Looking for Something to Do? Free Pasadena Events November 9 to 15

Here are events scheduled Saturday, Nov. 9, to Friday, Nov. 15.

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

Dave Nufer, program developer and docent with Pasadena Heritage and Los Angeles Conservancy, will show connections among Mexican, Mission, Moorish, Spanish and Spanish Colonial Revival architectural styles in Pasadena Saturday, Nov. 9, at 3 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library.

The second Sunday of every month is Free Admission Day at USC Pacific Asia Museum. On Sunday, Nov. 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. experience traditional Indian music, create your own instrument, enjoy a live performance by the Raga Essence Ensemble (Dayita Datta and Jyoti Prakas), tour galleries, bring the kids for a special storytime and more.

The Caltech-Occidental Wind Orchestra concert will include H. Owen Reed's "La Fiesta Mexicana" plus works by Frank Ticheli, John Barnes Chance and John Mackey Saturday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m. in Ramo Auditorium at Caltech's Baxter Hall (#77 on this map). Parking in Caltech lots and structures is free on weekends. 

The Crown City Symphony will perform Gluck's overture to "Iphigenia in Aulis," Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra" with cellist Elizabeth Elliott and Tchaikovsky's "Little Russian" Symphony No. 2 in C Sunday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Pasadena.

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Flights of Fantasy Story Theatre presents "Bird Songs," tales from the Gabrielino, Cahuilla, Juanero and Chumash people, Tuesday, Nov 12, at 10:30 a.m. at Santa Catalina Branch Library. This program is for children ages 5 to 12. There are additional presentations at other branches throughout the month.

Classical guitarist Hugo Nogueira, accompanied by pianist Ekaterina Bessmeltseva, will perform Wednesday, Nov. 13, from 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. for the popular Music at Noon recital series at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

"Suez" (1938, PG-13) starring Tyrone Power and Loretta Young will be shown Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 1 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. In the midst of international political upheaval and forbidden love, an engineer who is the son of a French nobleman conceives the idea of a canal in Egypt that would connect the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The film is based on true events.

Mozart's masterpiece  "Die Zauberflöte" (The Magic Flute) is one of the most beloved and most performed operas of all time. While the coloratura arias of the Queen of the Night and the comic antics of the birdcatcher Papageno are familiar to many, few know the story of the man without whom none of this would exist: Emanuel Schikaneder. LA Opera Community Educator Ray Busmann's multimedia presentation will shine a light on this unsung hero -- and one of the most important men of 18th century theater -- Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. in room 113 at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. Click here for free tickets.

The Great American Songwriters series continues with "They Blended Broadway and Vienna: Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Loewe" Thursday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. Join pianist Bob Lipson and commentator/vocalist Don Snyder as they feature songs from Lerner & Loewe's hit Broadway musicals "My Fair Lady," "Camelot," "Gigi" and more. You do not have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend, but you do have to be 50 or older.

At the next open forum of PasadenaPhotographicArts Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at Armory Center for the Arts, four Los Angeles-area photographers will present and discuss some of their themed works: Ralph Acosta will present and discuss "Trabajadores de la Habana"; Nelida Dotan will present and discuss "Music Houses Around the World"; Morgan Lieberman will present and discuss "How One Camp is Working to Make Burning Man More Accessible" and Terrence Rorie will present and discuss "People Places and Things." 

"Yesterday" (2019, PG-13) starring Himesh Patel and Lily James will be shown Friday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center.  A struggling singer-songwriter's dreams of fame are fading rapidly in his tiny English seaside village, but after a freak accident during a mysterious global blackout, he discovers The Beatles never existed and finds himself the only person on earth who knows their music. You don't have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend, but you do have to be 50 or older.

On Friday, Nov. 15, at 3:30 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center, MUSE/IQUE guest performing artists will showcase Elvis Presley and his roots in gospel that led to early rock hysteria. You do not have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend, but you do have to be 50 or older. A limited number of complimentary tickets to MUSE/IQUE's Nov. 17 GRACE/LANDING concert will be available to people who register in advance at the Welcome Desk for the Nov. 15 event and attend.

Photo credits: Active Rain, Curbed LA, Caltech-Occidental Wind Orchestra, Crown City Symphony, RT, Hugo Nogueira, Ekaterina Bessmeltseva, Twentieth Century Fox, Architectural Resources Group, Lincoln Center Theater, Now Playing Utah, Uris Theater, Morgan Lieberman, Decibel Films, MUSE/IQUE.