Sunday, August 19: The first gravity vehicle will launch at or about 12 noon from the corner of Broadway and Spring Street, and the last…well, that depends on how well things roll this year. Remember, this is not a race, but an artistic competition, and every Derby seems to include at least one or two pieces of “kinetic art” that require a fair bit of encouragement to make it in a more-or-less straight line to the bottom of the hill.

Sunday, August 19: OAR has always seemed to occupy a parallel universe, a cultic otherness reminiscent of those Christian rock bands you’ve never heard of selling out 100,000-seat football stadiums. What I love about OAR is that they know it; they embrace it. Their press release states, “In effect hiding in plain sight from the world outside, the band fills arenas and amphitheaters as it crafts and releases relatable songs with big pop hooks, all of this activity going down completely apart from the mainstream. Within this universe, these songs are bona fide hits, and the band members are superstars.”

Friday-Sunday, August 24-26: Huichica (pronounced wah-CHEE-ka) East answers the West Coast’s storied festival with pastoral settings, adventurous and hip music and farm-grown food.

Saturday, August 18: You may not know the name (or maybe you do), but to insiders the guy is a giant.