At times it seems that Art Basel Miami Beach is about the performance art of parties, with VIPs real and tenuous in a mad crush to be at the next hot party. The mad crush is kind of fun too, and this year’s sort-of-VIP line-up is promising, with soirees ranging from a Princess Alia Al Senussi reception at W South Beach Hotel to a cocktail party put on by the Christie’s art auction house at the SLS hotel on South Beach.

Even if you don’t make the invite list for those affairs, Miami Art Week offers plenty of opportunities for anyone who wants to join in the fun. To get access to some, you may need to buy a membership to a specific museum — but then, you can enjoy it all year long.

Here’s a guide to the best parties, where art, fun, and charity intersect. Many are annual events that occur the same week night each year. Here’s this year’s rundown on the best of the best.

Even if you’re not in the 2 percent, you can hang out with the VIPs and get an early start on Art Week at Tuesday night’s CONTEXT Art Miami preview, where a $25 contribution to the Miami Art Museum will get you in the door beginning at 5:30. Most of Miami’s top collectors drop in at some point during the evening, so there’s as much air kissing as art watching. The fair opens to the public Wednesday.

Details: 5:30-10 p.m. Tuesday, The Art Miami Pavilion, 3101 NE First Ave., Midtown; www.art-miami.com.

•  Every year, the MOCA & Vanity Fair International Party is a highlight of Art Basel. Past attendees included Ricky Martin, Naomi Campbell, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Princess Michael of Kent. This year, an estimated 3,000 guests will take in the Bill Viola: Liber Insularum show, an exhibition drawn from the work of the famed video artist. The guests will, of course, also take in one another and can expect to see celebrities on the order of actor Christian Slater, a staple of MOCA events.

Details: 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Museum of Contemporary Art membership, which costs $50 per year and up, enables supporters to attend the MOCA & Vanity Fair party. 770 NE 125th St.; North Miami, 305-893-6211; www.mocanomi.org.

•  The Bass Museum of Art opening: After the VIP preview of Art Basel at the nearby Miami Beach Convention Center, much of that crowd (and plenty of others who didn’t go) move a few blocks away. This year, the Bass features The Endless Renaissance – Six Solo Artist Projects; on the lawn out front is Art Basel’s Art Public sculpture exhibition. Generally, the Basel crowd dips in for a cameo appearance — the Bass’s opening is really crowded — and then heads out to dinner, or just a bit of fresh air at the beach.

Details: 9 p.m. to midnight Wednesday; open to membership levels at $50 and above. 2100 Collins Ave. , 305-673-7530; www.bassmuseum.org

•  Miami Art Museum Party on the Plaza: This year, this popular outdoor fete features music by the Spam Allstars — always worth a trip out of the house; a cast of thousands, and New Work Miami 2013, a group show drawn from a dozen or so Miami artists. Expect to see a lot of young faces among the usual white wine chatter crowd.

Details: 7-11 p.m. Thursday; open to MAM Contemporaries or Contributing ($250 and above) members. 101 W. Flagler St., Miami, 305-375-3000, events@miamiartmuseum.org.