Ready for a change from the urban music scene? Check out the Jazz Ball at Crane's Castle in Ipswich, Ma. tonight. Kick back and listen to the Ritz play on the expansive lawn of plumbing magnate Thomas Crane's beachfront estate on the North Shore. Tickets are $20 and $25 for reserved seating. Call 358-7774 for more details.

Thoreau has been dead for a while now, but David Barto's tour of the philosopher's Concord cabin and pond "Henry David Thoreau Returns to Walden Pond" will take you on journey through the naturalist's life and dreams. Meet at Routes 2 and 6 in Concord. Parking is $3, but admission is free. Telephone 369-3254 or 727-3188.

If American Jazz is just not your style, then try the Latino pop festival at the Boston Common, where Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine will perform at 6 p.m. Friday night on the Common's outdoor stage. Tickets are $15.50 and $17.50 for reserved seating. Call 426-6666 or 787-8000 for more information. 16

The heat making you feel old and cranky? Not to worry. The Dartmouth Children's Museum presents Kidsdays to bring out the child in you again. Check out the South Dartmouth cultural center on Saturday and Sunday for two fun-filled days of face painting, street musicians and arts and crafts workshops, plus a special performance by mime Scot Canon at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. ($5). On Sunday magicians Lyn and Ken perform at the auditorium ($7). Museum hours this weekend are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and General Admission is $3. Call 993-3361 for more information.

If you're into folk music, then the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is right up your alley. Featuring political satirist Tom Paxton, the a cappella group the Bobs, and blues singers Taj Mahal and Odetta, the festival takes place from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $20 per day, and children age 8 to 14 get in for $8. Call 203-364-0366 for details. 17

If you can stand the heat, check out the All Day Jazz Festival, which features vocalist Rebecca Parris, trumpeter Herb Pomeroy, saxophonist Alex Elin and other local musicians. From noon to 5 p.m. at Newton's Leventhal-Sidman Community Center, the Highland Jazz's annual festival will cost $10 for adults and $8 for students. Children under 12 get in free. Telephone 965-4424.

Turned on by old cars that turn on, too? If so, then the "Motoring Memories: An Antique Vehicle Meet" car show is what you've been looking for. At Codman House in Linclon, the Meet will present the history of trucks and a display of old cars, trucks, and motorcycles. And, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Craig Ball Trio will perform Dixieland Jazz. Admission is $3, and children under 12 get in for $1. Call 259-8843 for more information.

Cool off at the the National Kidney Foundation of Massachusetts' Ice Cream Extravaganza this Sunday at the Cambridge Ballroom in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge. From 1 to 4 p.m. you can make a $10 donation for kidney research and sample as many as 10 flavors from gourmet ice cream vendors from around the nation. An additional $5 donation gets you 10 more servings. Call 326-7225 or 1-800-542-4001 for more info. 18

For the rhythmically inclined...Toure Kunda and his 18-member Senegalese dance troupe perform a series of African dance combinations at Nightstage, 823 Main Street in Cambridge on Monday. Performances are at 7:30 and 10 p.m, and tickets run $12 each. Call 497-8200 for more information. film

Brattle Theater

40 Brattle St., Cambridge

Friday:

Sweet Bird of Youth 3:30, 7:45

Hud 5:45, 10

Saturday: