11am / Photography

“The World of Henri Cartier-Bresson,” a small exhibition devoted to the great French photographer, opens Saturday at Peter Fetterman Gallery. The exhibition will include popular and rarely seen works from around the world, including Europe, America and Asia. The artist--who turns 91 this year--has printed several photographs just for this exhibition. Cartier-Bresson’s works will be paired with “Water, Water, Everywhere: Images of Water in Photography,” a group show of water-themed works by Joel Meyerowitz, O. Winston Link and others.

* “The World of Henri Cartier-Bresson” and “Water, Water, Everywhere: Images of Water in Photography,” Peter Fetterman Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., A-7, Santa Monica. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sundays, 1-5 p.m. Admission is free. (310) 453-6463.

2pm / Children

Sure, Sunday marks the birthday of the good ol’ U.S. of A., but the Kidspace Museum takes a broader approach this holiday weekend. In an hourlong crafts program called Grand Old Flag, kids 5 and older can celebrate America’s role as a cultural melting pot by making flags from all corners of the world.

* Grand Old Flag, Kidspace Museum, 390 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena, 2-3 p.m. $5; $3.50 for seniors; $2.50, ages 1-2; under 1, free. (626) 449-9143.

8pm / Swing

L.A.’s Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra and New York’s George Gee & His Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra will come out swingin’ at Saturday night’s Battle of the Bands at the Hollywood Palladium. Dancers will be the judges of this showdown. Thousands of swingsters are expected to take the floor--all 11,200 square feet of it (and yes, it’s wood). Gives new meaning to the term voting with one’s feet.

* Battle of the Bands, Hollywood Palladium, 6215 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, 8 p.m.-1 a.m. $25; $30 at the door; $15 extra for a dinner table. (310) 726-6897.

7:30pm / Music

Jorge Mester conducts an all-American program when the Pasadena Pops Orchestra opens its summer season. The soloist is the ubiquitous pianist-around-town and CalArts piano meister Bryan Pezzone, who plays Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

* Pasadena Pops Orchestra, Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Can~ada Flintridge, 7:30 p.m. $15 to $45. (626) 792-7677.

8pm / Pop Music

Brazil’s fertile Tropicalia movement produced a wealth of eloquent musicians, but none more lyrically gifted than Caetano Veloso. The singer-songwriter is expected to turn to his own music in these performances after spending time in recent years interpreting the folkloric music of Latin America. At the Saturday show only, Veloso will welcome an admirer to the stage--Beck.

* Caetano Veloso, John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. 8 p.m. Also Sunday, 8 p.m. $35 and $45. (323) 461-3673.

noon / Pop Music

“Hootenanny” used to be a polite folk-music song-swap, but the all-day concert that uses that name in the ‘90s is a little more raucous, gathering as it does an array of roots-minded rock acts (including Mike Ness, Reverend Horton Heat, Cadillac Tramps and Dave Alvin) as well as one major influence on rock ‘n’ roll rhythm and attitude: Bo Diddley.

* Hootenanny, Oak Canyon Ranch, 5305 Santiago Road, Irvine, noon. $35. (714) 991-2055.

Freebies

Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival’s “Macbeth” at Kingsmen Park, California Lutheran University, 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks, 8 p.m. (805) 493-3415. Also July 17 and 18.

*

Summer SongFest ’99 continues with “An Evening of French Song,” UC Irvine Concert Hall, 7 p.m. Reservations required. (949) 824-1974.