all day / Jazz

It’s a mouthful: The three-day Santa Barbara International Jazz Festival and World Music Beach Party lives up to its name down on the sand with acts from around the globe: Dave Brubeck Quartet, the Oleg Lundstrem Moscow Big Band, keyboardist Les McCann, Cubanismo!, Australian pianist John Foreman and a host of others.

* Santa Barbara International Jazz Festival and World Music Beach Party, Ledbetter Beach, Shoreline Drive at Loma Alta Road. Also Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. $8-$50; couples, $25-$35; single weekend pass, $30; children 5-12, $3; under 5, free. (800) 765-6255.

all day: Movies

Veteran suspense thriller director John Frankenheimer’s latest film, “Ronin,” features an international cast (Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Stellan Skarsgard, Sean Bean, Natasha McElhone and Jonathan Pryce) in this tale of a group of post-Cold War operatives who embark on a dangerous and mysterious mission.

* “Ronin,” rated R, opens Friday in wide release.

8pm: Theater

Puppet fans of all ages will find unusual offerings at UCLA. “Ubu and the Truth Commission,” for mature audiences, is a multimedia puppet theater work set in post-apartheid Johannesburg, performed by the Handspring Puppet Company. For family audiences, Teatro Hugo & Ines presents its offbeat “Short Stories,” in which memorable creatures are created from the artists’ knees, feet, hands, elbows and props.

* “Ubu and the Truth Commission,” UCLA, Schoenberg Hall, West Los Angeles, Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. $28. “Short Stories,” UCLA, Freud Playhouse, Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. $22 (half-price for ages 16 and under at matinees only). (310) 825-2101.

8pm: Pop Music

Scarce on the concert headlining scene lately, Los Lobos convenes to play a benefit for Integrity House, a Fullerton facility serving people with cognitive disabilities.

* Los Lobos, Memorial Hall, Chapman University, Orange. $35-$100 ($100 tickets include after-show party). (213) 480-3232.

8pm: Theater

“Dimly Perceived Threats to the System,” Jon Klein’s play about the many cracks that exist beneath the surface of a seemingly normal family, makes its West Coast premiere.

* “Dimly Perceived Threats to the System,” South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends Oct. 25. $28-$43. (714) 708-5555.

8pm: Dance

In “Liquid Assets,” its latest site-specific social satire, the locally based Collage Dance Theatre imagines Los Angeles’ downtown business district as a kind of workaday water world, with desks, computers and other office equipment awash in the Watercourt of California Plaza. Incorporating dancers, actors, projected imagery and original music in the manner of the company’s recent Lester Horton Award-winning “Most Wanted,” this irreverent look at corporate liquidity will feature choreography by artistic director Heidi Duckler, designs by B.J. Krivanek, a score by Carla Lucero and the participation of actor John Pleshette.

* “Liquid Assets,” Watercourt area, California Plaza, 350 S. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles. Also Saturday, 8 p.m. Free. (213) 687-2159.

FREEBIE: 11th Annual Craft Faire, Alhambra, 9:30 a.m. Also Saturday. (626) 576-1032.