daughter tie-dyed a shirt and made a macrame chain. Logan likes looking at the military displays.

Providing activities for kids has been a priority for the library, Hunt said. Last summer, the library hosted a Western roundup. Two months ago, directors took a shot at attracting the teen-age market by hosting a Beatles tribute band.

The performances on Sunday included a 5-year-old ballet dancer, carolers, the troupe Fresh Chances for America, and the Conejo Valley Cloggers.

?Photo: (1--color) Carley Hunter, 6, dances to ``Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' during Sunday's open house at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

(2) Suzanne Shoemaker, as Mrs. Claus, reacts to a child's request at the Reagan Library's open house.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News

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