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

Here are arts and cultural events scheduled Saturday, Feb. 15, to Friday, Feb. 21.

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

The 38th annual Black History Parade and Festival -- the largest in California -- is Saturday, Feb. 15. The parade, with more than 80 entries, will begin at 10 a.m. at North Fair Oaks Avenue and Figueroa Drive in Altadena, travel south on Fair Oaks and end at Robinson Park in Pasadena where there will be live entertainment, fun activities for all ages, food available for purchase, and much more from noon to 4 p.m.

In commemoration of Black History Month, the documentary film "Phunny Business: A Black Comedy" (2011, TV-14) will be shown Saturday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. at Allendale Branch Library. The fast-talking, sharp-witted film chronicles the rise and fall of All Jokes Aside, Chicago's first black-owned comedy club that gave early exposure to talented African American comedians, including Steve Harvey, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx, Mo'Nique, Bernie Mac and many more. John Davies, the documentary's producer, writer and director, will be on hand to introduce the film. See the trailer here.

Third@First presents the concert "Stories in Music" Saturday, Feb. 15, from 4 to 5 p.m. at First United Methodist Church. Pianist Junko Ueno Garrett presents the back stories about music by Bach, Schumann, Granados and Ravel.

The Screening Mimis Film Discussion Group presents the documentary film "The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club" (2009, NR) Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 1:30 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. A Pasadena society girl turned adventurer and aviator, Florence "Pancho" Barnes was the first female stunt pilot in Hollywood in 1929, shattered Amelia Earhart's air speed record in 1930, entertained the most famous test pilots in the world at her Happy Bottom Riding Club guest ranch near Edwards Air Force Base and was a swaggering, ill-behaved woman whose exploits and accomplishments are truly the stuff of legend. See the trailer here. 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. Free popcorn will be available. You do not have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend, but you do have to be 50 or older.

"Wilson" (1944, NR) starring Alexander Knox and Charles Coburn will be shown Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 1 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. Woodrow Wilson makes his name in politics by proving he is his own man in the face of political pressure, first as president of Princeton University, then as governor of New Jersey and finally as the 28th president of the United States. 

Children and families are invited to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year with an interactive storytime, crafts and a special surprise Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at Hastings Branch Library.

The opening reception for the "SKY" exhibition in the Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery at Art Center College of Design's Hillside Campus is Thursday, Feb. 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. An immersive examination of how humans have conceptualized the sky through history, this group exhibition will demonstrate how the unfolding realities exposed by new science are affecting change in our understanding of ourselves, our planet and beyond. The exhibition will continue through Aug. 30. Part of the gallery's ongoing series that examines the intersection of contemporary art and science, SKY brings together works by west coast artists with objects and artifacts from various museums and scientific archives, including The Caltech Archive, Carnegie Observatories Mount Wilson Archive, Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the European Space Agency.

"Ragtime" (1981, PG) starring James Cagney and Harold E. Rollings Jr. will be shown Friday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family in early 1900s New York City, amid racial tensions, infidelity and dirty politics. See the trailer here. You do not have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend, but you do have to be 50 or older.

Photo credits: Southern California Newspaper Group, 2DS Productions, Junko Ueno Garrett, PBS, Twentieth Century Fox, Sad Poetry Club, Dino De Laurentiis Company.