WEEKEND FORECAST

FRIDAY

Fair days, hot nights

The L.A. County Fair kicks off with concerts by Crosby, Stills and Nash, and longtime L.A. favorites War. The theme of this year’s fair is “Kinder. Simpler. Funner.” Grammar notwithstanding, the fair will feature the usual simple pleasures and a musical lineup with Hoobastank, ZZ Top, Trisha Yearwood, Hall and Oates and others.

L.A. County Fair, Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. Opens Friday. $6-$15, 5 and younger, free. Some concerts and events have additional charges ranging from $15 to $100. (909) 865-4590. www.fairplex.com

* Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. Ends Oct. 2.

Party for a funky guy

It seems as if funk visionary George Clinton has been around forever, but it’s really just been 50 years. That’s a mark worth celebrating, and the influential bandleader and his Parliament/Funkadelic lineup will be joined at this anniversary celebration by some longtime disciples, most notably the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Peppers’ second album, “Freaky Styley,” produced by Clinton, has its own anniversary, its 20th, this year.

George Clinton, Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., L.A. 7 p.m. Friday. $29.50-$104.50. (323) 665-1927.

Together in harmonies

Cuban-born clarinetist-saxophonist-composer Paquito D’Rivera’s musical bailiwick stretches from Latin jazz and bebop to classical music and bossa nova. On Friday evening, the multiple Grammy winner joins with the Lincoln Center-based Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra in Cerritos. The ensemble, consisting of 18 prominent soloists from New York City’s Latin jazz scene, is led by pianist Arturo O’Farrill, son of the late great Chico O’Farrill.

Lincoln Center’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with Paquito D’Rivera, Cerritos Center, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. 8 p.m. Friday. $25-$47. (562) 916-8501.

Appeal to the senses

With “Rivers and Tides,” German filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer articulated the beauty of environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy’s work. His follow-up documentary, “Touch the Sound,” explores the world of deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie, a Gram-

my winner, as she travels to New York and Japan and back to Scotland.

“Touch the Sound,” unrated, opens Friday at the Landmark Nuart, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 281-8223.

Story time at library

Actress and spoken-word artist Sally Shore is back, hosting the ninth season of the New Short Fiction Series, which features dramatic readings of fresh works in West Coast fiction. In the season opener, Shore’s guest cast of actors will present pieces from the works of Seattle-based writer Stephanie Kallos (“A Heart Like Sarajevo and Other Stories”). Guest readers include Barbara Keegan, Raphael Noble and Lynn Odell.

New Short Fiction Series, Beverly Hills Public Library, 444 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills. 7:30 p.m. Friday. $10. (310) 288-2220.

SATURDAY

Abstract ideas: solid

Anthony Caro is perhaps Britain’s most revered living sculptor. After working as an assistant for Henry Moore, Caro moved away from figurative art and radically changed the idea of sculpture with his abstract structures made of welded metals commonly found in construction sites. A two-gallery show titled “Anthony Caro: Sculpture 1966-1983” features his breakthrough painted steel works and smaller sculptures from later in his career.

“Anthony Caro: Sculpture 1966-1983,” Marc Selwyn Fine Art, 6222 Wilshire Blvd., and Daniel Weinberg Gallery, 6148 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Opens Saturday.

* Selwyn hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. (323) 933-9911. Weinberg hours: 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. (323) 954-8425. Ends Oct. 22.

Simply divine

Royal headdresses, tablets inscribed with hieroglyphics, urns and religious carvings are some of the many objects (including 70 never before shown in the U.S.) on display for “Lords of Creation: The Origins of Sacred Maya Kingship.” The exhibition traces the ancient Maya regions of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras beginning at the Middle Preclassic Period (900-400 BC) and looks at how the idea of divine authority shaped the rest of Mayan culture.

“Lords of Creation: The Origins of Sacred Maya Kingship,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Opens Saturday. $5-$9; 17 and younger, free. (323) 857-6000.

* Hours: noon to 8 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays; noon to 9 p.m. Fridays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Ends Jan. 2.

SUNDAY

Human drama

of Iraq

“What I Heard About Iraq (A Cry for Five Voices),” Simon Levy’s world premiere stage adaptation of the article by Eliot Weinberger that first appeared in the London Review of Books, explores the human story behind the U.S. invasion of Iraq through quotes from politicians, military chiefs, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi citizens. The production, directed by Levy, features a cast of five in multiple roles, plus sounds and images from news footage.

“What I Heard About Iraq (A Cry for Five Voices),” Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Hollywood. Opens 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. $25. (323) 663-1525.

* Runs 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Ends Oct. 9.