Best Bets: Fri 10/2

8 pm: Arts Festival

The 13th Annual Long Beach “October Is Arts Month” kicks off with “Live! From the Center,” a concert series that opens with a performance by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. Arts Month ’98 is a monthlong promotion, sponsored by the Public Corporation for the Arts, that showcases a wide range of cultural programming. Highlights include the Wings Over Long Beach Air and Sea Show at Long Beach Airport and the Belmont Pier, and the Anaheim Street International Festival and Expo, both this weekend; the Downtown Long Beach Art Film Festival beginning Friday and concluding at the end of the month with the 4th Annual Wide Scream Film Festival; the 25th Anniversary of the Long Beach Bach Festival with a different concert each week beginning Sunday; Long Beach Playhouse’s production of “Veronica’s Room” and International City Theater’s “Catch a Falling Star,” both opening Oct. 9; visual art exhibitions at the Museum of Latin American Art and the University Art Museum; a Hip Hop Expo on Oct. 24 and more.

* “Live! From the Center” with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, 8 p.m. Terrace Theater, Long Beach Entertainment and Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. $15 and $20. (562) 436-3661. For information about Long Beach “October Is Arts Month ‘98” and a free calendar, call (562) 570-1930.

All day: Movies

Romancing the Stone? Woody Allen plays a mere working stiff who tries his darndest to woo ice princess Sharon Stone. Oh, did we mention that they’re ants? Animated ants, that is. Also lending their voices to the ants in “Antz” are Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman and Jennifer Lopez.

* “Antz,” rated PG, opens Friday in general release.

All day: Movies

Robin Williams follows up his Oscar-winning turn in “Good Will Hunting” with “What Dreams May Come,” a fantasy adventure about a pair of soul mates (Williams and Annabella Sciorra) who are separated by no less than the bounds of heaven and hell. Cuba Gooding Jr. and Max Van Sydow co-star as two of Williams’ spiritual guides.

* “What Dreams May Come,” rated PG-13, opens Friday in general release.

1 pm: Architecture

The careful restoration of an Arts and Crafts classic will be showcased in “Rebirth of a Landmark: The Robert R. Blacker House of Greene and Greene,” a rare public tour of the residence in Pasadena’s Oak Knoll district beginning this weekend. Designed by famed Pasadena architects Charles and Henry Greene, the Blacker House is considered one of the finest Craftsman-style homes in the country. Self-guided tours of the 20-room, wood-sided house begin Friday and will continue for three consecutive three-day weekends.

* “Rebirth of a Landmark: The Robert R. Blacker House of Greene and Greene,” located at Hillcrest and Wentworth avenues. Free parking and shuttle service will be provided from the 251 S. Lake Ave. parking structure in Pasadena. All visitors must use the shuttle; parking is not available on surrounding residential streets. 1-5 p.m. Oct. 2-4; 9-11 and 16-18. Admission: seniors and students, $25; general admission, $30; children under 12, free. Visitors are requested to wear flat, broad-heeled shoes. (213) 740-8687.

8 pm: Pop Music

“Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” is the title image that sets Lucinda Williams’ characters in motion on her new album, and the roots/folk/country singer-songwriter is hoping that it’s also the sound of breakthrough. The acclaimed album is the highest-profile release in the checkered career of an artist who has earned unmatched admiration from fellow musicians and a hard-core fan base. Now she’s ready for the rest of the world.

* Lucinda Williams, Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd. $27.50. (323) 380-5005.

7 pm: Theme Parks

Fright fans can get an early sample of Knott’s Scary Farm during Freak Preview Nights, launching the 26th Annual Halloween Haunt at Knott’s Berry Farm. Monsters will be on the prowl in search of victims as the park features 10 walk- or ride-through attractions, a variety of shocking shows and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark starring in “Elvira’s Haunted House Party” in the Ghoul Time Theatre.

* Freak Preview nights on Friday and Saturday launch the 26th Annual Halloween Haunt that transforms Knott’s Berry Farm into Knott’s Scary Farm and continues through Nov. 1. The park closes at 5:30 p.m. each evening and reopens at 7 p.m. Freak preview nights Friday and Saturday are offered at special reduced admission of $26. Regular Halloween Haunt will be held Oct. 9-10, 16-18, 22-25, Oct. 28-Nov. 1 and presale tickets will cost $34 and $39 the day of the event. Hauntline: (714) 220-5200.

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FREEBIE: L.A. Philharmonic, Trinity Baptist Church, Los Angeles, 7 p.m. (323) 735-0044.