You really don’t need another reason to visit Catalina, the jewel of an island an hour off the coast of Long Beach, California. The tiny port of Avalon has been discovered as the jumping-off point for trekkers, mountain bikers, campers and zipline thrill-seekers. But once you’ve ventured back from the wilds where bison and other wildlife roam, and relaxed at the wealth of wine bars and seafood stands, you might enjoy a visit to the Catalina Island Museum. Two movie-themed exhibits provide a cultural counterpoint to the normal outdoor millennial pursuits. The first, Harry Houdini—Terror on the Magic Isle, dramatizes the making of the famous escape artist’s 1920 film Terror Island, filmed on Catalina, featuring artifacts, documents and lost footage, not to mention account of an unsolved mystery which still shrouds the century-old production (open through October 7, 2018). The second exhibit, Jaws: the Art of Fear in Filmmaking, has production renderings, rare ephemera and props from the 1975 film that scared the daylights out of world audiences (through September 16, 2018).—Stanley Moss, Travel Editor
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