Itinerary: Mother’s Day

Oh, the joys of Mother’s Day: ordering flowers, making brunch reservations and finding something special to do with mom before it’s sold out or booked up. Mother’s Day doesn’t have to be a big to-do, you just need to find something to do. And the sooner the better.

Thursday

Celebrate Mother’s Day early with an evening of “Readings on Motherhood” at the Mark Taper Auditorium in the Los Angeles Central Library (630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles. [213] 228-7000). BOOK magazine, KPCC-FM (89.3) and the library teamed up to bring several women authors together for a reading and discussion of the subject. The event, which begins at 6 p.m., will include readings and discussions by award-winning and best-selling authors Kaye Gibbons (“Ellen Foster”) and Susan Straight (“Aquaboogie”). Caledonia Kearns, editor of “Motherland: Writings by Irish American Women About Mothers and Daughters,” and Caroline Ramsay, a contributor to the newly published book, will share their works, as will Camille Peri and Kate Moses, editors of the “Mothers Who Think” column in the online magazine Salon.

Friday

Get a jump on Mother’s Day--and any related gift-buying--with a trip to the Sisterhood Bookstore (1351 Westwood Blvd., Westwood. [310] 477-7300). Every day is Mother’s Day at this 27-year-old shop dedicated to books by, for and about women. The store features more than 1,000 titles on motherhood and related topics.

Saturday

Since mom is such a gem, why not name a topaz or sapphire crystal after her through the Adopt-a-Mineral Program at the Natural History Museum (900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. [213] 763-3515). Adoptees who pay the estimated value of a specimen--which ranges from $100 to $10,000--get mom’s name permanently attached to the gem, which will remain in the museum’s collection. What a jewel of a gift.

Four Los Angeles dance companies will celebrate mothers and daughters with works related to that theme at Cal State L.A.’s Luckman Theatre (5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles. [323] 343-6600). The Silayan Dance Company unveils “Ma’i Lost,” a dance drama inspired by Philippine Antiquenian folklore and Ati tribal legend. Danza Floricanto/USA introduces “Family Secrets,” a work that focuses on teaching a child the present and past. Anjani’s Kathak Dance of India will present “Motherhood” and a piece about first- and second-generation mothers and daughters growing up in the U.S. And the Lula Washington Dance Theatre will perform excerpts from “The Communion,” paying homage to the strength of women.

Sunday

Spend Mother’s Day in another era at historic Castle Green (99 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. [626] 793-0359). Once a grand hotel in Pasadena, Castle Green has been an upscale apartment building since the resort era waned in the 1920s. The elegant hotel opens to the public only twice a year--in December and on Mother’s Day. From 1 to 6 p.m. visitors may take a self-guided or docent-led tour of the Grand Salon, the sun room overlooking the neighboring park; browse exotic Moorish- and Turkish-style rooms; and visit the regal Palm Terrace Ballroom. Refreshments will be served.

Help out somebody else’s mother by attending the Charitable Mother’s Day Awards Luncheon/Fashion Show Extravaganza in the Radisson Hotel’s Grand Ballroom (3540 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. [323] 294-4838). Proceeds from the $50 event will help women and children who are victims of abuse. (More Mother’s Day ideas, Page 45.)