Looking for Something to Do? Free Events April 30 to May 6

Here are events scheduled Saturday, April 30, to Friday, May 6.

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

The family-friendly Spring Swing Social Saturday, April 30, from 1 to 8:30 p.m. in the courtyard at One Colorado will include ping-pong, board games, face painting and ice cream treats (while supplies last) from 1 to 3 p.m., swing dance lessons with the Stevens Sisters of Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association at 5:30 p.m. and live music performed by Leftover Cuties at 7 p.m.

April is National Poetry Month. Adults will create their own poems during an interactive class led by a representative from the literary and arts community Poetry Solves Problems Saturday, April 30, at 3 p.m. at Hill Avenue Branch Library. 

Teens are invited to an afternoon of epic battles and a lot of fun with a Super Smash Brothers for Wii U throwdown Tuesday, May 3, at 3:30 p.m. at Santa Catalina Branch Library.

The first Tuesday of every month is free admission day at Kidspace Children's Museum. On Tuesday, May 3, from 4 to 8 p.m. children will create caterpillar puppets, make beautiful butterflies, enjoy nature-themed stories and watch a puppet show based on "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." 

Children will enjoy the art and science of bubbles, including rainbow bubbles, squares, triangles and bubbles that bounce and float inside other bubbles Wednesday, May 4, at 11 a.m. at San Rafael Branch Library. One child from the audience will be chosen to step inside a giant bubble! Parents, don't forget your cameras! (The event will repeat Thursday, May 5, at 3:30 p.m. at Lamanda Park Branch Library.) 

Bass/baritone Scott Graff, accompanied by John Rusnak on piano, will perform classical works Wednesday, May 4, from 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. for the popular Music at Noon recital series at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

"The Corn Is Green" (1945, NR) starring Bette Davis and Nigel Bruce will be shown Wednesday, May 4, at 1 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. A schoolteacher in Wales becomes the mentor of a talented young miner and seeks to get him into a university, to the chagrin of the town squire.

Children will create special Mothers Day gifts Thursday, May 5, from 4 to 5 p.m. at Hastings Branch Library. All materials will be provided.

Violinist Ken Aiso and accompanist Valeria Morgavskaya will perform works by Mozart, Saint-Saëns, Britten, Lalo, Sarasate and Wieniawksi Thursday, May 5, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. 

A new load of garden-ready mulch from Pasadena Public Works Department street tree trimmings will be available to Pasadena residents Friday, May 6, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the southeast corner of the parking lot at Victory Park. In addition, Athens Services will provide 10 cubic yards of compost for pickup after 10 a.m. Bring your own shovel, container and gloves. The opportunity will continue daily until supplies are depleted. The next availability will be June 3.
 

The first Friday (and third Thursday) of every month is free admission day at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. On Friday, May 6, from noon to 5 p.m. enjoy the current exhibitions Claire Falkenstein: Beyond Sculpture; Brett Weston: Significant Details; and Kat Hutter and Roger Lee: Another California Day; and everything else the museum has to offer.

"The Big Short" (2015, R) starring Brad Pitt and Christian Bale will be shown Friday, May 6, at 1 p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the Pasadena Senior Center. Predicting the credit and housing bubble collapse of the early 2000s, four men in the world of high finance decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight. You do not have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to attend.  

Sounds on South Lake presents indie folk singer Kyle Britton and soul and folk singer Laura Jean Anderson Friday, May 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. at 455 S. Lake Ave. (courtyard next to Paul Martin's American Grill). Britton will perform at 5 p.m. and Anderson at 6 p.m. This is a family- and pet-friendly event. The free music series will continue every Friday in May at locations throughout the South Lake district.

The first Friday of every month is free admission day at the Norton Simon Museum. On Friday, May 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. enjoy the current exhibitions Drawing, Dreaming and Desire: Works on Paper by Sam Francis; Duchamp to Pop; and everything else the museum has to offer.

See Urbanature at Art Center College of Design's Williamson Gallery ongoing through July 3 featuring works by 14 urban artists who are seeking to define their relationships with nature.

SAVE THE DATE!

Centennial Square in front of Pasadena City Hall will be transformed into an outdoor concert space Saturday, May 14, at 8 p.m. for Music Under the Stars, the annual gift to the community from the Pasadena Symphony and Pops. The orchestras will be joined by special guest stars Dale Kristien, Norman Large and Katherine Strohmaier plus the JPL Chorus for a celebration of music from Broadway, the movies and the Great American Songbook. Come as early as 6 p.m., bring a lawn chair and a picnic dinner or purchase dinner onsite.  

Photo credits: One Colorado, Flocabulary, Nintendo, Mom It Forward, Acorn Newspapers, Warner Brothers, Children's Guide Blog, BBC, Preen, Visit Pasadena, Spectra, Kyle Britton, Laura Jean Anderson, Norton Simon Museum, Williamson Gallery, Pasadena Symphony and Pops.