KCET’s Six-Hour ‘Celebration’ Opens Schedule Full of Specials

It’s quite literally a specials weekend, with several yuletide shows on tap for today and Friday and several non-holiday programs.

KCET-TV presents “Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration,” a six-hour live telecast from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, today at 3 p.m. Among the more than 1,000 performers are the Moscow Classical Ballet.

Roma Downey hosts CBS’ “The American Red Cross Celebrates Real-Life Miracles” tonight at 8. The special salutes the organization’s volunteers.

“Atlanta Symphony: Christmas With Robert Shaw” showcases the Morehouse College Glee Club performing yuletide favorites tonight at 8:30 on KOCE and at 10:30 p.m. on KCET-TV.

“Christmas Glory With Kiri Te Kanawa,” tonight at 9 on KCET-TV, features the opera diva and a cast of performers paying tribute to the 300th anniversary of London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Pope John Paul II is to preside over midnight Mass on “Christmas Eve at St. Peter’s Basilica” tonight at 11:35 p.m. on NBC.

CBS presents “Lessons and Carols,” a selection of readings from the Bible and Christmas music, tonight at 11:35 p.m.

“Eyes of Christmas,” at 1 a.m. Friday on KCOP, features celebrities sharing the holiday memories for the blind.

Richard Kind and Caroline Rhea host ABC’s annual “Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade” at 4 p.m. Saturday on Channel 7.

Roma Downey hosts the holiday special “A Christmas Gloria With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Canadian Brass” Friday at 8 p.m. on KCET-TV.

Luciano Pavarotti and other opera stars perform excerpts from their favorite roles on “The Richard Tucker New York City Gala” Friday at 10 p.m on KCET-TV.

Dick Enberg hosts “Vietnam, Long Time Coming,” a documentary on a 16-day bike ride in Vietnam involving American and Vietnamese vets, Saturday at 1 p.m. on NBC.

“The 20th Century With Mike Wallace” explores how religion has become more vital on “True Believers: Religion in the Modern World” Saturday at 5 and 9 p.m. on the History Channel.

Six teams put on their dancing shoes to compete in the samba, cha-cha, rumba, pasodoble and jive on NBC’s “International DanceSport Competition II” Saturday at 10 p.m.

Lifetime and the Women’s Sports Foundation celebrate the achievements of women in sports on “Season of Joy: The Gift of Sports” Sunday at 10 a.m.

Daryl Hannah hosts TBS’ “Wildlife Wars” Sunday at 6 p.m.; the documentary focuses on the encroachment of suburbs on wilderness areas.

Movies

Turner Movie Classics Christmas programming continues all day today with such classics as “Meet Me in St. Louis” at 5 p.m. and “Christmas in Connecticut” at 9 p.m.

AMC kicks off its two-day Christmas movie marathon at 5 p.m. with the special “The Great Christmas Movies.” Movies include “A Christmas Carol,” “Holiday Inn” and “Young at Heart.”

TNT presents it second annual 24-hour showing of Bob Clark’s zany 1983 holiday comedy, “A Christmas Story,” kicking off tonight at 8.

ABC repeats the sentimental 1997 drama “Holiday in Your Heart,” starring LeAnn Rimes, tonight at 9.

Series

Gene Shalit narrates Lifetime’s “Intimate Portrait” of Helen Gurley Brown at 10 p.m. Saturday.

Sports

College football’s top seniors battle it out in the Blue-Gray All-Star Classic at 9 a.m. Friday on ABC. Following at 12:30 p.m., Oregon and Colorado meet in the Aloha Bowl in Honolulu. At 5:30 p.m., ESPN presents the Oahu Bowl, with Air Force meeting Washington.