SUMMER SPLASH II : Plunging Into L.A.’s Other Pleasures

If you feel burned by the summer blockbusters, beaten by the rush for concert tickets or just plain tired of the splashy big time, you might consider taking a plunge into some of Los Angeles’ other pleasures.

These days, the Los Angeles art scene is full of invigorating cultural diversity--Asian dancers, Chicano singers, performance artists, poets, gay films, visual art shows and much, much more.

Some of the more notable offerings this summer:

African Market Place and Cultural Faire: Music, food and performing festival uniting art forms and traditions from various cultures claiming African origins. Aug. 18-Sept. 3; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Rancho Cienega Recreation Center, 5001 Rodeo Road. (213) 734-1164.

Performance artist Deborah Oliver’s “No One Language,” an environmental medley of dance, shadow puppets, and visual landscape, together with Bali specialist Maria Bodmann, the Shadow Ensemble of L.A. and Chu-hsein Chang. Runs June 16-17, 8:30 p.m., on the lawn opposite the Municipal Art Gallery at Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd. (213) 485-4474.

Nuevo L.A. Chicano Works Festival: A concert of some of the best Chicano musicians this side of the Rockies. Appearances by Los Lobos, Chico Sesma, Sancho, Edward Olmos and more. June 29, 6 p.m., Plaza de la Raza, 3540 N. Mission Road. (213) 223-2475.

Beyond Baroque: Artists, curators, musicians and writers read their favorite children’s stories. Barry Yourgrau, Bernard Cooper, Ann Goldstein, Millie Wilson. Friday, June 1, 8:30 p.m., Beyond Baroque. Old Venice City Hall, 681 Venice Blvd. (213) 822-3006.

Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film/Video Festival: Thirty-five features and 30 videos from filmmakers worldwide in this eighth annual presentation, featuring the first gay cinema out of Eastern Europe since the crumbling of the Berlin Wall. Runs July 6-12, Directors Guild of America Theatre Complex, 7920 Sunset Blvd. (213) 650-5133.

Simon Rodia Watts Towers Music & Art Festival: A day of rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel music during a celebration of black culture. July 29, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 1727 E. 107th St. (213) 569-8181.

Positive Vibrations Through Spoken Word: A multicultural reading series featuring such writer, poetry luminaries as Wanda Coleman and Abena Busia. June 14, July 12 and Aug. 16, at 8 p.m. Rosalind’s, 1044 S. Fairfax. (213) 969-4735.

Raging at the Visible: AIDS in the City of Angels: Visual art, lectures and performances commenting on AIDS, including Michael Kearns’ one-man play “Intimacies” and “AIDS/US II” by Artists Confronting AIDS. Through June 24. Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park, 4804 Hollywood Blvd. (213) 485-4581.

Tim Rollins + K.O.S. (Kids of Survival): The controversial New York painter collaborates with South Bronx youths who make large scale canvases inspired by Kafka’s “America.” Through Sept. 9, Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Avenue. (213) 62-MOCA-2.

Ecce Lesbo/Ecce Homo II: Gay and Lesbian Performance Festival includes Holly Hughes, Seattle’s Alice B. Theatre, High Risk Group, Keith Hennessy, Ayofemi Stowe Folayan and “AIDS US/II,” plus local artists. July 12-Aug. 26, Highways, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica. (213) 453-1755.

Soceotag School of Continuing Education of the Avant Garde: Such masters as Post-Modern choreographic whiz Rudy Perez and flamenco star Juan Talavera offer performances and workshops that ask for the public’s participation. Tomas Ruller, a Prague-based performance artist, and Hirokazu Kosaka, who teaches Kyudo, the art of Japanese archery, also give workshops. July 6-27 at LACE, 1804 Industrial St. (213) 624-5650.

Danza Floricanto/U.S.A: Folklorico dance with Mariachis, machetes and vivid courtship dances from Mexico. July 15, 5:30 p.m. in Warner Park, 5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills. (213) 223-2475.

Zoo, a collaborative art/dance installation between sculptor Stephen Glassman and choreographer Sarah Elgart, comment on social ills. Participants include members from Santa Monica’s social action workshops as well as musician Ed Tomney. May 31-June 2, 8 p.m.; June 3, 3 p.m., Santa Monica Museum of Art, 2437 Main St. (213) 399-0433.

Painter and Zen Archer Hirokazu Kosaka: “Amerika Maru” recounts through song, dance and ritual the struggle of immigrants who crossed the Pacific in steamships. June 9 at 8 p.m., Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, 244 S. San Pedro Street. (213) 680-3700.

Safe Sex Exhibit: An unprecedented showing of works by Viva’s experimental Latino artists depicting sexo sin riesgo , (sex without risk). Through July 15, Studio Three Gallery, 1650 Cosmos St., Hollywood. (213) 962-6850.

Macondo Espacio Cultural: This Central American cultural center produces a festival of Andean, Equadoran and Bolivian music. June 2, 7 p.m., at Patriotic Hall, 1816 S. Figueroa St. (213) 386-1389.

Cafe Largo: New Pacific plays Indonesian gamelan music. July 8; 8 p.m. Avant garde meets Las Vegas in “The Fabulous Bud E Luv Show,” July 12, 9 p.m.; Strunz and Farah perform Middle Eastern flamenco, Aug. 31, 9 p.m. At 432 N. Fairfax. (213) 852-1073.

“Millennium Approaches”: Playwright Tony Kushner presents the first half of his epic, “Angels in America,” a gay fantasia on national themes, AIDS, love and politics. Through June 10, 8 p.m., Taper, Too, John Anson Ford Cultural Center, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd East. (213) 972-7373.

“The Illusion”: Director David Schweizer’s classy “take” on Pierre Corneille’s 1634 comedy of romance and lost fathers and sons. Through June 3, 8 p.m., Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St. (213) 627-5599.

Composer Jan A. P. Kaczmarek appears as part of a evening called “Thirteenth Hour: A Celebration of Performance.” His “Tower of Babel” is part opera and part new music, as well as part political commentary. June 29-30, 8 p.m. Taper Too, John Anson Ford Cultural Center, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd East. (213) 972-7373.