Friday Best Bets: 8/28

5pm: Festival

Felix Cavalliere’s Rascals, Toby Keith, Crystal Gayle, Sergio Mendes & Brazil 99, and comedian Paul Rodriguez will headline the city of Norwalk’s festival of entertainment, fun and food, Summerfest ’98. A second stage will present a variety of acts such as fire-eaters, jugglers and a two-man, two-dog circus. Food and drink from local restaurants, breweries and wineries will be available throughout the three-day event.

* Norwalk Summerfest ‘98, Norwalk City Hall, 5-11 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday; noon-9 p.m. Sunday. $13.50. (800) 772-4842.

6:30pm: Pop Music

Always innovative and incendiary, Metallica has been thrashing out its hyper-speed sludge for more than a decade now, winning over fans and critics alike. The hard-working Bay Area quintet brings its “Re-Load” tour to Orange County on a bill that also includes Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell and Days of the New.

* Metallica, Jerry Cantrell and Days of the New at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. $25-$43. (714) 855-4515.

all day Movies

“54,” the long-awaited Miramax movie on the glamorous and decadent Studio 54 years, finally hits screens. Neve Campbell, Salma Hayek and Ryan Phillippe play some of the beautiful people who actually made it past the infamous velvet rope. Club impresario Steve Rubell is played by Mike Myers.

* “54,” which is rated R, opens Friday in wide release.

7:30pm: Books

Sandra Tsing Loh will read and discuss her novel “If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home by Now,” the story of a couple who achieve all the trappings of the L.A. lifestyle only to lose them. Loh’s newest work is written with the same sharp, insightful commentary that made “Depth Takes a Holiday: Essays From Lesser Los Angeles” a bestseller. The author-performer’s most recent one-person show, “Bad Sex With Bud Kemp,” had a successful stint in New York and will open in the fall in L.A.

* Sandra Tsing Loh at Bookstar, 100 N. La Cienega Blvd. Free. (310) 289-1734.

11am: Festival

Psychic Walter Mercado and talk-show host Cristina Saralegui are among 32 Latino authors scheduled to present books, readings and signings at the Los Angeles Latino Book and Family Festival. Produced by actor-activist Edward James Olmos, the festival also will feature storytelling and poetry, as well as educational, cultural and service-awareness workshops.

* Los Angeles Latino Book and Family Festival, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. (Mercado attends Saturday, 2-4 p.m.; Saralegui, Sunday, 2-4 p.m.) Los Angeles Convention Center South Exhibit Hall, 1201 S. Figueroa St., downtown. Friday, free. Saturday-Sunday: adults, $3; students, seniors, $2; under 12, $1; $8 per family. (310) 557-7010.

8pm: Concert

Broadway diva Patti LuPone brings memorable characters to the stage--”Evita’s” Eva Peron, “Sunset Boulevard’s” Norma Desmond, “Les Miserables’ ” Fantine and others--for two performances this weekend at the Cerritos Center.

* Patti LuPone, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. $43-$57. (800) 300-4345 or (562) 916-8500.

FREEBIE: AFI’s “Summer Shorts” film festival, 1 Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, 8 p.m. Also Sat. and Sun. (626) 564-1066.