WEEKEND

DECK THE MALLS

Now that another Thanksgiving has gone the way of the turkey, the winter holiday season officially gets under way. And to mark the beginning of this festive time in Los Angeles, Universal CityWalk has scheduled its 1995 Tree Lighting ceremony for 5 p.m. Friday.

Besides the lighting of the 50-foot holiday tree, the program will include performances by Brent Jones & the T. P. Mob and the Burroughs High School Marching Band. There will also be ice skating on the Universal CityWalk Outdoor Ice Rink, and of course, the obligatory appearance by Santa.

All this will happen near the ice rink, located in Cinema Plaza, in front of the Universal City Cinemas. Public skating will be allowed after the holiday program is finished, at approximately 6:30 p.m. and will continue past midnight. The rink measures 60 by 70 feet and can accommodate more than 150 skaters. Skate and locker rentals are available.

* Universal CityWalk’s 1995 Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony and Program begins at 6 p.m. Friday. Free admission. Ice skating is $6 per hour. Ice skate rentals $2. Call (818) 773-4040.

ANOTHER FINE MESS

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were one of the few silent screen comedy acts to successfully make the transition to talkies. Their comedic legacy will be celebrated this weekend at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.

“An Evening with Laurel & Hardy” will feature actors Chuck McCann and Jim McGeorge as the British comic duo in a 1930s-style variety show with music, chorus girls and even a Laurel and Hardy film, “Block Heads.” Also featured will be comic actor Avery Schreiber portraying old time comic actor Billy Gilbert.

Chuck McCann has entertained both children and adults for almost 40 years. “The Chuck McCann Show,” a show for the kiddies, was seen daily in New York City for 12 years in the 1950s and ‘60s. His face and voice has been featured in countless films and commercials. He and Jim McGeorge have been doing their Laurel & Hardy act for more than 30 years. They’ve made commercials for Anco Windshield Wipers, Sizzler restaurants and others.

Avery Schreiber, a veteran of the Second City Improvisation Theater Company in Chicago, has also worked in numerous television, film and commercial productions. Schreiber has the dubious distinction of being one of the featured players in the infamous television sitcom, “My Mother the Car.” Schreiber teamed with Jack Burns in the 1960s to form a unique comedy team that had its own television variety show in 1973.

* “An Evening with Laurel & Hardy” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Tickets are $20. Call (800) 233-3123.

THICK AS A BRICK

One of the most successful rock bands of the 1970s, Jethro Tull, will perform two concerts at the Universal Amphitheater this weekend.

Named for an 18th-Century British agronomist and inventor, the band has its central player in singer/flutist Ian Anderson. The group began in the late 1960s in England as a blues band that was touted as a worthy successor to the rock/blues band Cream.

But then the band switched its creative gears and morphed into a progressive rock unit with heavy classical and jazz flavors. With his beard and shaggy hair, Anderson struck a manic pose on stage sometimes playing the flute while hopping up and down on one leg.

For several years, the hits just kept on coming. Their million-selling albums include “Benefit” (1970); “Aqualung” (1971); “Thick as a Brick” (1972) and “A Passion Play” (1973). Although they don’t get much radio airplay anymore, except on stations that specialize in classics, the band remains a healthy concert draw.

* Jethro Tull will perform in concert at 8:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza. Tickets are $19.50-$40. Call (213) 480-3232.