What To Do This Weekend: April 24-26, 2026

From poets and authors onstage to science and music merging, it’s an Earth Week weekend full of opportunities to expand your horizons.

By Melanie Hooks

Click on highlighted event titles for more information.

Friday, April 24, 2026

10:00 am – 11:00 am: Sierra Madre Senior Hawaiian & Polynesian Dance Class. Join instructor Barbara Dempsey as she leads you in the art of Hula. Bring a lei, flower skirt, or just your desire to dance. (@Memorial Park, Sierra Madre)

10:00 am – 4:00 pm: The Huntington’s 51st Annual Spring Plant Sale (Members Only Day). This three day plant sale features two days for Members, followed by a Sunday public sale. Reserved tickets required. A unique chance to purchase plants from one of the most famous gardens in the country. (@The Huntington, Plant Nursery, San Marino)

10:30 am – 12:30 pm: Rose Bowl Stadium Tours. From visiting the original 1922 Locker Room, to getting an up-close look at the iconic field, guests will delight in this once in a lifetime opportunity to walk Rose Bowl Stadium. (@Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena)

4:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Thrive Food Bank Free Farmer’s Market. Volunteer organization offers fresh locally sourced fruits and vegetables to food insecure populations. All welcome. (@Iglesia de Nazareth, Pasadena)

5:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Monrovia Street Fair and Market takes place every Friday evening in Old Town Monrovia! (@500 Block of Myrtle Ave. between Lemon Avenue and Colorado Boulevard)

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm: “ICE Out of Alhambra” Event. A weekly event taking place every Friday at the corner of Main Street and Garfield Avenue. Organizers describe the gathering as a show of support for the community and a call to protect neighbors. (@corner of Main St. & Garfield Ave., Alhambra)

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Caltech Tai Chi Club. Learn and practice Hao-style tai chi chuan. Additional practice includes Yang-style tai chi, kung fu, and other bare-hand and weapon forms. Free event. (@Hameetman Center, Caltech, Pasadena)

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Monthly Queer Social at SGVLGBTQ Center is an opportunity for folks across the San Gabriel Valley to gather and enjoy a night of music, community, and good vibes. Dress code: Fabulous! (@SGVLBGTQ Center, El Monte)

7:30 pm – 9:00 pm: Anton Chekov’s “Three Sisters.” Caltech Players reimagine the Victorian Russian classic in 1950s California, centered on unfulfilled dreams, social decline, and the tension between aspiration and reality. (@Ramo Auditorium, Caltech, Pasadena)

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm: “One Million Words – Rilke” features the solo performer Ivo Müller in the show’s US Premiere before it heads to Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival this summer. Müller portrays both an actor from the present and a poet from the past who connect, exploring creativity, belonging, and what it means to stay grounded in a fast-moving world. (@Sierra Madre Playhouse)

Saturday, April 25, 2026

8:00 am – 10:00 am: Altadena Cars and Coffee. Cruise into the parking lot of Gelato and enjoy a morning of community around classic autos. (@Bulgarini Gelato, 749 East Altadena Drive, Altadena)

8:00 am – 12:30 pm: Hike the Gabrielino Trail with Active SGV. The hike along this part of the beautiful Gabrielino Trail will include learning about successful expansion of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and other efforts to protect and improve access to public lands for future generations. (@Gabrielino Lower Parking Lot, Pasadena)

9:00 am – 12:00 pm: Free South Pasadena Compost & Mulch Pickup. South Pasadena residents can pick up high-quality organic materials to enrich their home soil and reduce water evaporation. (@Arroyo Seco Golf Course Parking Lot, South Pasadena)

9:00 am – 1:00 pm: San Gabriel Farmers Market. Grand Reopening Day of weekly market. In front of the Mission Playhouse and steps from Blossom Market Hall, indulge in a wide variety (over 20 vendors) of fresh local produce, artisan foods, baked goods, flowers, and more. (@outside Mission Playhouse, San Gabriel)

9:00 am – 12:00 pm: STEM Event Introduces Middle School Girls to Science Careers at Pasadena City College. The program, aimed at students in grades 6 through 8, will feature small-group, hands-on activities introducing participants to a wide range of science, technology, engineering, and math fields. (@Pasadena City College, Pasadena)

9:30 am – 12:30 pm: Dig in, Pasadena! Free Earth Day Fun features three hands-on activities in one joyful morning: Building Healthy Soil: Nasturtium + Seed Bomb Making; Art & Tea: Garden Quiet Time; and Mini Repair Café (Garden Tools): Sharpen, Fix & Swap. (@Throop Learning Garden, 300 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena)

10:00 am – 4:00 pm: The Huntington’s 51st Annual Spring Plant Sale (Members Only Day). This three day plant sale features two days for Members, followed by a Sunday public sale. Reserved tickets required. A unique chance to purchase plants from one of the most famous gardens in the country. (@The Huntington, Plant Nursery, San Marino)

10:30 am – 12:00 pm: Bird Walk & Talk with Pasadena Audubon Society. The multiple site morning begins in the Library Friends Room, where attendees will learn about the basics of birding. The group will then take a nature stroll to observe their feathered friends through Barnes Park. (@Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Public Library Friends Room)

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Artist & Curator Cha-Rie Tang Hosts Pasadena Museum of History Exhibit Tour. Visitors can expect to see a diverse range of works, including vibrant fused glass creations, high-relief ceramic tiles, and framed sketches and designs. (@Pasadena Museum of History, Pasadena)

2:00 pm: In Nomine Terra Calens – Free Earth Week Concert. The Colburn School partners with Caltech for a free, public concert featuring music by seismologist and composer Dr. Lucy Jones, whose work translates global temperature changes from 1880 to 2017 into sound. (@Zipper Hall, Los Angeles)

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Altadena Poets Laureate 20th Anniversary. Join current Laureates, published poets and Pulitzer-prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen (author of children’s book Simone) for cookies and community as the two newest Laureates are named to carry on public literacy engagement. (@Bob Lucas Library & Literacy Center, Altadena)

3:00 pm – 10:00 pm: South Pasadena Arts Crawl. This year’s event folds in the former Eclectic Music Festival as well, multiplying the free street fair by several stages and giving the whole family a chance to interact with art, music and culture all day. (@downtown South Pasadena along the Mission Street corridor)

7:30 pm – 9:00 pm: Anton Chekov’s “Three Sisters.” Caltech Players reimagine the Victorian Russian classic in 1950s California, centered on unfulfilled dreams, social decline, and the tension between aspiration and reality. (@Ramo Auditorium, Caltech, Pasadena)

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm: “One Million Words – Rilke” features the solo performer Ivo Müller in the show’s US Premiere before it heads to Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival this summer. Müller portrays both an actor from the present and a poet from the past who connect, exploring creativity, belonging, and what it means to stay grounded in a fast-moving world. (@Sierra Madre Playhouse)

Sunday, April 26, 2026

8:00 am – 1:00 pm: Alhambra Eco Fair brings you games, giveaways, raffles, eco-friendly vendors, live demonstrations and entertainment, next door to the Farmers Market. Wrap up Earth Day Month with family fun & food! (@Farmers Market, Alhambra)

8:30 am – 1:00 pm: Alhambra Certified Farmers Market. Find a wide assortment of affordably priced fruits, vegetables, honey, herbs, bread & more from local growers and vendors. (@ 100 South Second Street, Alhambra)

10:00 am – 4:00 pm: The Huntington’s 51st Annual Spring Plant Sale (Public Day). This three day plant sale features two days for Members, followed by a Sunday public sale. Reserved tickets required. A unique chance to purchase plants from one of the most famous gardens in the country. (@The Huntington, Plant Nursery, San Marino)

11:00 am – 1:00 pm: World Tai Chi Day Celebration at Caltech. Enjoy beginner-friendly qigong and tai chi lessons, live demonstrations, and a group performance of our main form. Plus complimentary smoothies and snacks! (@Caltech, Hameetman Center Multipurpose Room, 2nd floor, Pasadena)

2:00 pm: Jane Smiley Discusses & Signs “Lidie: The Further Travels And Adventures of Lidie Newton.” Vroman’s Bookstore hosts the Pulitzer Prize-winning author as she discusses and signs her new novel, set in 1857, with two sisters fleeing murder in the Kansas territory and rushing towards an unknown future in England. (Vroman’s Bookstore, Pasadena)

2:30 pm: Anton Chekov’s “Three Sisters.” Caltech Players reimagine the Victorian Russian classic in 1950s California, centered on unfulfilled dreams, social decline, and the tension between aspiration and reality. (@Ramo Auditorium, Caltech, Pasadena)

3:00 pm: Mt Lowe Chamber Players Perform Mozart & Poulenc. A free community chamber concert featuring Mozart’s self-professed “best” work, the Piano Quintet with Winds as well as a rollicking companion piece, Poulenc’s Sextet with Piano and Winds. (@Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena)

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Lightbringer Project’s EFTA Student Art Exhibition Reception. Talented student artwork created through the EFTA (Expressing Feelings through Art) program gets an opening reception at Highland Park’s unique, collaborative bookshop. (@North Figueroa Bookshop, Highland Park)

4:00 pm:  “One Million Words – Rilke” features the solo performer Ivo Müller in the show’s US Premiere before it heads to Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival this summer. Müller portrays both an actor from the present and a poet from the past who connect, exploring creativity, belonging, and what it means to stay grounded in a fast-moving world. (@Sierra Madre Playhouse)