Looking for Something to Do? Free Events November 5 to 11

Here are events scheduled Saturday, Nov. 5, to Friday, Nov. 11.

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

In conjunction with the launch of Nancy Popp: Mason Line Hammocks, a knitting workshop will be offered Saturday, Nov. 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Side Street Projects where you'll learn knitting skills and share ideas, anecdotes and labor as you work on hammocks.

Teens are invited to watch episodes of the anime series Utawarerumono, enjoy Japanese snacks and the newest manga in the library's collection Saturday, Nov. 5, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Children's Story Room at Central Library. 

Great music, special guests, family fun and much more will be on hand Saturday, Nov. 5, beginning at 5 p.m. when the Pasadena Educational Foundation sponsors Battle of the Bands in Memorial Park. It's our own local rock festival featuring teen bands from Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre public schools! Arrive as early as 4 p.m. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket plus a picnic or purchase dinner from food trucks at the park.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Click here to find your polling place.

Children ages 5 to 8 are invited to bring their imaginations to the Creative Writing for Beginning Readers workshop Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 4:30 p.m. in the Children's Story Room at Central Library. Call 626-744-4066, option 4 to sign up.

The Harvard-Westlake Upper School Symphony will perform classical works Wednesday, Nov. 9, from 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. for the popular Music at Noon series at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

"The Other Sister" (1999, PG-13) starring Juliette Lewis and Diane Keaton will be shown Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Central Library. A young woman with a developmental disability returns home from an institution and tries to make it on her own. 

Resident actors will perform a reading of Tom Stoppard's play "The Real Inspector Hound" Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. at A Noise Within as part of the Words Within series. Reservations are required.

JPL's Dawn mission has included exploration of the dwarf planet Ceres since March 2015 and has gathered evidence of geologic activity and clues confirming that Ceres had an ancient subsurface ocean. Carol Raymond, deputy principal investigator for the Dawn mission, will share the importance of this discovery Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. at Caltech's Beckman Auditorium (#91 on this map).

The annual Veterans Day commemoration at Centennial Square in front of Pasadena City Hall Friday, Nov. 11, from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. will include local JROTC presenting the colors, music by the Blair High School Band, a flyover of vintage World War II planes, special guest speakers, echoing Taps and more, followed by refreshments including hot dogs grilled by Pasadena firefighters.

Veterans will read from their own works of prose and poetry during Returning Soldiers Speak Friday, Nov, 11, at 7:30 p.m. at American Legion Post 13. A reception with complimentary food will begin at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are required.

The Caltech-Occidental Concert Band will perform Kamioka's In Autumn Skies, Coakley's Lyric Essay, Dunlap's Character Sketch No. 1, Nelson's Courtly Arts and Dances, Chance's Variations on a Korean Folksong, Hanson's Chorale and Alleluia and Woolfenden's Gallimafry Friday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. at Caltech's Ramo Auditorium in Baxter Hall (#77 on this map). The concert will be repeated Saturday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. 

The Pasadena Community Orchestra will perform Glinka's Russian and Ludmilla Overture, Prokofiev's Lt. Kije Suite and Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte Overture, plus Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 with guest violinist Aubree Oliverson Friday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. at First Church of the Nazarene.

Photo credits: Pasadena Educational Foundation, Calendar Holidays, Haresfield School, Harvard-Westlake School, Touchstone Pictures, Semy Risk, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena Now, SGV Front Line for Veterans, Caltech, Pasadena Community Orchestra.