WEEKEND FORECAST

TODAY

EVENTS

The stories they will tell

It will be a veritable feast of fables and folk tales, anecdotes and allegories, memoirs, chronicles and cliffhangers: Ojai’s eighth annual Village of Tales Storytelling Festival happens this weekend, starting tonight with a free yarn party and picnic.

Grammy nominee and NPR personality Bill Harley heads a lineup of tale tellers that also includes Diane Ferlatte, Carmen Deedy, Donald Davis, Barbara McBride-Smith and Billy Jonas. During the day Friday, there will be programs for children and students. Storytelling performances and workshops take up Friday night, Saturday and part of Sunday. The festival culminates with all the spinners telling their favorite farewell tales at the Libbey Bowl on Sunday afternoon.

Village of Tales Storytelling Festival, Libbey Bowl, Ojai Avenue at Signal Street, and other locations in Ojai. 7 to 8:30 tonight; 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 8 to 10:30 p.m. Friday; 8:30 a.m. to 11:15 p.m. Saturday; 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. $8 to $155. (805) 646-8907, www.villageoftales.org

FRIDAY

POP MUSIC

Intimate setting

Almost three years after making its splashy debut, Velvet Revolver is getting ready to release its sophomore album, “Libertad,” July 3. Before former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland and his ex-Guns N’ Roses band mates Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, along with former Wasted Youth/Loaded guitarist Dave Kushner, hit the arenas and amphitheaters this summer, they’ll test out some of the new songs in a dozen or so small theater shows, including one Friday at the Avalon in Hollywood.

Velvet Revolver, Avalon, 1735 N. Vine St., Hollywood. 9 p.m. Friday. $65. (323) 462-8900.

ART

Redefining modern art

The Norton Simon Museum of Art will open “Alexei Jawlensky (1864-1941),” featuring the work of the Russian artist. Jawlensky was one of the “Blue Four,” a group of Expressionist artists responsible for redefining modern art by coining a philosophy intending to reject the idea of objective reality. The museum presents more than 100 of Jawlensky’s bold, colorful, subjective, distorted and even spiritual paintings and works on paper, inspired in part by medieval, folk and non-Western art.

“Alexei Jawlensky (1864-1941),” Norton Simon Museum of Art, 411 Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Opens Friday. $4 to $8; members, students and patrons 18 or younger, free. (626) 449-6840.

* Hours: noon to 6 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, except noon to 9 p.m. Fridays; closed Tuesdays. Ends

Nov. 7.

MOVIES

A marriage takes a turn

Canadian actress Sarah Polley makes her feature writing and directing debut with “Away From Her,” based on “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” a short story by Polley’s countrywoman, Alice Munro. Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent play an Ontario couple who, after 40 years of marriage, face their first long-term separation when the onset of Alzheimer’s forces the wife into a nursing home. Olympia Dukakis also stars.

“Away From Her,” rated PG-13 for some strong language, opens Friday in selected theaters.

THEATER

A Greek tragedy

Ipanema Theater Troupe and the Electric Lodge present a new adaptation of Euripides’ “The Bacchae.” Director Gulu Monteiro’s staging of the Greek classic incorporates Brazilian dance and percussion to mark the play’s homage to the cult of Dionysus, the god of wine, who is spurned by a Theban king, with tragic consequences. Part of the Villa Theater Lab series.

“The Bacchae,” Getty Villa, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. Opens 8 p.m. Friday. Free, but reservations are required. (310) 440-7300, www.getty.edu

* Also 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday.

JAZZ

Breaking boundaries

The violin, perhaps the most versatile instrument in the symphony orchestra, has rarely played a similarly diverse role in the jazz world. But in the hands of Christian Howes, it springs to life in a fashion unrestricted by genre or style. In any given set, Howes can move from bebop to gypsy jazz, from gospel-driven blues to ear-penetrating fusion. He’ll be matched every step of the way by the sterling rhythm section of pianist Josh Nelson, bassist David Enos and drummer Nate Wood.

Christian Howes, Spazio, 14755 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Sets from 8 p.m. to midnight Friday. (818) 728-8400.

MUSEUMS

Rocking microbes

On the first Friday of each month, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County organizes discussions on a theme, followed by live music. Each of the six coming Fridays in the series will be concerned with biodiversity. This week, the museum presents “First Fridays: Migrations,” in which Jared Leadbetter, associate professor of microbiology at Caltech, will discuss the migration of microbes. The alternative rock band Ima Robot will provide the music.

“First Fridays: Migrations” Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., L.A. 5 to 10 p.m. Friday. $6.50 to $9; members, free. (213) 763-DINO.

SATURDAY

ART

It’s a jungle in here

Inspired by the sketchbooks of Theresa Pendelbury, whose drawings of furniture incorporated bits of dialogue from “The Rockford Files” -- the television show she happened to be watching as she drew -- “Alone in the Jungle” explores themes of animism and anthropomorphism in art, as well as the displacement between image and text. The group show features works by Kenneth Anger, John Baldessari, Mason Cooley, Mike Kelley, Jorge Pardo, Katy Stone, Bob Weber and others.

“Alone in the Jungle,” Mandarin Gallery, 970 N. Broadway, Suites 212 and 213, L.A. Opens Saturday. (213) 687-4107.

* Hours: 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Ends June 16.

SUNDAY

DANCE

It’s time for awards

The Alex Theatre in Glendale presents the 16th annual Lester Horton Dance Awards, honoring achievement during the last year in Southern California concert dance. A dozen awards are voted by the membership of the Dance Resource Center (a local service organization), and the DRC board will stage special tributes to ballet teacher Andrei Tremaine, the late tap innovator Alfred Desio, dance writer Ann Haskins and dance ethnologist-filmmaker Allegra Fuller Snyder. The program also honors local companies that have achieved 25 years of sustained activity. Punctuating the evening: live performances by the Colburn Dance Institute, Lux Aeterna, Contra-Tiempo, Channing Cook Holmes and Diavolo Dance Theater.

16th annual Lester Horton Dance Awards, Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. 5 p.m. Sunday. $15 (DRC members and seniors) to $45. (818) 243-2539.

MONDAY

WORDS

A ‘Magical’ speaker

Joan Didion, author of five novels and eight works of nonfiction, recently adapted her National Book Award-winning memoir “The Year of Magical Thinking” into a play, which debuted on Broadway last month. The book-length essay chronicles the year after her

husband and collaborator John Gregory Dunne’s death, a period of mourning that altered the way Didion perceived and

carried out even the most innocuous tasks of everyday life. Didion will speak as part of the Music Center’s Speaker Series for 2007.

Joan Didion, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Monday. $60; $150 for series subscription. (213) 972-0700.

WEDNESDAY

THEATER

When the sparks fly

A writer in Paris and a high-fashion model embark on a whirlwind romance that changes their lives in the Reprise! Broadway’s Best production of “No Strings,” the Tony Award-winning play with music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and book by Samuel Taylor. Directed by Kay Cole, the show features stage and screen veteran Scott Bakula, perhaps best known for his “Quantum Leap” TV series.

“No Strings,” Freud Playhouse, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave., Westwood. Opens 8 p.m. Wednesday. $70 and $75. (310) 825-2101, www.reprise.org

* Runs 8 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays; 7 p.m. Sundays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; ends May 20.