Sat. Best Bets: 7/11

6:30am / Biking

Everyone who is fit and wants to set the alarm on a Saturday morning is invited to pedal with Mayor Richard Riordan for “Ride LA II,” a 20-mile bike ride through Griffith Park and the Silver Lake neighborhood to the Warner Bros. back lot studios. This weekend’s community ride is the last in a five-ride series organized by the mayor’s office, and the L.A. police and fire departments.

* “Ride LA II” begins and ends at Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Griffith Park, 4700 Western Heritage Way, adjacent to L.A. Zoo. Registration, 6:30 a.m.; bike ride begins 8 a.m. Bicyclists must wear safety helmets and be at least 12 years old. Free. (213) 847-3634.

8pm / Jazz

The South Pacific has become a hotbed of jazz fusion, as the Celebration of Philippine Jazz demonstrates. Los Angeles-based saxophonist Michael Paulo, whose string of beat-minded albums for the Noteworthy label shows his special affinity for Caribbean rhythms, shares the bill with San Francisco-based blues vocalist Sugar Pie Desanto, who will present a tribute to early jazz pioneers in the Philippines. The concert celebrates 100 years of U.S.-Philippine relations.

* Celebration of Philippine Jazz, John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. $18-$22. (323) 389-3050.

8pm / Theater

Set mostly at a rural Maine orphanage, John Irving’s novel “Cider House Rules” comes to the stage in a two-part adaptation by Peter Parnell, conceived and directed by Tom Hulce and Jane Jones. Audiences may see the epic performed over two weekday nights or in a marathon weekend show.

* “Cider House Rules, Parts 1 & 2,” Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown. (Parts 1 and 2 are paired and must be purchased together.) Tuesdays (Part 1) and Thursdays (Part 2), 8 p.m.; or Wednesdays (Part 1) and Fridays (Part 2), 8 p.m. Also marathon performances of Parts 1 and 2 each day: Saturdays-Sundays, beginning at 2 p.m. Ends Sept. 27. $58-$80 (includes both parts). (213) 628-2772.

10am / Festival

Whittier’s annual FamilyFest offers two days of family-oriented festivities along Greenleaf Avenue, including more than 100 arts and crafts booths, food, big-band swing music, a family fun zone, city displays and exhibits.

* FamilyFest, Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, noon-8 p.m. Greenleaf Avenue and Philadelphia Street, Whittier. Free. (562) 696-2662.

noon / Festival

With lotus blossoms in bloom on Echo Park Lake, it’s time for the 21st annual Lotus Festival, a celebration of Asian and Pacific peoples offering dragon boat races, fireworks, food, puppet and magic shows, music and dancing.

* Lotus Festival, Saturday, noon-9 p.m.; Sunday, noon-8 p.m. Echo Park Lake, Park Avenue between Glendale and Echo Park boulevards, just north of the Hollywood Freeway. Free. (213) 485-1310 or (213) 485-8745.

8:30pm / Theater

Shakespeare Festival/LA takes Shakespeare’s classic of political conspiracy and corruption, “Julius Caesar,” to the steps of Los Angeles City Hall--literally. The outdoor performance, with Dakin Matthews, Tom Schanley, Rif Hutton and Robert Pescovitz, will also play two other venues.

* “Julius Caesar,” steps of Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring St. Saturday-Sunday and Wednesday-July 19, 8:30 p.m. Free, but donations of canned food requested; preferred seating available for $25; $40 with picnic dinner. Reservations required. (213) 489-4127. Also at South Coast Botanical Gardens, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Rolling Hills Estates. July 23-Aug. 2, Thursdays-Sundays, 8:30 p.m. $15; (310) 377-4316; and L.A. City College, TKTK Vermont Ave., July 21, 8:30 p.m. Free. (323) 953-4336.

FREEBIE: French Festival, Oak Park, Santa Barbara, 11 a.m. Also Sunday. (805) 564-PARIS.