Looking for Something to Do? Free Pasadena Events March 16 to 22

Here are events scheduled Saturday, March 16, to Friday, March 22.

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

Do you love movies and dream of writing the scripts that bring concepts to life? "Breaking into Screenwriting" is a panel discussion hosted by the Scriptwriters Network in conjunction with the Pasadena International Film Festival Saturday, March 16, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. upstairs at Vroman's Bookstore in the Playhouse District. Come learn how to get started and make a career of it!

March is One City, One Story month -- our community reading celebration! Have you read this year's selection "In the Distance," the Pulitzer Prize finalist about a Swedish boy in the Old West, yet? One City, One Story events are scheduled all month long. Here are some this coming week:

• In the context of 150 years of Old West fables, fictions and folklore, The Huntington Library's Dr. Peter J. Blodgett will present "A New Layer of Desolation: The Mythic Wests of Hernán Diaz’s 'In the Distance'" Saturday, March 16, at 2 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library.
• Sit in on Lamanda Park Branch Library's Great Literature and Discussion Group talk about "In the Distance" Monday, March 18, at 11 a.m.
• Discuss "In the Distance" with the Pasadena Readers Book Club Monday, March 18, at 3 p.m. in Studio on 4th (fourth floor) at Central Library.
• "Cowboy" (1958, NR) starring Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon will be shown Wednesday, March 20, at 1 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. An idealistic hotel clerk in Chicago goes on a cattle drive to Mexico and soon discovers the cowboy life isn't what he expected. 
• "High Noon" (1952, NR) starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly will be shown Thursday, March 21, at 6 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. In this classic western, a marshal prepares to retire from law enforcement in deference to his Quaker bride, but four outlaws are making their own preparations to converge on the town at noon to kill him. He is torn between his sense of duty and his love for his pacifist bride. The film will be introduced by Carl Koslowski, Pasadena Weekly film critic and arts editor, and will be followed by a Q&A with the audience. The evening will also include a western singalong with country-Americana band McMains.
• See paintings of African American cowboys by artist Emerson Terry on display at Hastings Branch Library through March 31.
• If you have a Pasadena Public Library card, present it at the Autry Museum of the American West through March 31 for free admission.
• Click here for a full calendar of One City, One Story events.

Third@First presents soprano Liv Redpath performing art songs of Schubert, Debussy, Rodrigo and Barber followed by arias from operas by Mozart, Verdi and Donizetti Saturday, March 16, at 4 p.m. at First United Methodist Church.  She will be accompanied by Paul Floyd at the piano.

The Crown City Symphony will perform Strauss's Overture to Die Fledermaus, Brahms's Hungarian Dances 11-16 and Liszt's Totentanz Sunday, March 17, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Pasadena.

One Colorado has three family-friendly events scheduled in the courtyard on St. Patrick's Day Sunday, March 17:

• Children and families are invited to get into the St. Paddy's Day spirit by making lucky leprechaun puppets from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Reservations are encouraged to ensure there will be enough materials for everyone who wants to participate.
• From 1 to 1:45 p.m., Cleary Irish Dance will perform traditional Irish dances followed by an opportunity for the audience to learn a jig or two. Reservations are encouraged,
• The Pasadena Scottish Bagpipes and Drums will perform from 3 to 3:45 p.m.

An LA Opera community educator will take participants through one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's many operas, "La Clemenza di Tito" (The Clemency of Titus) Monday, March 18, at 1 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. Mozart composed the opera in 1791, the last year of his life. The universal concepts of loyalty, friendship, betrayal and forgiveness surround power players seeking glory in ancient Rome where the emperor Titus reigns. You do not have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend but you do have to be 50 or older.

Pasadena City College artist in residence Marnie Weber will discuss her current exhibition "Twisted Refrain" in the Boone Family Gallery at PCC Monday, March 18, from 7 to 8 p.m. followed by a reception.

The Screening Mimis Film Discussion Group for adults presents "The Italian Job" (1969, G) starring Michael Caine and Noël Coward Tuesday, March 19, at 1:30 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. A team of some of England's most notorious criminals devises an intricate plan to hijack gold bullion from Italy. The Screening Mimis Film Discussion Group features a provocative 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.

Tour the iconic, historic bridge building at the hillside campus of Art Center College of Design Wednesday, March 20, at 10 a.m. for a look at the remarkable galleries, studios and classrooms where students from throughout the world create dynamic works from all disciplines. Reservations are required no later than 48 hours in advance. The bridge building was designed in the 1970s by modernist architect Craig Ellwood. Tours are offered the second Friday and third Wednesday of every month through the end of spring. 

Mandolinist Evan Marshall will perform Wednesday, March 20, from 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. for the popular Music at Noon recital series at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

The multimedia presentation "The Women Artists of Disney -- a Fusion of Fine Art and Animation" will take place Wednesday, March 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library in celebration of Women's History Month. Historian and author Mindy Johnson will explore the creative and technical advances of leading women artists whose contributions expanded and defined many of Walt Disney's classic animated films. This event is in conjunction with the current exhibition "Something Revealed: California Women Artists Emerge, 1860-1960" at the Pasadena Museum of History.

Symposia Within presents a talk about "Argonautika," a play by Mary Zimmerman Wednesday, March 20, at 6:45 p.m. at A Noise Within.  

Families with children will enjoy fun improv theater games Thursday, March 21, at 3:30 p.m. at Hill Avenue Branch Library.

"Sinbad the Sailor" (1947, NR) starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Maureen O'Hara will be shown Friday, March 22, at 1 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. An ocean of adventure awaits Sinbad as he sets out in search of the fabled lost treasure of Alexander the Great. You do not have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend but you do have to be 50 or older.

The opening reception for "From Wabi to Whimsy: The Japanese-Inspired Tea Ceramics and Prints of Julie Bagish" is Friday, March 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the En Gallery at Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden. The event is free for visitors who have made reservations (otherwise it's $10 at the gate).

Photo credits: New York Film Academy, City of Pasadena, IMG Artists, Crown City Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Pasadena City College, Oakhurst Productions, Art Center College of Design, Evan Marshall, Walt Disney Productions/Photofest, A Noise Within, Kid Activities, RKO Radio Pictures, Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden