What To Do This Weekend: September 25-27, 2026

Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble (PKE) performs Sat., Sept 26 at Sierra Madre Playhouse (Photo – PKE Facebook)

Pick up salsa steps, learn to shape pupusa dough, brush up on bicycle safety, or try a new Polynesian dance step. Enjoy original theater about Black television stars, discover the traditional gong-and-chime dances of the southern Philippines, or listen to the music of a beloved American opera composer. Explore cemetery wildlife, border memories, and Japanese tea ceremonies. All that and more is on offer around the SGV.

By Melanie Hooks

Click on highlighted events for full information.

Cemetery Wildlife Walks at Altadena’s Mountain View Mausoleum (Photo – Pasadena Humane Society)

Friday, September 25, 2026

10:00 am – 11:00 am: Sierra Madre Senior Hawaiian & Polynesian Dance Class. Led by instructor Barbara Dempsey, all are welcome to learn and practice the art of hula. (@Memorial Park, Sierra Madre)

10:30 am – 12:30 pm: Rose Bowl Stadium Tours. Your tour guide will lead you through behind the scenes locations at the stadium, including the classic stadium seating, original 1922 locker room, the new Terry Donahue Pavilion, the Loge Lounge, the Working Press Box, and more. (@Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena)

4:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Thrive Food Bank Presents Free Farmer’s Market. Thrive Food Bank is a Los Angeles County food bank that provides free farmer’s markets which offer fresh locally sourced fruits and vegetables to food insecure populations. (@Igelesia  de Nazareth, Pasadena)

5:00 pm – 10:00 pm: Monrovia Friday Night Street Fair. Enjoy the pedestrianized downtown with food vendors, boutiques, craft booths, frequent live music, and more. (@500 block Myrtle Ave. between Lemon Ave. & Colorado Blvd.)

5:30 pm – 7:30 pm: Mountain View Mausoleum Wildlife Walk. During these guided walks, visitors can spot birds, squirrels, coyotes, and other animals while learning about the cemetery’s plants, wildlife, and notable gravestones. (@Mountain View Mausoleum, Altadena)

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Salsa Workshop: Baila con Migo. Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to move! In this high-energy, hands-on workshop, participants will have the exclusive opportunity to learn the fundamental steps, rhythm, and passion of salsa dancing. For ages 18+. (@Villa Parke Community Center, Pasadena)

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, no registration required. (@Caltech Hameetman Center)

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: DBSA San Gabriel Valley Support Alliance. Fighting isolation via support groups, which can change the gene expression that triggers Bipolar Disorder and Depression. (@600 S. Lake Ave., Suite 200, Pasadena)

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Monthly Queer Social at SGVLGBTQ Center. Monthly Queer Social 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! (@SGVLGBTQ Center, El Monte)

8:00 pm: Echo Theater Company: “The Peterson Show” World Premiere. Directed by Michelle Bossy, the action centers around five former child stars reuniting in Los Angeles as the legacy of their iconic TV father collapses into scandal. (@Atwater Theater Complex, Atwater Village)

Come see what this year’s Pasadena Chalk Festival competitors create on Saturday and Sunday in Brookside Park. (L-R) 1st Place winner Stacy Nalapraya, and 2nd Place winners Matthew and Jesse Silva (Photos – Pasadena Chalk Festival)

Saturday, September 26, 2026

8:00 am – 10:00 am: Altadena Cars and Coffee. Classic car enthusiasts meet every Saturday morning from 8:00 am – 10:00 am to chat and find ways to help their Altadena neighbors recover. (@Bulgarini Gelato parking lot, Altadena)

8:00 am – 12:00 pm: Pasadena Certified Farmers Market at Victory Park. In a certified market, the farmers who grow the produce sell their fruits and vegetables directly to the public. It is where the agrarian community relates to the urban community. (@Victory Park, Pasadena)

9:00 am – 1:00 pm: San Gabriel Farmers Market. Featuring 20 or more vendors each week, the market offers an ever-changing selection of seasonal produce, artisan foods, fresh-baked breads and pastries, locally harvested honey, flowers, and handcrafted goods. (@in front of Mission Playhouse, San Gabriel)

9:00 am – 3:00 pm: Alhambra Historical Society’s 60th Anniversary Harvest Fair. On hand will be storytellers, telling tales of historic Alhambra and its people, sugar skull decorating, face painting, wellness and other resource booths, and arts and crafts vendors. (@Frances Q Story House, Alhambra)

10:00 am: Pasadena Playhouse History With LA Historic Theatre Foundation. The LAHTF turns their Coffee & Conversation series spotlight to Pasadena’s famous theater to uncover its colorful history, from its 1917 wartime origins right up to the present day. (@virtual event)

10:00 am – 2:00 pm: Pasadena Children’s Safety Fair. Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club, Pasadena Police and Fire departments will be on hand with fun games and safety demonstrations. Families can enjoy free booths featuring community resources and giveaways.All children attending will receive a bicycle or scooter helmet and can enter a raffle to win a free bicycle or scooter. (@Pasadena Salvation Army)

10:00 am – 6:30 pm: Pasadena Chalk Festival. More than 500 artists from Los Angeles and throughout Southern California are expected to gather at the park to transform more than two football fields of pavement into colorful works of art. (@Brookside Park, Pasadena)

10:30 am: Online Book Group: Migrant Heart by Reyna Grande. An ambitious memoir in essays by beloved bestselling author Reyna Grande that illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival. (@virtual event)

11:00 am: Pakaraguian Kulintang Performs Music & Dance of Southern Philippines. The Los Angeles-based Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble (PKE) brings to life the gong-chime music and dance traditions of the southern Philippines in an audience-participatory, family-friendly show. Tickets $20. (@Sierra Madre Playhouse)

12:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Sazón Latino: Pupusas Workshop. At this mouthwatering workshop, participants will discover the delicious traditions of Latin American cuisine while learning how to shape perfect pupusas. (@Villa Parke Community Center, Pasadena)

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Checkmate! Chess at Norton Simon Museum. Teacher Jay Stallings, a U.S. chess expert, will be on hand to guide those who are just learning or would like to add new strategies to their game. Bring a friend or find a game partner in the Sculpture Garden. Included with museum admission. (@Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena)

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Playhouse Village Park 30th Birthday Bash. Grab your friends, dress in your ’90s best, and join the celebration for a night of music, memories, and community honoring 30 years of Playhouse Village. (@Playhouse Village Park)

8:00 pm: Echo Theater Company: “The Peterson Show” World Premiere. Directed by Michelle Bossy, the action centers around five former child stars reuniting in Los Angeles as the legacy of their iconic TV father collapses into scandal. Tonight’s special talkback guest with playwright Janine Nabers: actress Yvette Nicole Brown. (@Atwater Theater Complex, Atwater Village)

Star Clara Bow whistles as she drives an ambulance through war-torn France in 1927’s “Wings”, featured at San Gabriel Mission Playhouse (Photo – Paramount Pictures)

Sunday, September 27, 2026

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

10:00 am – 6:30 pm: Pasadena Chalk Festival. More than 500 artists from Los Angeles and throughout Southern California are expected to gather at the park to transform more than two football fields of pavement into colorful works of art. (@Brookside Park, Pasadena)

11:00 am and 12:30 pm: Autumn Tea Ceremony at Storrier Stearns Garden. At two different sittings, the public has the perfect chance to experience a Japanese tea ceremony in the setting of the Niko-an Teahouse, a traditional teahouse and strolling garden. (@Storrier Stearns Garden, Pasadena)

2:30 pm: Silent Movie Sunday at San Gabriel Mission Playhouse. Soar high with Wings from 1927, starring Clara Bow, Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers, and Richard Arlen. Spectacular aerial sequences and amazing cinematography helped garner this World War I period film two Academy Awards, including the first ever Best Picture Award in 1929. Making the experience even better is live accompaniment by organist Russ Peck on the Playhouse’s 1924 Mighty Wurlitzer organ. (@San Gabriel Mission Playhouse)

3:00 pm: Lee Hoiby: A Celebration in Song opens the Opera Buff’s new season at Barrett Hall of Pasadena Conservatory of Music. Meet the talented roster of opera’s emerging voices at a reception following the program, which highlights American composer Hoiby’s lyrical, expressive melodies. (@Barrett Hall, Pasadena Conservatory of Music)

4:00 pm: In Situ: A Music and Art Collaboration. Help welcome a new performance venue to the Pasadena scene, as new Holly Street merchant Mesmer Mesmer hosts a free visual and auditory combo: a concert by Colombia-based string quartet Cuarteto Peregrino and an exhibition from visual artists Carolie Parker, Danny Shain and Ruth Trotter. (@Mesmer Mesmer, Pasadena)