VALLEY WEEKEND

SATURDAY

SERIOUS FUN

This Saturday, comics get their chance to do what they like best--make people laugh--while raising money for a good cause.

Comic Relief VII, hosted by Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams, will again raise funds to help America’s homeless. The all-star comedy show will be shown on Home Box Office as it is presented live at the Universal Amphitheatre.

Since the first Comic Relief benefit was staged in 1986, the event has raised more than $30 million for the homeless. Some of the performers scheduled to appear at this year’s event are Drew Carey, Margaret Cho, Anthony Edwards, Fran Drescher, Robert Klein, David Letterman, Richard Lewis, Heather Locklear, Dennis Miller, David Hyde Pierce, Paula Poundstone, Queen Latifah, Paul Rodriquez and Shelly Long.

Also a salute to television’s old Steve Allen Show will feature Allen plus show regulars Bill Dana, Pat Harrington, Don Knotts, Louis Nye and Tom Poston.

If you can’t make the show at the amphitheater, HBO, as in previous years, will make the show available to all cable systems that wish to carry it, so the show will be available to all cable subscribers for free.

* Comic Relief VII begins at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza. Tickets are $35, $50 and $100. Call (213) 480-3232.

SUNDAY

HOG HEAVEN

On Sunday, Valley bikers get their chance to do what they like best--ride their hogs and feel gasoline-tinged air blow in their faces--while raising money for a good cause.

Love Ride 12 lays claim to being the world’s largest fund-raising motorcycle event with over 20,000 bikers participating and more than $1 million expected in donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Assn.

Grand Marshall Jay Leno will lead the 50-mile parade of motorcycles from Harley Davidson of Glendale to Castaic Lake Recreation Center, where a barbecue and concert will await the Love Riders.

Los Lobos, Elvin Bishop, Lee Rocker & Big Blue and Big Brother & the Holding Company are slated to perform at the concert. Bruce Springsteen showed up unexpectedly to perform at last year’s concert. Other celebrity participants and performers in recent years have included the Easy Rider himself, Peter Fonda, and sidekick Dennis Hopper, plus Pamela Anderson, Hulk Hogan, Judd Nelson, Billy Idol, Bruce Jenner, Crystal Bernard and many others.

Last year, more than 22,000 Love Riders raised $1.1 million for MDA. In its 11 years, Love Ride has raised more than $6 million for the charity. Each rider must contribute a minimum of $45 to participate. All brands of motorcycles are welcome and even biker wanna-bes can ride along in their cars with the windows down.

* Love Ride 12 registration will begin at 6 a.m. Sunday at Harley-Davidson of Glendale, 3717 San Fernando Road. $45 minimum donation required in cash, check or credit card. A celebrity press conference will be held at 9 a.m. and the parade will begin at 10 a.m. Call Love Ride’s 24-hour hot line, (818) 583-4321.

LOCAL FARE

Two Valley Jewish community centers will offer interesting programs this weekend for specific audiences.

For opera fans, Valley Beth Shalom, 15739 Ventura Blvd., Encino, will present singers Gianna Corbisiero, Matthew Bitetti, Andrea Trebnik and James Busterud performing opera highlights, including pieces by Puccini, Verdi, Mozart and others, at 7 p.m. Sunday. Members of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, conducted by Noreen Green, will accompany the singers. Tickets are $15-$125. Call (818) 788-6000.

For history buffs, Temple Beth Haverim, 5126 Clareton Drive, Agoura Hills, will present impressionist Peter Small portraying former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Meir, who died in 1978, was prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1973. Tickets are $4-$6. Call (818) 597-8385.