Three-day forecast

MOVIES

Dreams, struggles in a ‘Castle’

Living with her eccentric family in a dilapidated castle in Suffolk, England, 17-year-old Cassandra (Romola Garai) dreams of romance and finds escape in her fanciful diary entries. Meanwhile, her novelist father (Bill Nighy) endures a 20-year writer’s block brought on by his successful debut book. “I Capture the Castle,” based on Dodie Smith’s novel, follows the family’s fortunes as they face possible eviction and the arrival from America of the heir to their home.

“I Capture the Castle,” rated R for brief nudity, opens Friday in selected theaters.

POP MUSIC

Caribbean Queen

The Caribbean Seabreeze Fest covers the titular region in two installments, with Saturday’s bill emphasizing the area’s Spanish-language music (as well as importing Nigeria’s Majek Fashek), while Sunday’s show combines several branches of reggae. A prime attraction is the group Culture, marking 25 years as an exemplar of “conscious” roots reggae.

Caribbean Seabreeze Fest, Queen Mary Park, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, Saturday and Sunday, noon. $30. (323) 731-2927.

ART

Old records, new shapes

Dario Robleto shreds, melts and molds old vinyl records into objects related to the songs they bear. He took records made by Marvin Gaye and John Lennon, who were killed by gunshots, and Kurt Cobain, who shot himself, and melted them down with Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” to form a box of bullets. A show of the San Antonio artist’s work opens Friday at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, part of its “Cerca Series.” “Cerca” aims to break down barriers and open the doors of the museum to new artists.

“Cerca Series: Dario Robleto,” The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, downtown location, 1001 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. Sundays-Tuesdays, Thursdays-

Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; ends Aug. 24. Free. (858) 454-3541.

WORDS

Art that imitates art

Writers take their inspiration from some of the strangest places, and

bestselling author Lisa See is no exception. See discusses how the Bowers Museum’s exhibit “Secret World of the Forbidden City: Splendors From China’s

Imperial Palace”

inspired her latest novel, “Dragon Bones.” Lest

visitors think that the novel is a description of the artistic or architectural features of the exhibit, it is not. “Bones” is a murder mystery complicated by an archeological theft and more. See will be signing books after the program.

Lisa See, Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. Today, 11 a.m. $35, includes lunch and program. (714) 567-3680.

DANCE

U.S. debut of Danish company

Santa Barbara’s daring annual Summerdance series goes into high gear this weekend with the U.S. debut of the contemporary Danish company Rosenzweig Dance, a three-member group praised for “raw masculine energy” by the leading Copenhagen newspaper Belingske Tidende. The company’s four-part program includes the premiere of “Grejs.” Next week (Wednesday to July 18) comes the U.S. debut of the Donlon Dance Company from Germany, acclaimed for “its innovative and fresh movement” in the pages of the Wiener Zeitung of Vienna. On July 19, Tamica Washington-Miller, daughter of the Southland’s own Lula Washington, presents students from her Afro-Funk and Jazz Performance workshop.

Rosenzweig Dance, Center Stage Theater, 751 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara. Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m. $18 to $26. (805) 963-0408.

FAIR

Red, ripe and rockin’ 21 days

The 111th annual Orange County Fair opens Friday with a full day’s worth of activities culminating in a concert by jazz superstar Diana Krall at the Pacific Amphitheatre. “Red, Ripe and Rockin’ ” is the theme of the fair, which runs 21 days filled with entertainment, live music, festivals, rodeo, carnival rides and games. In addition to Krall, the concurrent concert series at the Pacific Amphitheatre will feature such stars as Bob Dylan, Steely Dan, Melissa Etheridge, Joan Osborne, the Doors, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Alanis Morissette, Alan Jackson and others.

Orange County Fair, Orange County Fair & Exposition Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Fridays-Sundays, 10 a.m. to midnight; Tuesdays-Thursdays, noon to midnight. Ends Aug. 3. Admission: $3 to $7, adults; 5 and younger, free. Carnival ticket books and wristbands: $10 to $20. Pacific Amphitheatre concerts: $31.50 to $89.50.

(714) 708-FAIR.

JAZZ

Sounds and sunshine in Pasadena

If sunshine and smooth jazz sound good to you, get yourself over to Pasadena’s Central Park this weekend. The 8th annual Old Pasadena JazzFest features a different but strong lineup of smooth jazz and R&B-flavored; pop artists both days. BWB, featuring trumpeter Rick Braun, saxman Kirk Whalum and guitarist Norman Brown, headlines Saturday’s show, while singer Will Downing anchors the Sunday lineup. Other acts appearing include Bobby Caldwell, Acoustic Alchemy, Earl Klugh, Gerald Albright & Jonathan Butler, Everette Harp, Doc Powell and Greg Adams. For complete schedule, see www.omegaevents.com.

Old Pasadena JazzFest, Central Park, 275 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. $10 to $55. (818) 771-5544.

FESTIVAL

The focus: Bangladesh

Echo Lake Park will be the scene of the 26th Annual Lotus Festival this weekend. The diverse cultures of Asia and the Pacific Islands will be celebrated with live music, dance, drama, storytelling and food. This year, the highlighted culture will be that of Bangladesh. An international marketplace, arts, crafts, dragon boat races, contests and fireworks also will be featured.

The 26th Annual Lotus Festival, Echo Park, Park Avenue between Glendale Avenue and Echo Park Boulevard, L.A. Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 8:30 p.m. Free. (888) 527-2757.

ART

Unblinking look at war

Dmitri Baltermants was a disgraced Soviet military officer who rose to become his country’s premier photojournalist. His most moving photos, which are among those that will be shown in “Photographs by Dmitri Baltermants: The Great Patriotic War 1941-1945,” opening today at Stephen Cohen Gallery, were images that Soviet dictators suppressed because they showed Nazi victories that the leaders denied had occurred. Others showed the Red Army as a disorganized fighting force. Baltermants’ images from what Soviet leaders called “The Great Patriotic War” have become universal symbols for the tragedy and incomprehensibility of war.

“Photographs by Dmitri Baltermants: The Great Patriotic War 1941-1945,” Stephen Cohen Gallery, 7358 Beverly Blvd., L.A. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; ends Aug. 23. Free. (323) 937-5525.

THEATER

The world, explored

Jennifer Paz stars in “Songs for a New World,” Playwrights Arena’s Los Angeles premiere of the off-Broadway musical revue by Jason Robert Brown. The piece explores human needs and yearnings through characters that range from a young man looking to basketball as his ticket out of the ghetto to a woman who lands a rich husband -- and a soulless marriage.

“Songs for a New World,” Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., L.A. Opens Friday. Runs Thursdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 3 and 8 p.m.; ends Aug. 9. $25 to $30. (310) 578-2378.