Looking for Something to Do? Free Pasadena Events Sept. 15 to 21

Here are events scheduled Saturday, Sept. 15, to Friday, Sept. 21.

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

The fifth annual Pasadena Loves YA teen book festival Saturday, Sept. 15, from noon to 4 p.m. at Central Library will feature 16 Young Adult genre authors in panel discussions and book signings, Q&A, YA book giveaways and more. 

Side Street Projects connects artists to the community through educational programs and interactive projects. Come to a community meeting Saturday, Sept. 15, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Side Street Projects to let the organizers know what they can do for you and for Pasadena. If you cannot attend, please take this short survey to let them know what you think is important about community arts programming.

A reception at Armory Center for the Arts Saturday, Sept. 15, from 4 to 6 p.m. will celebrate the exhibition Kim Abeles - Valises for Camp Ground: Arts, Corrections and Fire Management in the Santa Monica Mountains.  The mixed media valises were created during a long-term collaborative project between artist Kim Abeles and the female inmates of Camp 13, an L.A. County correctional facility for women who are trained and deployed to fight forest fires. At 3 p.m., just prior to the reception, a representative from the National Parks Service will make a presentation about our urban relationship to forests and wildlife.

An LA Opera community educator will lead guests through Don Carlo, one of Giuseppe Verdi's most dramatic and complex grand operas, Monday, Sept. 17, at 1 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. The grand opera is set in the 16th century during the Spanish Inquisition and based on actual historical figures. You do NOT have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend but you do have to be 50 or older.

This is Constitution Week! On Monday, Sept. 17, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Central Library, exhibits will include women involved in the American Revolution; members of the Martin Severance Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) will staff an information table where they'll provide free gift bags, each with a pocket-size U.S. Constitution, small American flag, U.S. Flag Code and Pledge of Allegiance bookmark; at 1 p.m. everyone will be invited to take turns ringing bells throughout the first floor in celebration of Bells Across America, a national commemoration of Constitution Week started in 1987 by late Chief Justice Warren Burger.

The BeatBuds will perform for young children Tuesday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Garfield Promenade on the street level at Paseo Colorado.

The Screening Mimis Film Discussion Club presents Two Women (1960, NR) starring Sophia Loren and Jean-Paul Belmondo Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. A widow and her teenaged daughter who struggle to survive the ravages of World War II in Italy. The Screening Mimis Film Discussion Club features a movie the first and third Tuesday of every month, preceded by a presentation about the film's hidden history and followed by a lively discussion. You do NOT have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend but you do have to be 50 or older.

Under the Same Moon (2007, PG-13) starring Eugenio Derbez and Kate del Castillo will be shown Wednesday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. After his grandmother dies, a young boy journeys across the Mexican border to find his mother in the U.S. 

On Thursday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. in Central Library's Donald R. Wright Auditorium, Kid Zorro, the Bilingual Puppet Musical will take children ages 5 to 12 back in history to Spanish California where Zorro must embrace his family's destiny to save the local mission from a corrupt politician with a diabolical plan.

Puppets and Players Little Theatre presents Musical Moments from The Wizard of Oz Thursday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. in the courtyard at One Colorado, performed with classical marionettes, hand puppets and music staged in a Baroque-style theater fashioned after an Italian opera house. Reservations are encouraged.

Red Hen Press presents a closing reception Saturday, Sept. 20, at 4 p.m. in celebration of artwork that has adorned the walls of Red Hen Press since April by artists Sigrid Burton, Loran Calvin, Susan Connell, Catherine Partridge and Gretel Stephens. There will be readings by authors Ron Koertge and Kim Dower, and food and wine will be provided.

Calling all kids ages 10 to 14! If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a rock star, learn a little about the history of rock music, listen to Kimberly "KC" Allison play some rock tunes on an electric guitar, learn some easy rock riffs and take part in a rock jam session Thursday, Sept. 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. Electric guitars and amps will be provided. Call (626) 744-4066, option 4 to sign up.

The Playhouse District Association presents Third Thursday of the summer Thursday, Sept. 20, from 6 to 9 p.m. Have fun at USC Pacific Asia Museum's Harvest Moon Festival, hear a live recording at Pasadena Museum of California Art of Big Birth Junkie and then enjoy Judy Chicago's exhibition Birth Project: Born Again, enjoy live musical performances at Boston Court and Lyd & Mo Photography, rock side to side or spin around in red "spun chairs," chill with a refreshing Kona Ice (first 100 guests before 7 p.m.), get in the zone with a live DJ mix set, participate in a collaborative art project at the Pasadena Playhouse, play jumbo versions of classic games and see a photography exhibition at the Ice House's Un-Gallery.

Book Club (2018, PG-13) starring Diane Keaton and Jane Fonda will be shown Friday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. The lives of four mature women are turned upside down when they decide to tackle Fifty Shades of Grey, and in the process they inspire each other to make their next chapter in their lives their best chapter. You do NOT have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend but you must be 50 or older.

Photo credits: Pasadena Public Library, Side Street Projects, Armory Center for the Arts, Tenth Amendment Coalition, Compagnia Cinematografica Champion, The BeatBuds, Creando Films, Noteworthy Puppets, Puppets and Players Little Theatre, Red Hen Press, School of Rock, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Playhouse District Association, Apartment Story