8 pm: Pop Music

Both the Campaign for a Landmine Free World and fans of first-rate singer-songwriters will benefit from the benefit concerts heading to three Southern California campuses. Sharing the stage at El Camino College’s Marsee Auditorium are Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark and Terry Allen. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings replace Griffith in San Diego, while Santa Barbara gets Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Bruce Cockburn along with Harris, Earle and Welch & Rawlings.

* Benefit Concert for a Landmine Free World, Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, Torrance. Friday, 8 p.m. $40 and $50. (800) 832-2787. Also 8 p.m. Saturday at Mandeville Auditorium, UC San Diego. $45. (619) 534-4559. Also 8 p.m. Sunday at Campbell Hall, UC Santa Barbara. Sold out. (805) 893-3535.

8 pm: Theater

California Repertory Theatre returns with the 7th annual staging of its traditional holiday show, “An O. Henry Christmas,’ a poignant family drama based on short stories by the author. It’s set in an encampment of homeless men and women who are visited by a mysterious stranger.

* “An O. Henry Christmas,” Edison Theatre, 213 E. Broadway, Long Beach. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 7 p.m.; Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 19. $15. (562) 985-7000.

all day: Festival

Everything from handmade soaps and beeswax candles to fine arts and gourmet foods will be available at the 27th annual Harvest Festival at Fairplex in Pomona. The three-day event will also feature artists’ demonstrations, including one by furniture maker John Gillis, and entertainment by rock band the Alley Cats and other performers.

* Harvest Festival, Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. $7.50; seniors, $6.50; ages 6 to 12, $4; ages 5 and younger, free. $1 off regular adult admission by donating a canned or packaged good to benefit Olive Crest Abused Children’s Foundation. (562) 422-1616.

8 pm: Theater

Do you know your catechism? You will when “Sister” gets through with you, and she’ll make you mind your manners too. Maripat Donovan returns in her hit solo comedy, “Late Nite Catechism,” in which the audience becomes the class. The popular “interactive” show, co-written by Donovan and Vicki Quade, inaugurates the new second floor venue at the Coronet Theatre.

* “Late Nite Catechism,” Upstairs at the Coronet, 366 La Cienega Blvd., second floor, Los Angeles. Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 5 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Dec. 26, 3 and 7 p.m. Dark Dec. 24-25. Runs indefinitely. $35. (877) 386-6968.

8 pm: Theater

Lily Tomlin reprises her Tony Award-winning solo show by Jane Wagner. She plays Trudy the bag lady and a host of other eccentrics in a special weekend engagement of “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.”

* “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” Orange County Performing Arts Center, 300 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m. $36 to $49. (714) 740-7878; (213) 365-3500. San Diego Civic Theatre, San Diego Concourse and Performing Arts Center, 202 B St., San Diego. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. $28 to $55. (619) 236-6500.

all day’: Photography

The highs and lows of daily life are detailed in the guileless faces of children in “The Children’s Hour,” a new group photography show opening Friday at Apex Fine Art. From Alfred Eisenstaedt’s unforgettable image of Parisian children transfixed by a puppet show to James Var Der Zee’s images of the Harlem Renaissance, this selection of more than 50 prints offers a unique look at the many facets of childhood--and life. With works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Margaret Bourke-White, Carl Mydans, Edward Clark and others.

* “The Children’s Hour.” Apex Fine Art, 332 1/2 La Brea Ave., West Hollywood. Ends Jan. 16. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. (323) 634-7887.

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FREEBIES: The Pomona College Choir and organist Frances Nobert perform at the United Church of Christ, Harvard Avenue and Harrison Street, Claremont, 8 p.m. (909) 621-8155.

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Bassist Art Davis, an associate of John Coltrane, Max Roach and Art Blakey, leads his trio at LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. (323) 857-6000.