Three-day forecast

POP MUSIC

Griffin returns to folk roots

Patty Griffin is one of the most revered members of the contemporary class of singer-songwriters, but record-business mergers and maneuvers have managed to keep her out of action for a couple of years. Now the Austin-based artist is back with “1000 Kisses,” on Dave Matthews’ ATO label, a collection that returns to a folk approach after the pop-rock foray of its predecessor, “Flaming Red.”

Patty Griffin, John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. 7 p.m. Thursday. $25. (323) 461-3673.

ART

Fresh take on old works

Some of the most exquisite works of Chinese Art From the Permanent Collection of the Norton Simon go on display Friday. This exhibition of more than 150 never-before-seen pieces, including Buddhist sculptures in limestone, marble, wood and metal, are set alongside delicate watercolor paintings, fine tapestries and scrolls. The works date from the 5th century through the 19th century.

Chinese Art From the Permanent Collection, Norton Simon Museum, 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Opens Friday. Hours: noon-6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays; noon-9 p.m. Fridays. Ends Sept. 20. (626) 449-6840.

MOVIES

Behind Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera, with more than 40 million viewers worldwide, is often viewed as a propaganda machine by Westerners. In the documentary “Control Room,” Arab American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim (“Startup.com”) goes behind the scenes at the network to examine its coverage of the Iraq war in an effort to better understand the complex relationship between the two cultures she shares. Al Jazeera, based in Doha, Qatar, has more than 30 bureaus -- including two in the U.S. -- as it attempts to bring international news coverage to the Arab world.

“Control Room,” unrated, opens Friday at the Landmark Nuart, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A., (310) 281-8223, and Edwards University 6, 4245 Campus Drive, Irvine, (949) 854-8818.

FESTIVAL

34 years of Pride

The Motels, featuring Martha Davis and the Emotions, head a lineup of more than two dozen acts at the 34th L.A. Pride Celebration this weekend in West Hollywood. The parade down Santa Monica Boulevard is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Sunday. The theme of the celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is “Hello ... pride.” Besides live entertainment, the celebration will have DJ dance pavilions, karaoke, carnival rides, games and a children’s garden.

The 34th annual L.A. Pride Celebration, West Hollywood Park, San Vicente Boulevard between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood. Noon-midnight Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday. $8-$15, 12 and younger, free. (323) 969-8302. www.lapride.org.

MOVIES

Swordplay and music

Back in the day before sound-graced celluloid, the mega-star Douglas Fairbanks ascended to rarefied celebrity when he played the swashbuckling lead in “The Black Pirate” -- Tinseltown’s first major feature filmed in Technicolor. Ventura’s annual “Music Under the Stars” series will kick off with a screening of that 1926 classic. Composer Dan Redfeld will perform an original score. To further the buccaneer theme, the Brethren of the Coast theatrical troupe will stage swordfights, songs and tales of seafaring brigandage before the screening.

Silent Movie Night, “The Black Pirate,” Olivas Adobe, 4200 Olivas Park Drive, Ventura. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $15; $13 for 65 and older and children 12 and younger. (805) 658-4726.

MUSIC

Innovative jamming

sessions

Eighteen adventurous Los Angeles-based solo artists and groups will participate in two separate programs in the fourth annual Earjam festival, produced by Jacki Apple and Julie Adler. The lineup includes Becky Allen, Ensemble of 31 Birds, Svara, Brad Dutz Quintet and Weba Garretson. There will be two sets and two extended group improvisations each evening.

Earjam, REDCAT at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 2nd and Hope streets. 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $24 each program; $40, both programs. (213) 237-2800.

THEATER

Life in the Depression

In Clifford Odets’ signature American classic, “Awake and Sing,” a multi-generational Jewish immigrant family sharing a cramped Bronx tenement face hardships and struggle to attain dreams during the Great Depression.

“Awake and Sing,” International City Theatre at Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. Opens Friday. Runs 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays; ends July 11. $30 to $38. (562) 436-4610.

FESTIVALS

Chalk artistry on pavement

This weekend in Pasadena and Temecula, people will be able to carry on a Western European tradition that dates to the 16th century -- chalk street painting. Professional artists and amateurs will fill the sidewalks with their creations. In addition to letting your creative muse burst free, there will be food, crafts and live entertainment.

Old Town Temecula Street Painting Festival, Front Street, Temecula. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free. (909) 694-6412.

Pasadena Street Painting Festival, Paseo Colorado, Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free. (626) 440-7370.

DANCE

Adam, Eve and Surve

Under the artistic direction of former Joffrey principal Josie Walsh, the dancers, aerialists, actors, singers and rock musicians recruited for her Myo Dance Company present the premiere of “Garden of Reason” at the Ivar Theatre in Hollywood. Walsh previously scored with an inventive, life-affirming Gothic pleasure fair (“Avalon”) but stumbled with a confused, uneven update of a familiar epic (“Gone With the Whim”). Her new evening-length opus tackles themes from the Book of Genesis and features plenty of hot, interdisciplinary spectacle as well as original music by the industrial rock band Surve. Don’t expect Adam and Eve to be alone with that snake: Walsh definitely likes crowds.

Myo Dance Company in “Garden of Reason,” Ivar Theatre, 1605 Ivar St., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday. Also 8 p.m. June 25 and 26, 7 p.m. June 27. $30. (213) 481-1028.

ART

Mixing picks, hoes, creativity

This is not your garden variety art show. This is more like an “art garden,” where the artists have added picks and hoes to their usual complement of brushes, chisels and palettes, let the creative juices flow, turned the spotlight on and named it: “Living Into, Rainbows, Unicorns & Everything We ... Hate.” SOLIDS is a sculptural collective holding this one-night-only party/event, which features sculpture, installations, costumes, photography, performance art, music and living art.

“Living Into: Rainbows, Unicorns ...,” Qtopia, 6021 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 7 p.m.-4 a.m. today. $5-$10. (310) 358-3681.