THE VALLEY / BEST BETS

Big Band Les Brown’s Band of Renown, under the direction of Les Brown Jr., performs at a fund-raising dance for the Pierce College Foundation on Friday night in Woodland Hills. Radio personality Chuck Cecil will emcee. Free ballroom dancing lessons will be given for those who arrive early (7 p.m.).

* Les Brown’s Band of Renown, Friday, 8 p.m.-midnight, Warner Center Marriott Hotel, 21850 Oxnard St., Woodland Hills. (818) 704-9725. $17.50.

Fund-Raising Concert

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra will perform twice locally this weekend--Saturday in Glendale and Sunday in Canoga Park. Saturday’s program will feature Mendelssohn’s Concerto in D minor for Violin, Piano and Strings; Lou Harrison’s Suite for Violin, Piano and Small Orchestra; Haydn’s Symphony No. 96 in D; and two pieces by Silvestre Revueltas. Jeffrey Kahane and Margaret Batjer will be the soloists. Sunday’s concert in Canoga Park, a fund-raiser for the Valley Cultural Center, will have the same program except the Mendelssohn.

* The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Saturday, 8 p.m., Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, (213) 622-7001, Ext. 215; and Sunday, 3 p.m., Madrid Theatre, 21622 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, (818) 704-1587. $13-$50.

Folk Dance

“Debka for Peace: Building Cultural Bridges Through the Art of Middle Eastern Dance” will feature the Keshet Chaim Dance Ensemble and the Adam Basma Middle Eastern Dance Company in an artistic collaboration between the Jewish and Arabic dance troupes this weekend at Cal State Northridge. The debka is a dance originally of the Arabic tradition, performed throughout Palestine, Syria and Lebanon to celebrate a good harvest. Israelis have adapted and developed their own version.

* “Debka for Peace,” Saturday, 8:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7:30 p.m., Performing Arts Center at Cal State Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St. (818) 677-2488. $20-$75.

Free Concert

The Topanga Symphony will perform Saint-Saens’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Faure’s Elegie for Cello and Orchestra, Gounod’s Symphony No. 1 in D and other works Sunday afternoon in Topanga. Jerome Kessler and Barry Brisk will conduct.

* The Topanga Symphony, Sunday, 3 p.m., Topanga Community House, 1440 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd. (818) 999-5775. Free.