Best Bets: Fri 9/4

All day: Movies

Cinecon, the oldest organization in the United States dedicated to preserving and presenting the rarest of rare silents and early talkies, will hold its 34th annual convention todaythrough Monday in Glendale and will offer many surprise guests and events to delight film buffs. There will be a film memorabilia show and sale and an awards banquet Sunday.

* Cinecon 34, Red Lion Hotel, 100 W. Glenoaks Blvd., and the nearby Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Tonight-Monday, all day. $28-$115. (800) 317-9177.

8 pm: Theater

“Corpse!,” the British comedy thriller by Gerald Moon about twin brothers (both played by noted stage actor Ron Campbell), is set in 1936 London during the abdication of King Edward VIII. In the International City Theatre production, directed by Jules Aaron, one of the twins, an out-of-work actor, plots the murder of the other.

* “Corpse!,” International City Theatre at Center Theater, Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Sept. 27. $28-$30; Friday, opening gala, $37. (562) 938-4128.

8 pm: Theater

Theatricum Botanicum’s family-friendly, praiseworthy summer perennial, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” returns. The outdoor amphitheater and its woodsy surroundings are a perfect setting for Shakespeare’s comedy romp about foolish hearts and mischievous fairies.

* “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga. Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 4 p.m.; through Sept. 25. $12-$15; $5 for ages 6 to 12. (310) 455-3723.

8:30 pm: Music

Broadway ‘98, the Hollywood Bowl’s two-night Broadway concert, salutes the new (“Ragtime” and “The Lion King”), the familiar (“Camelot,” “The Sound of Music”) and the newly revived (“Chicago,” “The King and I,” “Sweeney Todd”), with vocal assistance from Lynn Redgrave and Patrick Stewart and fireworks set to the Overture to “Gypsy.”

* Broadway ‘98, Patrick Stewart, Lynn Redgrave, vocalists; John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Mitch Hanlon Singers, Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Friday and Saturday, 8:30 p.m. $3-$78. (323) 850-2000.

6 pm: Family

Actors Tony Danza, Dick Van Dyke and Martin Sheen are among the celebrities expected to drop in during the Malibu Kiwanis Chili Cook-Off, Carnival and Concert, where you can dance to live music and taste sizzling chili while money is raised for charity. The purchase of a $100 pass gives you a chance to win a 1998 Porsche Boxster with two mountain bikes.

* Malibu Kiwanis Chili Cook-Off, Carnival and Concert, Malibu Civic Center, Pacific Coast Highway and Webb Way. The carnival kicks things off Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday: local chili competition and live music, noon-6 p.m.; Sunday: International Chili Society Chili Cook-Off and live music, noon-6 p.m. Food, arts and crafts, prizes. Chili entry fee: $35. General admission, $5; children under 12, free. (310) 457-1558.

8 pm: Dance

Born into a Mexican American household in Los Angeles and raised in Ventura County, Maria Bermudez returns to the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre for the third time as the star and director of “Sonidos Gitanos/Gypsy Flamenco,” heading a company of 10 singers, dancers and musicians. Bermudez honed her artistry in eight years of work in Jerez de la Frontera, one of the most celebrated “cradles of flamenco” in Spain’s province of Andalusia. The result: a style of dancing acclaimed for its passion, musicality and purity of form. Other dancers in the engagement include Rocio Marin and Tomasito, with Alejandro Granados appearing as a guest artist.

* “Sonidos Gitanos/Gypsy Flamenco,” John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. E., Hollywood. Also Saturday and Sunday, 8 p.m. $22-$30. (323) 461-3673.

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FREEBIE: Bassist Leslie Baker & Askew at California Plaza, downtown L.A., noon. (213) 687-2159.