Mystery History

We're back to the regular Mystery History blog series after several Special Edition posts related my exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of History, which closed March 29.

So where are we? And what's happening?

The first person to answer both questions correctly will win lunch with me -- I'll buy yours and you'll buy mine.

Remember to leave your best guess as a brief comment to this blog post but don't try to give the entire back story (that's my job!).

I'll have the full scoop on Thursday.

Looking for Something to Do? Free Events March 28 to April 3

Here are free events scheduled Saturday, March 28, to Friday, April 3.

All events are free, so take a look -- and don't you dare say there's nothing to do in Pasadena!  

The Pasadena American Little League season kicks off Saturday, March 28, at 9 a.m. at Hamilton Park with plenty of great baseball, food trucks, the Easton Bat trailer, former L.A. Dodgers player Jay Johnstone and much more.  

Students in grades 6 to 12 will showcase their intelligence and creativity during the Los Angeles County Science and Engineering Fair Saturday, March 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, March 29, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Pasadena Convention Center.

March is One City, One Story month -- our community reading celebration! Have you read this year's selection The Book of Unknown Americans yet?  

• A community book discussion is scheduled Saturday, March 28, at 10:30 a.m. at Hill Avenue Branch Library.
• A community book discussion is scheduled Saturday, March 28, at 11 a.m. at Linda Vista Branch Library. 
• Learn about citizenship and immigration programs Saturday, March 28, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. 
• One City, One Story art and short story contest winners will be announced Saturday, March 28, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library.
• See a full list of One City, One Story events with more details here. 

Gifted young musicians will perform Poulenc's Sextet for Winds and Piano, Beethoven's Adelaide Op. 46, Cohn's Aria for Winds (world premiere) and Thuille's Sextet for Piano and Woodwind in B Flat Minor Sunday, March 29, at 2 p.m. at Shumei Hall.

Dr. John Mulcahey, a Carnegie Observatories staff scientist, will explain how Carnegie astronomers and their colleagues are combining observations across the electromagnetic spectrum to help solve the mysteries of the universe Monday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. at A Noise Within. Arrive as early as 6:45 p.m. for refreshments and to claim your seat! 

 

A special live broadcast Wednesday, April 1, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Crawford Family Forum at Southern California Public Radio will celebrate Larry Mantle's 30th anniversary hosting Airtalk on KPCC Radio. RSVPs are required.

The silent adventure film "The Black Pirate" (1926, NR) starring Douglas Fairbanks and Billie Dove will be shown on the big screen Wednesday, April 1, at 1 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. Seeking revenge, a young man joins the pirates responsible for his father's death.

During a presentation titled "A Molecular Arms Race: The Immune System Versus HIV" Wednesday, April 1, at 8 p.m. in Beckman Auditorium (building 91 on this map) Pamela Bjorkman, professor of biology at Caltech, will explain her lab's efforts to modify natural antibodies using molecular engineering so HIV someday will be powerless to mutate against them.

 

The first Friday of every month from noon to 5 p.m. is free admission day at Pasadena Museum of California Art (also the third Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.). On Friday, April 3, enjoy the current exhibitions plus everything else PMCA has to offer. 

You don't have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to see "Boyhood" (2014, R) there starring Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke Friday, April 3, at 1 p.m. Filmed over the course of 12 years with the same cast, the film tells the groundbreaking story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a boy named Mason.

The first Friday of every month from 5 to 8 p.m. is free admission night at Norton Simon Museum. On Friday, April 3, enjoy the current exhibitions and everything else the museum has to offer.

Photo credits:  Pasadena Public Library, Cultural News, International Business Times, Southern California Public Radio, United Artists, US Edu Guides, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Norton Simon Museum, Westside Today,

Looking for Something to Do? Free Events March 21 to 27

Here are free events scheduled Saturday, March 21, to Friday, March 27.

All events are free, so take a look -- and don't you dare say there's nothing to do in Pasadena!  

Hope Demetriades will be on hand at the opening reception for her exhibition The North Stars: Canonizing the American Abolitionists Saturday, March 21, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley.

The Crown City Symphony will perform Mozart's Overture to "Don Giovanni," Weber's Preciosa Overture and Gounod's Ballet Music from "Faust" and will be joined by soprano Sunjoo Yeo who will sing arias by Puccini, Bellini and Gounod Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Pasadena, 75 N. Marengo Ave. 

In celebration of the Persian New Year, Norooz Pasadena will feature an authentic Persian tea house, traditional Haft Seen table, live entertainment, children's activities and more Sunday, March 22, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Pasadena Church of the Nazarene, 3700 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. 

March is One City, One Story month -- our community reading celebration! Have you read this year's selection The Book of Unknown Americans yet?  

• A community book discussion is scheduled Monday, March 23, at 11 a.m. at Lamanda Park Branch Library.
• A community book discussion is scheduled Monday, March 23, at 3 p.m. at Fuller Theological Seminary. This discussion will be presented by Dr. Juan Martinez, the seminary's vice provost and director of international programs.
• "The Visitor" (2007, PG-13) starring Richard Jenkins and Haaz Sleiman will be shown Wednesday, March 25, at 1 p.m. on the big screen in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library.  An economics professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young immigrant couple living in his apartment.
• A Spanish-language book discussion is scheduled Wednesday, March 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Mothers' Club Family Learning Center. This discussion will be presented by Latino Heritage Association and Pasadena Latino Coalition.
• A community book discussion is scheduled Thursday, March 26, at 4:30 p.m. at San Rafael Branch Library.
• A special presentation titled "To Make the Unknown Known: Stories of Struggle and Hope from the Immigrant Journey in California" Thursday, March 26, at 7 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library will feature personal testimony from four notables in the Hispanic and Asian communities.
• See a full list of One City, One Story events here. 

Veteran Los Angeles Times reporter David Pierson, who headed up the former Pasadena bureau before reporting from Beijing, will share his four-year experience as an Asian American L.A. Times journalist in China Tuesday, March 24, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Pasadena City College's Harbeson Hall (HH on this map). The photo of David and me above was shot in Beijing in 2010.

Tenor Mark Goodrich will perform Wednesday, March 25, from 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. for the popular Music at Noon recital series. Feel free to bring a sack lunch.

Children 7 and older will learn about Piet Mondrian and make a craft inspired by this famous modern artist Wednesday, March 25, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Children's Story Room at Central Library. Sign up at the Children's Desk or call 626-744-4027. 

Steve Scauzillo, environmental reporter for the Pasadena Star-News, will moderate a panel discussion, hosted by the Sierra Club Forest Committee, on the future of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Wednesday, March 25, at 7 p.m. at Eaton Canyon Nature Center.  

 

Larry Wilson, public editor of the Pasadena Star-News and artistic director of LitFest Pasadena, will discuss the dialect in literature and its effect on the societies and cultures we create Wednesday, March 25, at 7 p.m. in the Makineni Library at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Teens are invited to discover their creativity through writing by observing with their senses Thursdays, March 26 to April 23, from 4 to 5:15 p.m. at Hastings Branch Library. RSVP to 626-744-7262.

The Pasadena Community Orchestra will perform Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Beethoven's Prometheus Overture Friday, March 27, at 8 p.m. at First Church of the Nazarene, 3700 E. Sierra Madre Blvd.

Photo credits: YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley, Crown City Symphony, Norooz Pasadena, Pasadena Public Library, Orange County Register, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Huffington Post, Pasadena Community Orchestra