Looking for Something to Do? Free Pasadena Events June 22 to 28

Here are events scheduled Saturday, June 22, to Friday, June 28.

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

"It's Showtime at Your Library!" is the theme of this year's summer reading program for children, teens and adults through Aug. 3. Register here. .In addition to reading, the program includes plenty of fun events and activities at all branches. Here are events scheduled June 22 to 28:

• Children ages 5 to 12 will enjoy "The Three Little Pigs: A Puppet Musical Saturday, June 22, at 11 a.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. The fun show teaches the timeless lesson that hard work and dedication pay off.
• Children will learn about Asian arts and cultures through storytelling, crafts and more Monday, June 24, at 1 p.m. in the Children's Story Room at Central Library. This event is presented by educators from the USC Pacific Asia Museum.
• Children and families will love Arty Loon's variety show featuring magic, juggling, puppetry and silly fun Wednesday, June 26, at 4 p.m. at Villa Parke Branch Library.
• Children ages 5 to 12 will love the Billy Bonkers show filled with amazing magic, slapstick comedy and much more Thursday, June 27, at 10 a.m. at San Rafael Branch Library and 3 p.m. at Santa Catalina Branch Library. 
• Teens are invited to an informal Teen Writers Meetup Thursday, June 27, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Fourth Floor Conference Room at Central Library where you'll meet other teens, do a few writing exercises, talk about writing, bounce ideas around and share your work. 

In remembrance of the first moon landing 50 years ago, people of all ages are invited to see three classic science fiction films Saturday, June 22, beginning at 2 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library.

• "Destination Moon" (1950, NR) starring John Archer and Warner Anderson. The first major sci-fi film to deal realistically with the subject of spaceflight and the dangers inherent in human space travel in accurate technical detail, the film traces the flight of four astronauts to the moon, but when they get there, they realize the ship is too heave to lift off the surface for the return back to Earth. 
• In 1950, three pioneering sci-fi giants -- George Pal, Robert A. Heinlein and Chesley Bonestell -- get together on the set of "Destination Moon" to discuss the making of that film. Don't miss this rare, historic kinescope recording and interview.
• "Countdown" (1968, NR) starring James Caan and Robert Duvall. Based on the novel "The Pilgrim Project" by Hank Searls, the film focuses on two NASA astronauts in the Apollo program vying to be the first American to walk on the moon as part of an urgent program to beat the Soviet Union, but this first attempt is one-way. He would stay on the moon for a few months in a shelter pod launched and landed before him (he would have to find it first), and later a manned Apollo mission would come to retrieve him. 

The Folias Duo will perform on flute and guitar Wednesday, June 26, from 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. for the popular Music at Noon recital series at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

"Calendar Girls" (2003, PG-13) starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters will be shown Wednesday, June 26, at 1 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. A dynamic group of women who are members of the Women's Institute in Great Britain decide the fundraising effort for a local hospital will feature members posing nude for a calendar that becomes a media sensation. The film is based on true events.

The Great American Songwriters series continues Thursday, June 27, at 2 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center with a focus on the men who wrote the songs for Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, featuring songs by Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, including "Moonlight Becomes You," "Pennies from Heaven," "Swinging on a Star," "Come Fly with Me," "My Kind of Town" and more. Join pianist Bob Lipson and commentator/performer Saul H. Jacobs for this fun, interactive program. You do not have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend, but you do have to be 50 or older.

"Now, Voyager" (1942, NR) starring Bette Davis and Paul Henreid will be shown Friday, June 28, at 1 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. A spinster who has been repressed by her domineering mother for years is urged by a psychiatrist to make radical changes to her life, so she gets a makeover, buys a new wardrobe, takes an ocean cruise and gets married, although her new home life becomes more complicated than she bargained for.

SAVE THE DATE!

Happy 133rd birthday, Pasadena! We're celebrating with a community birthday Sunday, June 30, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Pasadena Museum of History with live entertainment, free admission to the current exhibition "Giddy Up: Children Take the Reins," crafts and other special activities, delicious birthday cake and much more.

Photo credits: City of Pasadena, William Conrad Productions, George Pal Productions, Folias Duo, Touchstone Pictures, Bob Barry, Warner Bros.