all day: Art

“Historical Themes, Tales and Legends in the Art of Jerry Pinkney,” an animated journey through the transatlantic slave trade, the resistance movements of the 19th century and the lives of African Americans post-emancipation, are featured in an exhibition opening Saturday at the California African-American Museum. Designed chronologically, the exhibition provides a pictorial narrative of African American history and folklore through Pinkney’s watercolor illustrations of black folk tales, historical figures and children’s books.

* “Historical Themes, Tales and Legends in the Art of Jerry Pinkney,” California African-American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park. Museum hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Ends April 11. Admission free. (213) 744-7432.

8 & 10:30pm / Comedy

Haven’t caught comedian George Carlin, who’s working on new material at the Comedy Store? Tonight’s your last chance, as the legend performs two shows at 8 and 10:30 in the Sunset Strip club’s Main Room, readying routines for a forthcoming HBO special, his 10th. It’s an intimate way to see a legend who has done no fewer than 130 “Tonight Show” appearances and recorded 18 albums during his career.

* George Carlin, the Comedy Store, 8433 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. 8 and 10:30 p.m. $25. (323) 656-6225.

6:30pm / Pop Music

In the firebrand footsteps of Rage Against the Machine, the L.A. band System of a Down attaches social comment and political protest to a metal-funk-rap bludgeon. Instead of leaning to Latino issues, though, System draws on its members’ Armenian heritage.

* System of a Down, with (Hed)pe, Dial 7 and Static X, the Palace, 1735 N. Vine St., Hollywood, doors open at 6:30 p.m. $13.50. (213) 462-3000.

8pm: Pop Music

John Wesley Harding heads a potent singer-songwriter lineup at the Roxy, sharing the stage with San Francisco singer and sometime Harding collaborator Chris von Sneidern and the trenchant Amy Rigby.

* John Wesley Harding, Chris von Sneidern and Amy Rigby, the Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 8 p.m. $16.50. (310) 278-9457.

11am: Family

Satirist-author Darryl Henriques will perform a special holiday reading of “Mr. Belinsky’s Bagels,” the new children’s book by Ellen Schwartz about a bagel baker who discovers that being true to himself and others is the real meaning of success.

* “Mr. Belinsky’s Bagels,” Borders Books & Music, 1360 Westwood Blvd., Westwood, 11 a.m. Free (includes bagels). (310) 475-3444.

3 & 7:30pm / Music

Pick your “Messiah”: In the afternoon John Alexander conducts a performance with the Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale in Costa Mesa’s Orange County Performing Arts Center. In the evening at the Music Center, Paul Salamunovich leads a sing-along “Messiah” in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion; his helpers: the L.A. Master Chorale, Sinfonia Orchestra and soloists Marie Hodgson, Aleta Braxton, Bong Won Kye and Albert Eddy.

* The Pacific Symphony, “Messiah,” Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 3 p.m. $18 to $59. (714) 755-5799.

* The L.A. Master Chorale Sing-Along “Messiah,” Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. $10 to $30. (213) 365-3500.

Freebies: Buzz-bearing singer-songwriter Jude recovers from Friday’s spot on the Chris Isaak bill with a performance at Borders Books & Music, 1415 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica, 1 p.m. (310) 393-9698.

Storytelling and crafts for children at Mrs. Nelson’s Toy & Book Shop, 1030 Bonita Ave., La Verne, 11 a.m. (909) 599-4558.