all dayLeisureSome who care about the language...

all day

Leisure

Some who care about the language will cringe when they hear the theme of the 80th-annual Los Angeles County Fair: “Kinder. Simpler. Funner.” Regardless, the fair is a family-friendly extravaganza. Besides educational, art, horticulture, agriculture and livestock displays and competitions, the fair will also offer all kinds of entertainment, including 10 grandstand concerts by such artists as Travis Tritt, War, Peter Frampton, Al Green, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Tower of Power and others. Plus horse racing, monster trucks, pig races, other contests and all kinds of food.

Los Angeles County Fair, Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. Fridays, 11 a.m. to midnight.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to midnight.; Sundays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Through Sept. 29. $4 to $35; children 5 and younger admitted free. Some events have additional admission charges of $12.50 to $50. (909) 623-3111. www.lacountyfair.com.

*

8:30pm

Music

“A Dream of Africa” is what conductor John Mauceri calls the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra’s Fireworks Finale program, to be presented three times this weekend. It will include music by Felah Sowande, Maurice Jarre, Alex North, John Barry, Duke Ellington, William Grant Still and Hans Zimmer. Special guest artist is the legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba.

Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Miriam Makeba and the Paul Smith Singers, Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. 8:30 p.m. $3 to $90. (323) 850-2000. Also, Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

*

all day

Movies

French filmmaker Anne Fontaine, who explored human desire in “Dry Cleaning,” looks at father-and-son issues in the metaphorically titled melodrama “How I Killed My Father.” Charles Berling plays a Versailles gerontologist whose sterile, closed-off life is invaded by the return of his father (Michel Bouquet), who had abandoned him as a child. Natatcha Regnier also stars.

“How I Killed My Father,” unrated, opens exclusively at Landmark’s Cecchi Gori Fine Arts Theatre, Beverly Hills; Laemmle’s Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd, Encino, (818) 981-9811; and Laemmle’s Playhouse 7, 673 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 844-6500.

*

7 & 10:30pm

Pop Music

Slum Village’s 2000 debut album, “Fantastic, Vol. 2,” included guest appearances by Q-Tip, D’Angelo, Busta Rhymes, Pete Rock and Jazzy Jeff, which added up to a potent endorsement for the emergent Detroit hip-hop trio. The group recently followed it up with “Trinity,” which has cemented its members’ stature as progressive rap visionaries.

Slum Village, Knitting Factory Hollywood, 7021 Hollywood Blvd. 7 and 10:30 p.m. $21. (323) 463-0204.

*

all day

Movies

Who said Tom Green’s career died when he and Drew Barrymore split? In “Stealing Harvard,” he plays second banana to skateboarder-turned-Kevin Smith regular Jason Lee in a farce about a medical supply store worker forced into a life of crime in order to secure tuition for his college-bound niece. Leslie Mann and Megan Mullaly co-star. Maybe Green will be the Tom Arnold of the 21st century? Maybe he’ll get his own crass cable show? Oh, wait, he already did that.

“Stealing Harvard,” rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language and drug references.

*

6pm

Pop Music

Mexican rock heroes Jaguares have long crusaded for true cultural crossover, taking such U.S. bands as Live and Redd Kross on the road on their “Revolucion” tours. Their new guest star may be the most provocative pairing yet: Morrissey, the British cult figure whose rare Southern California appearance brings him to the surprisingly large Latino audience that has embraced him and his old band, the Smiths.

Jaguares, with Morrissey, the Arrowhead Pond, 2695 E. Katella Blvd., Anaheim. 6 p.m. $45 to $75. (714) 704-2500.

*

7:30 & 10pm

Theater

Master puppet artist Phillip Huber, who has been performing internationally on stage and screen with his handcrafted Huber Marionettes for nearly four decades, is presenting a special engagement of his newest solo show, “Suspended Animation.” Filmgoers may not realize it, but Huber’s marionette artistry can be seen in the film “Being John Malkovich,” in the delicate “Dance of Despair” and “Heloise and Abelard” vignettes and others.

“Suspended Animation,” Santa Monica Puppet and Magic Center, 1255 2nd St., Santa Monica, Friday, 7:30 and 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m. $35. (310) 656-0483.