Season Cheer Lights Up Music Center

Now through Dec. 23, the plaza at the Music Center has been transformed into a winter wonderland of Christmas trees and lights. Every night, folk singers, carolers, and madrigal singers will stroll the plaza and serenade the crowds.

It’s all free, thanks to the Music Center and Pacific division of US Sprint Communications, and is timed to entertain early arrivals to Music Center performances, downtown workers sitting out the evening rush hour and families looking for a relaxed hour of eye- and ear-appealing holiday entertainment.

The fantasy has been designed by six-time Oscar-winning set designer Walter Scott, who put together the spectacular Christmas-by-night scene that includes 17,000 tiny white lights. Some festoon the trees set in the plaza fountain. Others are strung on 200 20-foot cottonwood trees and a 60-foot California fir.

Goode Company Singers

Tonight’s entertainment is provided by the Goode Company singers, a group of carolers. Sunday night the USC Chamber Singers will perform. There is no performance Monday night since the Music Center is dark.

The schedule continues Tuesday evening with Rhythms of the Village (African music, dance and storytelling); Wednesday with the Edelweiss Singers; Thursday, the Aman Folk Ensemble, and Friday, strolling carolers. Next Saturday, the Theatricum Botanicum madrigal singers perform; Sunday, Dec. 21, Rendezvous musical theater; Monday, Dec. 22, Rhythms of the Village again and Tuesday, Dec. 23, the free program concludes with a repeat of the Aman Folk Ensemble.

Food carts will be selling cappuccino, soft drinks, hot dogs and croissant sandwiches. Weekend performances are 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.; weekdays from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and again from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Music Center parking is $4 but there is usually plenty of metered parking all around the center on weekends. Call (213) 972-7567 for more information.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Marina del Rey Boat Parade--One hundred boats, ablaze with Christmas lights, will motor through the main channel tonight at the Marina’s annual ocean-going holiday parade. Fireworks will start the procession, with every boat making two turns around the course. The USC Marching Band--music guaranteed to carry over water--will perform on the Marina Belle river boat (and before that at Fisherman’s Village). Best viewing is at Burton Chace Park at the end of Mindinao Way, and Fisherman’s Village at the end of Fiji Way. County parking lots will open up for free parking at 4 p.m. Free. Call (213) 821-7614.

Rancho Los Cerritos--This evening’s open house at the graceful two-story Monterey-style adobe in Long Beach is a chance to experience a typical Los Angeles Christmas as it was done in the 1870s. Docent-led tours will take visitors through the holiday-decorated home to “meet” different, costumed characters of the period who will talk about life in that era--an approach that sounds more appealing for children than the typical one-leader talk. At 8:15 p.m., all children are invited to participate in a pinata-breaking in the courtyard. Choral groups and a trio of bassoonists perform; refreshment will be served. Free. The adobe is located at 4600 Virginia Ave. (213) 424-9423.

Bethlehem Walk--Strolling through this life-size re-creation of the town of Bethlehem as it was during the time of Christ gives the holiday a historical perspective. Visit a carpenter’s shop, metal shop, basket and pottery makers and watch them work as they did 2,000 years ago. See a synagogue, family home, living manger, desert tent, camels, donkeys, ducks. According to organizers, the old streets will be filled with Roman guards and beggars. Presented for the 10th year by the West Anaheim United Methodist Church (2045 W. Ball Road, Anaheim, (714) 772-6030). Church members, in period costume, play the parts of townspeople and craftsmen. Free. Open today and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Jingle Bell Jubilee--Today’s old-fashioned holiday bazaar features pony rides, petting zoo, carnival rides, Santa, clowns, bluegrass music, bake sale, magicians, pet adoptions and more. Tony Danza, Earl Holliman and Tim Reid are expected to put in appearances. It benefits the Variety Club of Southern California’s therapeutic group homes and takes place on the grounds of the New School for Child Development, 13130 Burbank Blvd., Van Nuys (across the street from Los Angeles Valley College). Open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $2 for adults; kids are free.

UPCOMING

Babes in the Woods--These free parent-and-child hikes, sponsored by William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom, are so popular they fill up a month in advance. Reserve space now for January walks. These two-hour hikes through Franklin Canyon (1736 Lake Drive, north of Beverly Hills) are aimed at helping young children experience the natural world around them (but parents usually learn a few things, too). Docents stop to explain plant and animal life along the stroller-accessible trail, getting kids to look for animal tracks, study insects, listen for birds. Although older siblings are welcome, these walks are designed for age 3 and under. Call for schedule: (213) 858-3834.

Send items at least two weeks before event (Saturday and Sunday events only) to Family Spots, Los Angeles Times, View Section, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053. Phone calls will not be accepted. Items must include subject, phone number, date, time, exact address and ticket prices.