GOINGS ON : A Powerful Weekend of Cool Talent : You can choose from pop artists, Greek ensembles and traditional opera. Not to mention a slide show on India.

Gainey Vineyard in Santa Ynez will continue its outdoor concert series this weekend with performances by Rita Coolidge on Friday and Tower of Power on Saturday.

Tickets are $28 Friday, $30 Saturday. Both shows will begin at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. Picnickers are welcome. Call 688-0558. The Vineyard is at 3950 E. Highway 246.

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Hellenic Sounds, an ensemble based in Los Angeles, and the Middle East Folk Ensemble from UC Santa Barbara will be among the many performing artists at the popular Greek Festival on Saturday and Sunday at Santa Barbara’s Oak Park.

Guests will get their fill of dancing waiters (from The Greek restaurant in Ventura), professional dance ensembles and authentic Greek food (including approximately 20,000 pieces of pastry). The festival, put on by the St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days. Admission is free. Oak Park is at Junipero and Alamar streets. Call 683-4492 for more information.

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Musicians and vocalists from Santa Barbara’s Music Academy of the West will stage three full opera acts Saturday and Sunday at the Lobero Theatre. Under the leadership of guest conductor John Fisher and stage director James Robinson, the program will include works by Mozart, Puccini and Strauss. Tickets are $20. Show times are 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. The Lobero is at 33 E. Canon Perdido St. Call 963-0761.

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Louise Nicholson, a researcher for the BBC and an art consultant for Christie’s of London, will present a slide show and lecture on India on Sunday at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Nicholson will discuss India’s influence on some of the world’s greatest writers and show pictures from her 40 trips to the region. The lecture will begin at 2:30 p.m. General admission is $5. Call 963-4364 for more information. The museum is at 1130 State St.

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UCSB’s summer film series will wrap up Sunday with a showing of “Combination Plate,” winner of the best screenplay award at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. The movie takes an often comic look at the differences between the American and Chinese cultures through the eyes of a Hong Kong immigrant working as a waiter at a Chinese restaurant in Queens, N.Y. Show time at the university’s Campbell Hall is 7 p.m. General admission is $5. Call 893-3535.