To celebrate the release of L.A. Weekly's annual People issue in May, we're inviting all our favorite people to come party with us as we transform Chinatown Central Plaza into (drum roll!) Artopia.

During this first-ever event on Thursday, May 16, drinks are on us all night, with a hosted bar from 6 p.m. – 11 p.m. and a parade of food trucks to choose from when you're hungry. You'll want to stay fueled up for the massive art installation curated by nomadic art gallerists Mastodon Mesa. Works from L.A. artists include Alia Penner's children's bouncy castle-turned-psychedelic-sculpture, Jacqueline Elaine Gomez's site-specific altars of fresh flowers, Albert Reyes' immersive dioramas, Isaiah Frizzell's “flavor-tripping” taste tests and more.

Notorious Highland Park garage rockers FIDLAR have performed everywhere from Echo Park house parties to Brooklyn's Shea Stadium to Mar Vista music stores (where they nearly caused a riot in the streets), but we'd bet they've never played Chinatown Historic Plaza before — and we hope the cops won't have to show up when they do.

We're counting on DJ Keith Morris to keep his cool at the turntables, where the former Black Flag and Circle Jerks frontman will be spinning records ranging from Motown and funk to 1960s rock n' roll.

In between the art, music, food trucks and hosted bar, we can't wait to mingle with many of the extraordinary artists, musicians, writers, athletes and entrepreneurs profiled in our 8th annual People issue, and we hope you'll join us in the celebration. Tickets are $15 and available on the Artopia website.

See also:

L.A. Weekly's People 2012 Issue

Fidlar Are Drunk, Reckless and Proud of It

Mastodon Mesa's Zoo at Melrose Trading Post, Where You Can See Artists in their Native Habitat

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