LARGO -- Tonight, you can sing along to zany songs like Chriskwanzanukah, Umoja and Nun Gimel Hay Shin at Shana Banana's Holiday Special show at the Largo Cultural Center.

Well, you can try at least.

The popular Grammy-nominated children's entertainer will perform her very nontraditional Christmas-Kwanzaa-Hanukkah songs with help from her four Bananahead Dancers and characters Pirate Scooterdo, Mervyn the Manatee and Hal and Henderson the Curious and Mischievous Dogs.

"Everybody should come dressed up," said Shana, a.k.a. Shana Smith of St. Petersburg. "We want kids to feel like it's their night. Kids love big events. They aren't afforded that opportunity often. (The show is) a real honest-to-goodness theater event."

Said Karen Barth, Largo's marketing specialist: "The show is the perfect gift for the community."

The extravaganza will be filmed for an upcoming video.

Smith, 33, grew up singing in children's choirs and on local radio in her native Hawaii, all the while dreaming of singing stardom. But instead of following her dream right away, she followed in her father's footsteps and earned a degree in marine biology from University of South Florida.

Eventually, she chose folk singing over fish, and started performing gigs at bars, restaurants and even a farmer's market in Pinellas County.

She said she's been "doing the Banana thing" for four years.

"I was going to be a blues diva and do the kid's stuff on the side, but what happened was the total opposite," she said.

Besides, she said, being a children's entertainer is easier than being "another chick with a guitar."

"It's a songwriter's dream," said Smith. "When you write songs, you need fodder and a purpose. Children's music is awesome, no matter how old you are. I try to broach subjects that are uncommon, like being scared. One kid came up to me and said, "Shana Banana, I have an owie.' She said, "I'm not going to feel better until you write a song about it.' "

The result was The Owie Song, one of 16 original tunes on her new CD, Song in My Pocket, released last week.

Her music and videos are aimed at kids ages 2 to 9. Because kids are so sophisticated these days, she said she does some sampling from other artists' albums "to keep my coolness factor up."

Smith has been practicing her holiday show in New Mexico, Wisconsin and Tennessee. The daughter of a Jewish father and a Christian mother, she wanted it to be "nonreligious and multicultural," so "kids realize they all have love, lights, gatherings, family and friends in common" around holiday time.

A special guest will be bass player and Radio Disney personality Billy Norris, 13.

"It's a great family show," said Richard Haerther, Largo Cultural Center manager, who has known Smith for years. "The talent level is very high. It's something the parents will enjoy as much as the kids."

If you go

The Shana Banana Holiday Special will start at 7 p.m. today at the Largo Cultural Center, 105 Central Park Drive, south of East Bay Drive between Highland Avenue and Seminole Boulevard. Tickets cost $6.50 or $22 for a family four-pack. Each child in the audience will receive a gift and a candy cane. Call (727) 587-6793.

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