From bustling “Museum Row” to the seaside, summertime in LA brings an array of cultural attractions to please residents and visitors alike. Family-friendly art festivals, thrilling fireworks and unique art collections are just a sampling of LA’s diverse palette of summer cultural events.

The Original Silver’s Circus & Zoo: Works by Sonny King
June 24 – Oct. 7
Captivating dioramas of circus life, inspired by the artist’s youth, will be on display at the Craft and Folk Art Museum on Museum Row. The artist was raised as the son of an equestrienne mother and a lion-trainer father in the Australian traveling circus. Admission is $5, students and seniors $3, members and children under 12 free. Free first Wednesday of the month. www.cafam.org

Fireworks Extravaganza
July 4
It’s always a glorious Fourth at the Fourth of July Fireworks Extravaganza in Marina del Rey. Sponsored by the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, pyrotechnics fill the sky above the main channel in sync to patriotic music broadcast over KXLU FM 88.9. Fisherman’s Village and Burton Chase Park are two of the best viewing spots. www.visitmarina.com

The Arts in Latin America
Aug. 5 – Oct. 28
LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) will be displaying 300 years of Latin American art in a ground-breaking exhibition of works dating from Spain’s arrival in “The New World” to the creation of today’s independent nations. The exhibit features more than 250 spectacular examples of painting, sculpture, feather-work, shell-inlaid furniture, ceramics, textiles and objects in gold and silver. www.lacma.org

Malibu Arts Festival
July 28-29
Art meets beauty at the 36th annual Malibu Arts Festival at the Malibu Civic Center, featuring works by more than 250 painters, sculptors, photographers and jewelers. Live music, a Children’s Village and Food Village add to the fun. Admission is free. www.malibuartsfestival.com

Metro (Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) Rapid service, which has increased bus travel times by 25 percent in 15 high-traffic corridors, is expanding. This month, two new Metro Rapid lines are beginning service in Santa Monica and Long Beach, with limited stops and signal priority to speedbuses more quickly through congested intersections. Also this month, two new Metro Rapid Express Lines begin service on Wilshire and Hawthorne boulevards. These lines shave yet another 12-15 minutes off bus travel times by making only a handful of stops. On many routes, Metro’s innovative, high-capacity 45- and 60-foot-articulated buses offer 15 and 25 percent greater passenger capacity and amenities typically seen only in rail cars. Metro’s rail line is also expanding. The LA to Pasadena Metro Gold Line’s six-mile extension into East LA is expected to open in 2009. And in 2010, the new Metro Expo Line connecting Downtown with Culver City is scheduled to open. For $5, passengers can travel all day on the entire Metro Bus and Rail network. Day passes are sold at all Metro Rail ticket vending machines and onboard Metro buses.
www.metro.net

Since opening in February at Hollywood’s historic Pantages Theatre, the Tony Award-winning musical Wicked has been a sold-out success. But don’t fret if you haven’t bought tickets.

LA INC. has partnered with 12 of Los Angeles’ popular hotels to offer special “VIP Wicked” packages.

Good from June 2007 through March 2008, the “VIP Wicked” packages include guaranteed VIP tickets to Wicked and a stay at either: the Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza Beverly Hills, Fairmont Miramar Hotel Santa Monica, Hilton Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel, Mosaic Hotel in Beverly Hills, Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Sheraton Universal Hotel, the Sofitel Los Angeles, Sportsmen’s Lodge Hotel, or Wilshire Grand Hotel.

Wicked has been called one of the most successful shows in Broadway history. Now that it’s returned to LA, (where it was written and had its first readings, and where the 1939 movie classic, The Wizard of Oz, was filmed) Wicked is continuing its winning ways. The musical quickly outstripped The Producers LA record, when it broke the Pantages’ highest grossing show record for the week ending March 4. It also ranked #1 on Ticketmaster’s recently released Top 10 Most Requested Events of 2006 - the first time a theatrical production has made the list.

LA’s Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is packed with glitz, glamour and memorable songs as it imagines another side of the classic story before Dorothy came to OZ; and two other girls made their way to the Emerald City: the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch, Glinda.

In addition to guaranteed Wicked VIP tickets, the exciting new packages are designed to help visitors enjoy their favorite LA activities.

Theme Park Enthusiasts
The Sheraton Universal Hotel is adjacent to Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk and has free trams to the attractions; the Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn is only a mile away; and the Sportsmen’s Lodge Hotel is nearby Universal Studios Hollywood and is surrounded by chic restaurants and shops on Ventura Boulevard.

Avid Shoppers
The Crowne Plaza Beverly Hills Hotel and the boutique Mosaic Hotel in Beverly Hills are near famed Rodeo Drive and other Westside attractions. The hip Sofitel Los Angeles is across from the Beverly (shopping-to-the-stars) Center, and near The Grove and trendy Third Street.

Sun Worshippers
The upscale Fairmont Miramar Hotel Santa Monica is only a block from the beach and Santa Monica Pier. The luxurious Hilton Los Angeles Airport and newly renovated Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel are centrally located to Redondo and Manhattan beaches, sailing in Marina del Rey and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Hollywood Fans
You’re within walking distance of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood & Highland Center and the Pantages Theatre at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and the legendary Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Downtown Excitement
The Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and countless contemporary and historic landmarks and trendy restaurants are a short walk from the Wilshire Grand Hotel (host of the 2007 Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants) in the heart of Downtown LA.

For information on how to book a “VIP Wicked” package, visit www.seemyLA.com/getaway/.

Long revered for its avant guard style, Hollyhock House (Aline Barnsdall Complex) has been designated a new National Historic Landmark. Frank Lloyd Wright’s first commission in Los Angeles, Hollyhock House was built between 1919 and 1921, and represents a transition from his Oak Park period to his California houses, which were distinctive for domestic spaces that made nearly seamless connections between rooms and outdoor spaces.

“Hollyhock House marks a major watershed in the evolution of Wright’s architectural style,” announced Sectary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, in awarding the honor in April 2007. Designed in a striking style similar to a pre-Columbian temple, Wright scholar Neil Levine described Hollyhock House as “transitional and prophetic.” Originally built for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, the house sits in the middle of today’s 11-acre Barnsdall Park in Hollywood.

National Historic Landmark designation is the highest recognition to historic properties, which are recommended by the National Park System Advisory Board and designated by the Secretary of the Interior. Fewer than 2,500 places bear this national distinction. Thanks to a recently completed restoration, more than $2 million was devoted to refurbishment.

Visitors can enjoy the breakthrough architecture of Wright’s Hollyhock House on public tours from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday - Sunday.

www.hollyhockhouse.net