Looking for Something to Do? Free Events June 30 to July 6

Here are free events scheduled Saturday, June 30, to Friday, July 6.

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

In 2010, when he was a U.S. Marine, Sgt. Craig Grossi rescued a stray dog on a battlefield in Afghanistan and named him Fred. When Grossi returned home to the U.S., it was Fred's turn to rescue him -- from PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Grossi wrote a popular book titled Craig & Fred: A Marine, a Stray Dog and How They Rescued Each Other. Now they travel the country together and are coming to Pasadena! Come hear their uplifting and unforgettable story Saturday, June 30, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on the fourth floor (Studio on 4th) at Central Library.

In Inukitut, one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada, the word "akunittinni" loosely translates as "between us." On Saturday, June 30, a guided walkthrough of the new exhibition Akunnittinni: A Kinngait Family Portrait at 5 p.m. at Armory Center for the Arts will be followed by an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition chronicles a visual dialog, with autobiographical narratives and intimate memories, among an Inuk grandmother, mother and daughter, all three now deceased -- Pitseolak Ashoona, Napachie Pootoogook and Annie Pootoogook -- who lived in Kinngait, a remote community in the Canadian Arctic. The exhibition will continue through Sept. 23.

The Pasadena Summer Youth Chamber Orchestra will perform their annual Young Artists Concert Saturday, June 30, at 7:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church featuring works by Beethoven, Bruch, Mozart, Popper, Saint-Saens and Tchaikovsky. 

Children ages 5 to 12 are invited to read to gentle, well-trained dogs at Barks and Books Monday, July 2, at 1 p.m. at San Rafael Branch Library. Click here for other dates, times and branches in July.

Twinkle Time will perform for young children Tuesday, July 3, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Garfield Promenade on the street level at Paseo Colorado. 

The first Tuesday of every month is Free Family Night at Kidspace Children's Museum. On Tuesday, July 3, from 4 to 8 p.m. create your own nature journal, have fun with the nature photography challenge and learn about stories in the sky. Be sure to see Wildlife Learning Center's North American Animals presentation in the Stone Hollow Amphitheater at 6 p.m.

Calling all teens! Learn how to be a DJ during a four-part workshop Tuesdays, July 3, 10, 17 and 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. at La Pintoresca Branch Library. The workshop will cover basic skills and techniques incuding beatmatching, mixing and scratching using Serato DJ digital software. Call (626) 744-7268 or email mracelis@cityofpasadena.net to sign up. Participants will be invited to perform Saturday, July 28, at the library's end-of-summer event. 

The Old Pasadena Summer Cinema series kicks off with There's Something About Mary (1998, R) starring Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller Thursday, July 5, at 8 p.m. at CTRL Collective. A man gets a chance to meet up with his dream girl from high school even though his date with her back then was a complete disaster.

The Great Debaters (2007, PG) starring Denzel Washington and Kimberly Elise will be shown Friday, July 6, at 1 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. At a small African American college in the 1930s, a professor forms a student debate team that goes on to beat Harvard University in the national debate championships. The film is based on true events. You do NOT have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend, but you must be 50 or older.

The first Friday of every month is Free Admission Day at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. On Friday, July 6, from noon to 5 p.m. enjoy the exhibitions Judy Chicago's Birth Project: Born Again, Grafton Tyler Brown: Exploring California and Brody Albert: Strata plus everything else the museum has to offer. Please note the museum will close, unfortunately, after these exhibitions come to an end in October.

The first Friday of every month is Free Admission Night at the Norton Simon Museum. On Friday, July 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. enjoy the exhibitions Line & Color: The Nature of Ellsworth Kelly and In Search of New Markets: Craft Traditions in 19th Century India plus everything else the museum has to offer.

Paseo Colorado's all-summer-long Dancing Under the Stars continues with Swing Night featuring Phat Cat Swinger Friday, July 6, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Garfield Promenade on the street level. Come as early as 7 p.m. for a swing dance lesson from the Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association, then enjoy the live music -- whether you decide to kick up your heels or not!

Old Pasadena Summer Cinema presents Departures (2008, PG-13) starring Masahiro Motoki and Ryōko Hirosue Friday, July 6, at 8 p.m. at Distant Lands. To provide for his family, an out-of-work cellist answers a classified ad for a company called Departures, assuming he will work for a travel agency, then discovers he will be preparing the bodies of recently deceased persons for their trip to the afterlife. He soon gains a new appreciation for life. Japanese with English subtitles.

Old Pasadena Summer Cinema presents Sunset Boulevard (1950, NR) starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson Friday, July 6, at 8:30 p.m. in the courtyard at One Colorado. An aging, delusional former star of silent films hires a young screenwriter to write what she believes will be her comeback.

SAVE THE DATE!

Centennial Square in front of Pasadena City Hall will be transformed to an outdoor concert space Saturday, July 7, at 8 p.m. for Music Under the Stars, the annual gift to the community from the Pasadena Symphony and Pops. 

Photo credits: The Washington Post, Dorset Fine Arts, Pasadena Summer Youth Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Times, Twinkle Time, Kidspace Children's Museum, Joninh, Twentieth Century Fox, Harpo Films, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Norton Simon Museum, Phat Cat Swinger, Amuse Soft Entertainment, Paramount Pictures