Looking for Something to Do? Free Pasadena Events February 29 to March 6

Here are arts and cultural events scheduled Saturday, Feb. 29, to Friday, March 6.

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

Each week, Family Fun Saturday at Eaton Canyon Nature Center includes activities for all ages. On Saturday, Feb. 29, from 9 a.m. to noon, enjoy a family nature walk, Nature Tails Storytime, a presentation with a live wild animal, and create a nature-themed craft to take home.

The Black History Festival in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library Saturday, Feb. 29, 1 to 4:30 p.m. will feature African American poetry readings, a presentation about 200 years of African American pioneers and communities in Southern California, and more. The festival has been coordinated by Dave Nufer, program developer and researcher for Pasadena Heritage and The LA Conservancy.

Children 5 to 12 are invited to read books to gentle, well-trained dogs during Barks and Books Monday, March 2, at 1 p.m. at San Rafael Branch Library. Barks and Books continues at various branch libraries throughout March.

Children and families are invited to a t-shirt painting party to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday Monday, March 2, at 4 p.m. at Villa-Parke Branch Library. All materials will be provided. Call (626) 744-6510 to sign up.

Espionage, intrigue and strong women, oh my! 

March is One City, One Story month -- our community reading celebration with events that include book discussions, films, presentations, special programs and more. 

Have you read the current selection "The Secrets We Kept" by Lara Prescott yet, which is inspired by true events? (I have!) At the height of the Cold War, two female secretaries are pulled out of the typing pool at the CIA and given the assignment of a lifetime, filled with intrigue and risk: smuggle Boris Pasternak's manuscript for his epic novel "Doctor Zhivago" out of the USSR, where no one dares publish it, and help it make its way into print around the world. The story is intertwined with that of the decades-long affair between Pasternak and his mistress/muse, Olga Ivinskaya, who was dragged off to the Gulag for her involvement in the book and inspired the "Doctor Zhivago" heroine Lara. One City, One Story events are scheduled all month long. Here are events scheduled this coming week:

• If you are in your 20s or 30s and have read or are reading "The Secrets We Kept" in its Apple iBook version, join the book discussion Tuesday, March 3, at 2 p.m. at Hastings Branch Library.
• Everyone is invited to join a book discussion about "The Secrets We Kept" Tuesday, March 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Hastings Branch Library.
• "Doctor Zhivago" (1965, PG-13) starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie will be shown Wednesday, March 4, at 1 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. Yuri, a physician and poet, finds romance with Lara amid the turbulent political turmoil of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath, and although they lose touch with each other for many years, Yuri can't shake his memories of Lara, which he commits to poems that become national treasures. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. See the trailer here.
• Lara Prescott, author of "The Secrets We Kept," will speak to the community about her historical novel Thursday, March 5, at 7 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. The program will be moderated by Pasadena Public Library Director Michelle Perera, followed by an author Q&A with the audience and book signing.
• Click here for the full calendar of events.

The first Tuesday of every month is Free Family Night at Kidspace Children's Museum. On Tuesday, March 3, from 4 to 8 p.m. create your own Art Nouveau masterpiece. Materials and instruction will be provided.

PasadenaPhotographyArts presents Kristine Schomaker, who will present and discuss her photographic series "Plus" and "Losing Weight," both of which are based on body image, Thursday, March 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Armory Center for the Arts. Register here.

"Harriet" (2019, PG-13) starring Cynthia Erivo and Leslie Odom Jr. will be shown Friday, March 6, at 1 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. Harriet Tubman risks her life to escape from slavery, then risks it again and again as she leads hundreds of slaves to freedom and safety as the most famous so-called conductor of the Underground Railroad. The film is based on true events. 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.

The first Friday of every month is Free Admission Day at the Norton Simon Museum. On Friday, March 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. enjoy the current exhibitions "By Day and By Night: Paris in the Belle Époque," "Paul Gauguin's 'The Swineherd,' 1888, on loan from LACMA," "Beyond the World We Know: Abstraction in Photography" and "Raphael 2020" plus everything else the museum has to offer.

The opening reception for the exhibition "Duo" by Laura and Carolie Parker -- two sisters, both Francophiles, one a photographer, the other a painter -- is Friday, March 6, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Alliance Française de Pasadena. The exhibition, which commemorates the month of La Francophonie, will continue through April 17.

SAVE THE DATE!

Enjoy an evening of art, music, dance, drama and more when ArtNight Pasadena returns Friday, March 13, from 6 to 10 p.m. and 20 of our community's arts and cultural institutions open their doors for free! 

Photo credits: Eaton Canyon Nature Center, Neighborhood North, U.S. Postal Service, City of Pasadena, Kidspace Children's Museum, Martin Chase Productions, Norton Simon Museum.