BEST BETS / Sunday 7/23

all day

Museums

A new exhibition exploring the history of the Chinese in America from the 1790s to the present provides a detailed look at how the Chinese in America became Chinese Americans, in “On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience,” opening Sunday at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. Inspired by the acclaimed book “On Gold Mountain” by Lisa See, the exhibition will include objects and materials from 50 local and national collections and will also examine the evolution of Los Angeles’ Chinatown.

* “On Gold Mountain: A Chinese American Experience,” Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. Ends Oct. 29. Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. $7.50; seniors and students, $5; children, $3. (323) 667-2000.

11am

Pop Music

The eighth annual Big Time Blues Festival features 87-year-old piano legend Pinetop Perkins, but youth is definitely served: Fifteen-year-old guitar prodigy Jeff Simo is on the bill, as well as the Sir Charles Blues Lab All-Stars, a group of inner-city youths. The family-friendly event also features James Harman (performing with Perkins), Eric Sardinas, Coco Montoya, the Holmes Brothers and others.

* Big Time Blues Festival, Sunday at Gemmrig Park, 7390 Carson St., Long Beach. 11 a.m. $20 in advance, $25 at gate, children under 12 free with adult. (562) 426-0761.

7pm

Theater

Through a tale of blackmail, political intrigue and forbidden romance, David Grimm paints a darkly comic portrait of 18th century playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who becomes embroiled with Lord Byron, mad King George III, flamboyant actresses and a blackmailing duchess. Presented by La Jolla Playhouse, “Sheridan, or Schooled in Scandal,” is a world premiere.

*”Sheridan, or Schooled in Scandal,” La Jolla Playhouse, Weiss Theatre, La Jolla Village Drive and Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla. 7 p.m. Regular schedule: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Aug. 20. $21 to $39. (858) 550-1010.

7pm

Pop Music

One of the first things you learn in Blues 1A is that the source of this American-bred music is Africa. The World Blues Party at the Hollywood Bowl brings the lesson home. Veteran Chicago belter Koko Taylor shares the bill with Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure, who has collaborated in the past with such U.S. acts as Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal. American Alvin Youngblood Hart completes the bill--and who better to host the whole thing than Bonnie Raitt? (What are the chances she’ll resist picking up a guitar sometime during the evening?)

* World Blues Party, Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., L.A. 7 p.m. $5 to $25. (323) 850-2000.

7:30pm

Dance

The annual Dance Kaleidoscope series closes with its traditional outdoor program--this year featuring locally based female choreographers inspired or influenced by the cultures of India, Korea, Bali, Finland, Iran, Mauritania and the Sudan. The range extends from an ancient classical dance idiom to a modern-dance protest against contemporary slavery. On view are premieres by Maura Townsend, Laura Everling, Hae Kyung Lee, Katja Biesanz and Pat Taylor. In addition, older works by Parijat Desai, Banafsheh Sayyad, Sharanya Mukhopadhyay and Laria Saunders are scheduled.

* Dance Kaleidoscope 2000, John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. 7:30 p.m. $12 (students, seniors) to $18. (323) GO-1-FORD.

9pm

Pop Music

You can have an NBA championship, you can have a beautiful young fiancee, but life just isn’t complete without an entertainment empire. Lakers star Kobe Bryant gets it in gear at the House of Blues, previewing his upcoming rap album and sharing the stage with artists from his High Heads Entertainment operation.

* Kobe Bryant, with Rico, Uneek, Broady, others, Sunday at the House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 9 p.m. $20. (323) 848-5100.

Freebie: Tierra and violinist Susie Hansen’s Latin Jazz Band play salsa at Point Fermin Park, 807 Paseo del Mar, San Pedro. 1-5 p.m. (310) 548-7705.

The Art Directors Guild Film Society hosts a tribute screening of “The War of the Worlds,” honoring Oscar-nominated art director Albert Nozaki; the event also includes trailers from Nozaki’s career and a Q&A;, Directors Guild Theatre, 7920 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, 5 p.m. (818) 762-9995.