Looking for Something to Do? Free Events Feb. 1 to 8

Here are my top picks of events scheduled from Feb. 1 to 8. All events are free, so take a look -- and don't you dare tell me there's nothing to do in this town!

Draft policies for the City of Pasadena General Plan update will be reviewed at a community meeting Saturday, Feb. 1, at 9 a.m. in the Creveling Lounge (Building CC) at Pasadena City College. The policies cover topics such as growth, transportation, design, historic preservation, environmental sustainability, arts and culture, economic vitality, parking and education, and give direction for future planning efforts for several areas of Pasadena, including the Central District, East Pasadena, North Lake, Fair Oaks/Orange Grove, Lincoln Avenue, Washington/Allen, West Gateway and Northwest Pasadena.

Swap out your old books for something new Saturday, Feb. 1, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pasadena Central Library's west patio. All ages and genres are welcome.

Teens are invited to the Story Room at Pasadena Central Library for an anime afternoon Saturday, Feb. 1, from 2 to 4 p.m. Watch anime episodes, enjoy Japanese snacks and learn about the new manga in the library's collection.

Register your child aged 6 to 12 no later than Saturday, Feb. 1, for the Kids Safety Academy, which begins Feb. 8. From 9 a.m. on seven consecutive Saturdays, Pasadena police officers, firefighters and others will cover topics including stranger danger, fire safety, environmental stewardship, bike safety, the 9-1-1 system and much more. Space is limited to 30 children and their parents. Contact Police Specialist Karla Kauhola at kkauhola@cityofpasadena.net or (626) 744-7657.

Hastings Branch Library presents a special exhibit titled "Historical View of African American Families" from Feb. 1 to 28 during regular open hours. Explore the lives of families as seen through African American literature and the civil rights movement. This is just one of the Black History Month offerings throughout February in Pasadena.

Not a football fan? Caltech Performing and Visual Arts presents a chamber music concert Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2, at 3:30 p.m in Dabney Lounge, located at Dabney Hall (#40 on this map). Works by Rachmaninoff, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Shostakovich and other composers will be performed.

Instructors from Armory Center for the Arts will provide art lessons to children Tuesday, Feb. 4, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at La Pintoresca Branch Library. Children will paint, work with clay and create collages.

Tuesday, Feb. 4, from 4 to 8 p.m. is Free Family Night at Kidspace Children's Museum. Explore the Imagination Workshop, Galvin Physics Forest, Digging Deeper Gallery, Nature Exchange, Harvest Corner and so much more that Kidspace has to offer!

Pasadena Presbyterian Church presents French violinist Etienne Gara for the popular Music at Noon weekly concert Wednesday, Feb. 5, from 12:10 to 12:40 p.m.

You don't have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to see the 2013 film "The Butler" there starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey Friday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m. The film tells the story of a White House butler who serves eight presidents over three decades with a backdrop of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and other dramatic events that affected this man's life and family.

Pasadena City College is asking our participation in a community visioning workshop Saturday, Feb. 8, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Creveling Lounge. Help PCC President Mark Rocha, members of the Board of Trustees, staff and other officials develop a future vision for the college and its facilities.

An interactive outdoor installation is being created through a series of community events at Side Street Projects. During the opening event "Sculpting Social Landscapes" Saturday, Feb. 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., you'll explore the newly built labyrinth, learn about the history, meanings and purposes of labyrinths and participate in sensory activities.

On Sept. 4, 1957, in one of the defining moments of the civil rights era, nine black students registered to attend the segregated Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, testing the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that required desegregation of schools nationwide. As a result, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called in the National Guard to prevent the students from entering the school – a decision that flew in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling that mandated all public schools in the nation be integrated "with all deliberate speed." On Sept. 24, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered federal troops to escort the "Little Rock Nine" into the school, and their first day there finally began. Dr. Terrence Roberts, one of those students and now a resident of Pasadena, will speak at the Allendale Branch Library Saturday Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. about that fateful day, civil rights, social justice and ethical decision-making.


Many thanks to the Pasadena Planning Department, A to Z Library, anime.com, the mighty Zack Stromberg,  Pasadena Public Library, Petrea Burchard, The Musical Nose, Kidspace Children's Museum, Etienne Gara, The Hollywood Reporter, Pasadena City College, Jeanmarie Conlin and Little Rock Nine Foundation for the photos.