8pm: Pop Music

When Polly Jean Harvey asks “Is This Desire?”--the title of her fifth album--you know the answer will be delivered through the kind of inventive music and searing scenarios that have made her one of rock’s most vital forces. The English singer plays the Wiltern Theatre with a new band that includes Captain Beefheart/Pixies alumnus Eric Drew Feldman and her longtime partners John Parish and Rob Ellis.

* PJ Harvey, Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd. $22.50-$25. Sold out. (323) 380-5005

2 & 8 pm: Movies

As a pre-Halloween treat, the Library of Congress no less has loaned its print of director Edgar G. Ulmer’s 1934 horror classic “The Black Cat” to the Alex Film Society for two rare screenings. The film, which is loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe tale of the same name, is particularly notable because it is the first film pairing of fright kings Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Ulmer’s daughter, Arianne, and Bela Lugosi Jr. will speak at the 8 p.m. screening.

* “The Black Cat,” Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. $6-$8.50. (818) 754-8250.

3pm: Art

Three leaders in the field of art and architecture will gather to discuss contemporary issues in art and architecture in this week’s segment of “Dialogues With Leading Contemporary Artists,” a lecture series presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art. The panel will include controversial sculptor Richard Serra, whose large-scale works are currently on view at the Geffen Contemporary, noted Disney Hall architect Frank O. Gehry and MOCA director Richard Koshalek, who organized the Serra exhibition as well as many architectural-related exhibitions at MOCA.

* “Dialogues With Leading Contemporary Artists,” Colburn School of Performing Arts, Zipper Auditorium, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles, 3-4:30 p.m. General admission, $10; students and MOCA members, $5. (213) 621-1767.

7pm: Children

Kids can wear their costumes for a night of “boo and goo” at the Page Museum’s Halloween Campout at the La Brea Tar Pits. They will be able to excavate, cast fossils and trick-or-treat by flashlight among saber-toothed cats and mammoths.

* Page Museum Halloween Campout, La Brea Tar Pits, 5801 Wilshire Blvd., Hancock Park. For children 5 and older, accompanied by an adult. $40 per person for museum members; $50 for nonmembers. Children must bring their own sleeping bag and mattress. Saturday from 7 p.m. to Sunday at 8:30 a.m. (213) 763-3534.

all day Expo

A painting of Socks the Cat, mischievous skeletons, tools of French artist Rodin and National Geographic photography are part of the diverse collection on display and for sale at “Artexpo” at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The show includes sculptures, prints, photography, glass art and furniture by artists and publishers from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.

* “Artexpo,” Yorty Hall, 1201 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles Convention Center. Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Monday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Adults, $8; children under 12, free. (800) 331-5706. Web site: https://artexpos.com

8pm: Theater

The holidays come early and with some bizarre twists in “Reckless,” Craig Lucas’ dark comedy romp about a woman who has strange adventures after fleeing her home one Christmas Eve when her husband confesses he has put out a contract on her life.

* “Reckless,” Interact Theatre Company, 11855 Hart St., North Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 and 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 13. $16-$18. (818) 773-7862.

FREEBIE: Big-band music from Johnny Crawford Society Orchestra, California Plaza, downtown L.A., noon. (213) 687-2159.