Guest Contributor

Southern California' s favorite holistic hippy festival Lightning in a Bottle has released its 2013 lineup, and boy is it a doozie. The five-day art-music-culture festival is celebrating its fifth year with a new location, a new summer date and plenty of fresh new acts to entertain.

Get out so you can go to a roller derby, enjoy a food truck haven or check out the last night of UCLA's Festival of Preservation.

With the rise of DIY sites like Pinterest and Etsy, brides-to-be are taking a new, more individualized approach to their special day with non-traditional bridal gowns. BRIDE Boutique is capitalizing on this trend with a location in Echo Park that opens today. The boutique is not competing with the kind of traditional shops you might find in Beverly Hills: there are vintage dresses, gowns by indie designers and custom-made bridal wear by owner and shop curator, Maria Luciana Diaz.

Lebowski Fest returns to Los Angeles this weekend, March 22 and 23, to celebrate The Big Lebowski, the Coen Brothers penned and directed cult film about an unemployed Los Angeles slacker mistaken for a wealthy man with the same name.

Angelenos, can you imagine watching a hockey game under SoCal skies somewhere like Dodger Stadium or the Rose Bowl? It could happen, and soon.

Get out for free laughs, foosball or an unmoderated reading of blog comments.

Get out so that you can celebrate assholes, enjoy some comedy or check out art from the Ming dynasty.

Yes, it is already time to vote again. Los Angeles holds its municipal elections on odd-numbered years, a tradition dating back to 1909. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is termed out, and next Tuesday Los Angeles will take a step toward deciding who will be the next mayor (among other offices!).

Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer's painting Woman in Blue Reading a Letter is now on view at the Getty Center for its one and only North American appearance before heading back to Europe.

If you’re still recovering from the Presidential election last November, prepare yourselves: on March 5, Angelenos will return to the polls. It is your civic duty to vote and to make sure you’re registered to vote in the upcoming election.