9;30 pm Jazz

9:30pm Jazz

Blues and gospel singer Linda Hopkins was born in New Orleans, but she made her biggest professional splash on Broadway in several shows, including “Me and Bessie,” her one-woman salute to Bessie Smith. Hopkins does a one-night stand at Lunaria.

Linda Hopkins, Lunaria, 10341 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A., 9:30 p.m. $8 cover, plus two-drink minimum. (310) 282-8870.

11am Family Freebie

Mercado La Paloma will host a Winter Festival featuring live music, children’s activities and workshops, plus an artisans’ marketplace for handmade items such as ceramics, glass, books and paintings.

Winter Festival, Mercado La Paloma, 3655 S. Grand Ave., L.A., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission free. (213) 748-1963.

8pm Theater

Patrick Stewart, the former authoritative and sexy Capt. Picard of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” is as comfortable on stage as he was on the deck of the Enterprise. The classically trained British actor proves it every year at this time, when he reprises his critically acclaimed solo presentation of “A Christmas Carol.” Stewart, who has won New York’s Drama Desk Award and England’s Olivier Award for the show, portrays every character in Charles Dickens’ classic tale of greed and redemption. See interview, Page 39.

“A Christmas Carol,” Luckman Fine Arts Complex, Cal State L.A., 5151 State University Drive, L.A. Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. $35 to $45; half-price for children ages 6 to 12; children under 6 not admitted. (323) 343-6600, (213) 365-3500.

8pm Theater

The big city-Moscow-is the unattainable dream for siblings stuck in a provincial town in turn-of-the-20th-century Russia. They look for fulfillment and happiness against a backdrop of social and political change in Anton Chekhov’s classic “Three Sisters,” directed by Peter Levin for Interact, the acclaimed North Hollywood theater troupe.

“Three Sisters,” Interact Theatre Company, 5215 Bakman Ave., North Hollywood, 8 p.m. Regular schedule: Thursdays to Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends Jan. 13. $20. (818) 773-7862.

4 & 7:45pm Choral Music

Two choral programs Saturday get into the spirit of the season. British musician Martin Neary conducts a full-length performance of Handel’s “Messiah” in Westwood. His forces include the boys and girls of the Paulist Choristers of California, the adult Chapel Royal Singers and the Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra. At First Baptist Church of Los Angeles, the touring Tallis Scholars sing Renaissance holiday music from the 16th century under a gilded ceiling inspired by the Ducal Chapel in Mantua. Music by Praetorius and Tallis is on the program, part of the Chamber Music in Historic Sites series.

Paulist Choristers of California and Friends perform Handel’s “Messiah,” Saint Paul the Apostle Church, 10750 Ohio Ave., Westwood, 7:45 p.m. $25 to $40. (310) 475-2070.

Tallis Scholars, First Baptist Church of Los Angeles, 760 S. Westmoreland Ave., L.A.,

4 p.m. $28 to $35. (310) 954-4300.

2pm Pop Music Freebie

If you missed him at the Getty recently, acerbic Troubadour Loudon Wainwright III is taking his twisted tunes to the flatlands.

Loudon Wainwright III, Borders Books & Music, 1360 Westwood Blvd., L.A., 2 p.m. Free. (310) 475-3444.

7:30pm Pop Music

Stevie Wonder’s sixth annual “House Full of Toys” benefit has recruited some potent soul and R&B; artists, including India.Arie, Brian McKnight, Tyrese, Babyface and Ja Rule.

Stevie Wonder’s “House Full of Toys,” the Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood, 7:30 p.m. $25 to $250. (310) 962-7600.