BEST BETS / Sunday 7/9

11am Children

If Limpopo doesn’t make your kids clap or dance, check their pulse. This Russian folk music group sings, dances and plays instruments you may have never heard of: the balalaika, the bayan and trishotke (along with trumpet and trombone). This concert is geared for children, but Limpopo isn’t ageist. The troupe recently whisked party-goers onto the dance floor at a black-tie gala for the Bolshoi Ballet.

* Limpopo at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A. 11 a.m. $5. Reservations suggested. (323) 655-8587.

11am & 7pm

World Music

You’ve seen them on the PBS special “In the Fiddlers House.” Now that most ambitious of klezmer bands, the New York-based Klezmatics, will bring their unique brand of Yiddish tradition and contemporary innovation to a pair of performances. The early show, with an emphasis on fun, is designed for Ma, Pa and all the kids. The evening show concentrates on the group’s danceable, soul-stirring sounds.

* The Klezmatics, John Anson Ford Theatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. 11 a.m. show $7 for all ages; 7 p.m. show $20 to $30. (323) 461-3673.

noon

Kites

The skies will be filled with action and color at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library with the Cal Oaks Kite Classic and its professional kite demonstrations, Chinese kite making and kite decorating. The festivities also will include skydivers and an air show featuring the Confederate Air Force flying an F-8F Bearcat and custom planes from the Experimental Air Force. Admission is free and kites will be given to the first 1,000 children. A reception and barbecue lunch will be available for $20 per person (children under 12 free with an adult).

* Cal Oaks Kite Classic, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, 40 Presidential Drive, Simi Valley. Noon to 4 p.m. Free. (805) 522-2977.

2pm

Workshop

From Griffith Park to Venice Beach, dozens of people are drawn to the hypnotic rhythms of drum circles each weekend. Be one of them after a lesson from percussionist Joe Addington and Trio Ache, who lead an Afro-Cuban Drumming Workshop for kids and families.

* Afro-Cuban Drumming Workshop, Eagle Rock Community Cultural Center, 2225 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock. 2-4 p.m. Free. (323) 226-1617.

7:30pm

Music

In Hollywood Bowl debuts, Russian-born soprano Natalia Dercho and Mexican tenor Alfredo Portilla sing the leading roles in a concert version of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” at the Bowl. John Mauceri conducts the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Zheng Cao sings Suzuki, and Louis Otey is Sharpless.

* The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and conductor John Mauceri present a concert version of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” at Hollywood Bowl, 2701 N. Highland Ave. 7:30 p.m. $3 to $75. (323) 850-2000.

2pm

Movies

The Gene Autry Museum gets back in the saddle as its 2000 film series opens with the Singing Cowboy himself starring in “Cow Town” (1950). Autry strings up barbed wire to deter cattle rustlers in a story that examines whether ranches should be fenced or remain open. Gail Davis and Jock Mahoney co-star. After the film, James Nottage, the museum’s vice president and chief curator, will discuss the role of the modern cowboy. The museum will offer a variety of films this summer reflecting the West’s diversity; the next offering is “The Washing of Tears,” a video documentary on the Nuu-Chah-Nulth people of the Pacific Northwest, on July 13.

* Film Series at the Gene Autry Museum, 4700 Heritage Way, Griffith Park. “Cow Town” (1950), Sunday, 2 p.m. $4 to $5. (323) 667-2000.

Freebies

Track down the roots of your family tree on the Internet at the Genealogy Sundays workshop, noon to 4 p.m., at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A. Also July 23, Aug. 6 and 20. (310) 440-4500.

Brasil Brazil, with vivacious vocalists Ana Gazzola and Sonia Santos, explores samba, bossa nova and other exotic rhythms at West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente Blvd.; 6 p.m. (323) 848-6307.