8 pm: Pop Music

Moody rock and offbeat humor are the hallmarks of Orbisonian singer Chris Isaak, who appears at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim before ringing in the New Year at the House of Blues.

* Chris Isaak, Sun Theatre, 2200 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim, 8 p.m. $62.50 to $75. (714) 712-2700. Also Sunday at the House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 9 p.m. $125 to $200. (323) 848-5100.

10 am: Architecture

A daylong bus tour sponsored by the Pasadena Historical Museum journeys through time in a look at the cultural and historical heritage of Pasadena. Pasadena Panorama Bus Tour will highlight the city’s Craftsman homes located along the Arroyo, Pasadena’s first residential historic landmark district known as Bungalow Heaven, mansions along Oak Knoll and Orange Grove, and the Old Mill, a 19th century mission-era structure located in San Marino. The tour will also include a slide-lecture by Robert Winter, a scholar of the Arts and Crafts movement, and a buffet lunch at the historic Green Hotel.

* Pasadena Panorama Bus Tour. Buses will leave from the Pasadena Historical Museum, 470 West Walnut St., Pasadena. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Members, $45; nonmembers, $55. (626) 577-1660.

11 am: Family

The ponies are off and running again at Santa Anita Park, where the gates opened this week for the 64th winter season. Santa Anita offers a variety of activities, including dining at the Turf Club and FrontRunner restaurants and strolls through the manicured Paddock Gardens. The track’s infield features extensive picnic facilities and a children’s playground. Visitors can view the races from the infield, the grandstands or a private box seat.

* Santa Anita Park, 285 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia. 11 a.m. (first race begins at 12:30 p.m.) Also, Wednesdays-Sundays (plus holiday Mondays) through April 16. General (grandstand and infield seating), $5; Club House (box seating), $8.50; Turf Club (with dress code), $15 weekdays and $20 weekends; ages 17 and under with parent or guardian, free. (626) 574-7223.

2 pm: Family

Passengers are welcome to climb aboard one of four tall ships during the Long Beach Sea Festival this Saturday through Monday. Each ship is a replica of an 18th or 19th century vessel and is manned by costumed crew members. The three-hour expeditions are highlighted by simulated cannon battles involving the four ships.

* Long Beach Sea Festival, Rainbow Harbor, foot of Pine Avenue at Shoreline Drive, Long Beach. Saturday-Monday, 2-5 p.m. $40; under age 12, $20. (800) 200-5239.

8 pm: Dance

Whether commemorating Kwanzaa, Christmas or an amalgam that Times reviewer Victoria Looseleaf dubbed “Kwansmas,” Lula Washington’s annual “Gospel Kwanzaa Celebration Concert” is a holiday program with legs. Now in its fourth edition, it gives the dancers in Washington’s modern dance ensemble a chance to perform alongside a host of guests: this year the Clara Ward Singers and actress Virginia Capers, among others. But its happiest moments often belong to the children from Washington’s school. As Looseleaf wrote in 1998, “Whenever the Dance Theatre students, ranging from 4-year-olds to teenagers, took to the stage, the atmosphere was charged with inspiration and hope.”

* “Gospel Kwanzaa Celebration Concert,” Luckman Theatre, Cal State Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, L.A., 8 p.m. $15 to $30. (323) 343-6600.

8:15 pm: Pop Music

The Other Ones must have had a good time at the Universal Amphitheatre in August when they headlined the Furthur Festival. Former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann and auxiliary Dead pianist Bruce Hornsby are bringing the group back for an encore.

* The Other Ones, with the Steve Kimock Band, Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, 8:15 p.m. $37 to $43. (818) 622-4440.

9 pm: Pop Music

The veteran British reggae band Steel Pulse headlines the Roxy on Saturday and returns on Sunday to usher in the true millennium with its apocalyptic beats.

* Steel Pulse, with Bonsai Tribe, the Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 9 p.m. $37.50 in advance, $40 day of show. Also Sunday, with Quinto Sol, 10 p.m. $47.50 in advance, $50 day of show. (310) 278-9457.

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FREEBIE: Local artists create diverse depictions of La Virgen de Guadalupe in a colorful exhibition at Rock Rose Art Gallery and Arroyo Books, 4108 N. Figueroa St., Highland Park. Tuesday-Friday, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Through Jan. 6. (323) 222-4740.