Three-day forecast

FESTIVAL

Not just fiddling around

In Southern California, a region that values the new and takes pride in being a trendsetter, traditions are sometimes hard to come by. But the Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest qualifies. In 44 years, the bluegrass and old-time music event has outlasted seven governors and nine presidents and survived three major wars -- not to mention earthquakes, rap, rock, recessions and the wrath of county bureaucrats. More than 100 instrumental and singing contestants will compete for prizes Sunday, with professional bands performing onstage and innumerable guitarists, fiddlers and banjo players jamming all over the place.

Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest & Folk Festival, Paramount Ranch, Cornell Road, Agoura. Sunday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. $5-$10, 9 and younger, free. (818) 382-4819.

MUSEUMS

Arroyo shuttle

Take a ride -- a free ride -- from one museum to another, one venue to the next for the Museums of the Arroyo Literary Los Angeles event. Authors and artists read and sign books at the annual celebration that features art and woodcarving demonstrations and offers visitors the opportunity to see a Spanish-American War encampment, Victorian fashions and toys and listen to Aztec, Mexican and western music. A free shuttle service runs between the participating museums. And admission to the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the Heritage Square Museum, the Lummis Home and Garden, the Pasadena Museum of History and the Gamble House is free all day.

Museums of the Arroyo Literary Los Angeles Day, Pasadena Museum of History, 470 W. Walnut St., Pasadena. Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (213) 740-8687 or www.museumsofthearroyo.com.

THEATER

Chinese troupe

The Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Imagination Celebration concludes with the “Stars of the Peking Acrobats,” a theatrical spectacular of awe-inspiring feats of strength, agility and balance, with gymnasts, jugglers, kung fu artists, cyclists and tumblers, accompanied by a Chinese orchestra.

“Stars of the Peking Acrobats,” Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Sunday, 4 p.m. $12. (714) 740-7878. (714) 556-2787. (213) 365-3500.

WORDS

Prized author

Suzan-Lori Parks, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (“Topdog/Underdog,” 2002), has written “Getting Mother’s Body,” a rich novel about a poor Southern family and a daughter’s quest. Parks discusses her writing -- her motivations, processes and the difference between writing for the stage and writing for the page.

Suzan-Lori Parks, Brentano’s, Westfield Shoppingtown, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City. Monday, 7 p.m. (310) 785-0204.

ART

Gallery Row jaunt

On July 29, 2003, the Los Angeles City Council designated Main and Spring streets, between 2nd and 9th streets, as Gallery Row. Currently the home of seven galleries, it’s hoped that other artists or creative institutions will decide to settle there and that the public will come to know all of these venues. To that end, the city’s newest arts area on Saturday unveils the Gallery Row Window Display Project, site-specific art -- sculpture, paintings, film and multimedia art installations -- in what were once empty storefronts and abandoned buildings.

Gallery Row Window Display Project, Biddy Mason Park, 333 S. Spring St., L.A. Saturday, 1 p.m. (213) 380-5969.

MOVIES

Jarmusch lights up

Weakness for caffeine, nicotine, sumptuous black-and-white film or seriously odd couplings could lead to addictive responses to director Jim Jarmusch’s latest offering, “Coffee and Cigarettes.” Collaborating with top cinematographers Frederick Elmes, Robby Muller, Ellen Kuras and Tom DiCillo, Jarmusch made the film -- a series of vignettes using a wide range of performers, famous and not -- over a 17-year period. Some of the stranger than paradise pairings include Roberto Benigni and Steven Wright in a gear-grinding match of fast and slow tics, Iggy Pop and Tom Waits playing it hipster cool and Bill Murray cracking wise with Wu-Tang Clan rappers GZA and RZA.

“Coffee and Cigarettes,” rated R for language, opens Friday exclusively at Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-3500, and Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex, 1332 2nd St., Santa Monica, (310) 394-9741.

MUSIC

Arias from debuting tenor

Argentine tenor Ariel Paltrinieri makes his U.S. recital debut under the sponsorship of the 28-year-old Tenor Society of Southern California, which has a knack for picking winners early in their careers. Paltrinieri, born in 1970 in Cordoba, Argentina, will sing arias by Massenet, Offenbach, Puccini and Verdi, among other opera composers, as well as popular Spanish art songs. He will be accompanied by Henri Venanzi.

Ariel Paltrinieri, Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance. Sunday, 7 p.m. $15. (310) 329-5345.

POP MUSIC

It’s Wango Tango time

Depending on your view of Top 40 radio these days, KIIS-FM’s annual Wango Tango Festival on Saturday will be either the place to feel the pulse of today’s music or simply to try to find it. This year’s lineup spans the sublime (N.E.R.D. and OutKast’s Big Boi) to the ridiculous (Jessica Simpson, William Hung) and lots in between, from Janet Jackson and Lenny Kravitz to Hilary Duff, Clay Aiken and more.

KIIS-FM Wango Tango Music Festival, Rose Bowl, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena. Saturday, noon. $31.21 to $151.21. (626) 577-3100.

JAZZ

Smooth sounds

The dulcet tones of smooth jazz will fill the air in Newport Beach this weekend as the Hyatt Regency hosts its annual three-day spring festival sponsored by the Wave, 94.7 FM. Things get started Friday evening with a concert by guitarist Joyce Cooling and saxophonist-singer Mindi Abair. Saturday’s show will feature Gerald Albright, Richard Elliot, Paul Taylor and Jeff Lorber as “Grooving for Grover”; the Rippingtons; Brenda Russell; Hiroshima; and others. Guitars & Saxes, Sax Pack, Peter White, Chris Botti, Lavay Smith and others are scheduled Sunday.

Newport Beach Jazz Festival, Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach. Friday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. $35-$175. (949) 729-1234.

DANCE

Designing women

Seven emerging local choreographers explore the relationship of architecture and dance in the fifth annual “Dance Moving Forward” festival,

produced (as always) by the indefatigable Arianne MacBean. In addition to pieces by Carmela Hermann, Sharon Jakubecy, Kiha Lee, Katherine Lowry, Carla Lubow,

Goladriel Mattei and Donna Sternberg, the event (titled “The Architecture of Dance”) includes a panel discussion with artists from various disciplines. Watch for pieces that are conditioned by the placement of a 10-foot standing mobile, five dozen open umbrellas and a huge canopy that serves as both backdrop and projection screen.

“Dance Moving Forward,” Main Stage, L.A. Valley College, 800 Fulton Ave., Valley Glen. Performances: Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m. $12 to $15. Panel: Saturday, 4 p.m. $8, with a $3 discount if purchased with a ticket to that evening’s performance. (818) 773-3380.