Los Angeles has long been described as “the Entertainment Capital of the World,” and rightly so, considering the leading role it plays in the television, film and recording industries. But those who are seeking a unique form of entertainment – one that will allow them to experience the diverse mixture of art, architecture and history along the Arroyo Seco areas of Los Angeles and Pasadena – may find “Museums of the Arroyo Day” on Sunday, May 16 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. especially intriguing.Five history-based museums that focus on preserving and perpetuating early Los Angeles life will remain open, free of charge, throughout “Museums of the Arroyo Day.” Participating museums include Heritage Square, the Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum and the Lummis Home and Garden in Los Angeles, plus the Gamble House and Pasadena Museum of History in Pasadena.

“Our theme for this year, our 21st anniversary, is ‘Women in Early Los Angeles,’” explains Jessica Maria Alicea-Covarrubias of Heritage Square, whose museum is premiering an exhibit celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage movement this June and who plans to have suffragettes take part in Heritage Square’s festivities for Museums of the Arroyo Day.

A number of the museums will also present an array of events and festivities developed especially for Museums of the Arroyo Day. These will range from a vintage doll display, blacksmiths working at their craft and frontier reenactments courtesy of the Western Educators, Shooters and Troopers at Heritage Square to a performance of music from the 1900s by Ian Whitcomb and the Bungalow Boys – plus a program, led by Cultural Historians in Residence, Walter and Sheila Nelson, called “Mind Your Manners” on etiquette and social customs of the era – at the Pasadena Museum of History.

For more information on Museums of the Arroyo Day, visit www.museumsofthearroyo.com or call the MOTA at 213.740.TOUR (8687).