10,11 & 11:30am

Music

Classical music is never more accessible to youngsters than at this time of year. Two children’s concerts today not only have kiddie-friendly tunes, but they’re scheduled for early start times. The L.A. Philharmonic’s Toyota Symphonies for Youth programs continue with a holiday special conducted by Miguel Hart-Bedoya, with actor John de Lancie the host. At 10 a.m., before the performance, children ages 5 to 11 can hear storytelling or experiment with musical instruments. The concert features music for brass by Gabrieli and excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” ballet. At Mervyn’s Musical Mornings “Holiday Hoopla” in Orange County, the Pacific Symphony, conducted by Mark Mandarano, does music by Mozart, Handel and others.

* The L.A. Philharmonic’s Symphonies for Youth, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A, 11 a.m. $8 to $10. (323) 365-3500.

* Mervyn’s Musical Mornings “Holiday Hoopla,” Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 10 and 11:30 p.m. $11 to $13. (714) 755-5799.

all day Cat Show

The Cat Fanciers Assn., in conjunction with the Happy Trails Cat Club, presents the “Christmas With the Angels” cat show at the Angels’ Edison International Field on Saturday and Sunday. Highlights include cat competitions, cat adoptions, Christmas-time cat vendors and appearances by cat psychologists.

* “Christmas With the Angels,” Edison International Field, 2000 Gene Autry Drive, Anaheim. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. $7; seniors, $5; children, $4. (909) 737-7372.

2 & 7pm Dance

For more than a quarter-century, the Westside Ballet “Nutcracker” has ranked high among Southland dancing-school versions--but not because of special effects, though Clara and her Prince do fly away in a walnut shell. Not because of charm, either--though the smile-quotient remains high. No, the company’s secret weapon is classicism: With former members dancing in all the major U.S. companies (especially in New York City Ballet), these trainees from ages 8 to 18 know they’re not just watched, they’re scouted. So they dance as if “The Nutcracker” isn’t a mere kid show, a Christmas charade, a family tradition, but a genuine ballet-ballet: a test as well as a holiday treat. And, of course, it is.

* Westside Ballet in “The Nutcracker,” Wadsworth Theatre, Veterans Administration grounds, West Los Angeles. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m; Sunday, 1 and 5 p.m. $10 (children) to $25. (213) 365-3500.

2 & 7:30pm Music

Family holiday concerts take place Saturday at the Music Center and Saturday and Sunday at the Long Beach Convention Center. First up, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, actor William Daniels is the master of ceremonies for performances by the L.A. Master Chorale and several soloists. In Long Beach, the Long Beach Symphony, conductor Michael Krajewski and honor choirs from local schools celebrate the season.

* Family Holiday Concert, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A., 2 p.m. $10 to $30, (213) 365-3500.* Long Beach Symphony family holiday concert, Terrace Theater, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, 7:30 p.m. Also Sunday, 2 p.m. $12 to $30. (562) 436-3203.

2:30pm Reading

Getting bored with the old cultural Christmas traditions--Handel’s “Messiah,” “The Nutcracker” ballet, and maybe a staging of “A Christmas Carol”? For a change of pace, go see Santa Claus--and not at the mall. At the Huntington, Santa will do a fireside reading of “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” the poem better known by its opening line: “ ‘Twas the night before Christmas . . . “ If you miss the reading, you can still enjoy the book. The Huntington has just published a collector’s edition of Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, based on a manuscript in its library.

* “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” Huntington Library, Art Galleries and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, 2:30 p.m. $8.50; seniors, $8; ages 12-18, $6; children under 12, free. (626) 405-2141.

8pm Pop Music

First the country gives us Pokemon, and now this--the Mick Jagger of Japan. That’s a term that’s been applied to Eikichi Yazawa, one of the biggest rock stars in his homeland for nearly 25 years. While he’s surfaced occasionally in the West, his Wiltern Theatre concert is the best chance yet for L.A. to satisfy its curiosity about how rock translates into Japanese.

* Eikichi Yazawa, Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 8 p.m. $25 and $45. (213) 380-5005.

FREEBIES:

Emma Pullen hosts a screening and discussion of “Marching Into the Millennium,” her film about L.A.’s African American community, Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, 5th and Flower streets, L.A., 2:30 p.m. (213) 228-7306.

Lula and Afrobrazil perform at the Beverly Center’s Center Court on the sixth floor, 8500 Beverly Blvd., L.A., 5-7 p.m. (310) 854-0070.