August 2023 Calendar

Global superstar Karol G returns to the stage with her Mañana Sera Bonito stadium tour, which hits the Rose Bowl on August 18 and August 19.

Live Music in the Chinese Garden

WEDNESDAYS

Stroll through The Huntington’s iconic Chinese Garden on Wednesdays and listen to live music.

The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, free with general admission, 1 to 3 p.m.,

huntington.org

Pasadena Comedy Show

WEDNESDAYS

Patrick Tunny hosts the Pasadena Humpday Comedy Improv happy hour.

The Mixx, 443 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 7 to 10 p.m., themixxclub.com

Spencer Quinn discusses “Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge”

AUGUST 3

Loretta Plansky, a recent widow in her 70s, is settling into retirement in Florida while dealing with her 98-year-old father and fielding requests for money from her beloved children and grandchildren. She receives a phone call in the evening from her grandson, Will, who needs $10,000. Was it a scam?

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 7 p.m., vromansbookstore.com

Legal Consultations

AUGUST 3

Learn about wills and trusts, conservatorships, durable powers of attorney, and estate planning. Appointments necessary.

Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. Holly Street, Pasadena, free, appointment required, 10 a.m., 626-795-4331, pasadenaseniorcenter.org

Adam Rex, in conversation with Racquel Marie, discusses “A Little Like Waking”

AUGUST 4

Zelda is stuck in a very strange dream. Things only get stranger when Zelda meets Langston, a sweet, if overly timid, guy who feels more real to her than anyone she’s ever met. As Zelda and Langston explore the far reaches of the dreamscape together, they find themselves growing closer. But what they uncover along the way pushes them toward a truth neither of them wants to face. Will it turn out that he’s the guy of her dreams, or is she the girl of his?

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 7 p.m., vromansbookstore.com

“Hansel and Gretel” by Pacific Opera Project

AUGUST 4 AND AUGUST 6

“Hansel and Gretel” is a free family-friendly production taking place at the Descanso Gardens Amphitheater.

Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada, free with admission, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.,

descansogardens.org

Twilight Garden Strolls

AUGUST 4, AUGUST 13 AND AUGUST 20

Explore the gardens on a cool summer night with friends and family. Plus, enjoy extended shopping and dining hours.

The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, free (members and children younger than 3), $20 (adults), $15 (seniors 65 and older, students and military), $5 (youth 4 to 11), 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.,

huntington.org

Movie Matinees

FRIDAY IN AUGUST

Each Pasadena Senior Center member who registers may bring one nonmember guest. “Manchester by the Sea” on August 4; “Where the Crawdads Sing” August 11; “A Man Called Otto” on August 18; and “Sin La Habana” on August 25.

Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. Holly Street, Pasadena, free, 1 p.m., 626-795-4331,

pasadenaseniorcenter.org

CatCon

AUGUST 5 AND AUGUST 6

The annual event celebrating cats and pop culture with more than 150 exhibitors and giveaways.

Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green Street, Pasadena, tickets start at $40, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,

catconworldwide.com

Head in the Clouds Festival

AUGUST 5 AND AUGUST 6

Head in the Clouds Festival is a popular Asian music festival returning to Pasadena in August.

Brookside at the Rose Bowl, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena, tickets start at $269, time TBA,

hitcfestival.com

Devotional: The Ultimate Depeche Mode Tribute

AUGUST 5

The band plays Depeche Mode’s latest album, “Memento Mori,” in its entirety.

The Mixx, 443 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, tickets start at $10, 8:30 p.m., themixxclub.com

Doug McIntyre and Penny Peyser present “Frank’s Shadow” and “Sonnets from Suburbia: More Candles Than Cake”

AUGUST 9

“Frank’s Shadow”: Newlywed Danny McKenna’s honeymoon ends abruptly when he learns his father has died, uncannily, on the same day as his hero, Frank Sinatra. Returning home to his knotty Irish American family, McKenna is confronted with a painful truth — while he knows everything about the famous singer, his own father is a mystery. Tasked with giving a eulogy for a man he hardly knows, McKenna sets out to uncover his dad’s past. “Sonnets From Suburbia”: A cross between humorous poetry and memoir, “Sonnets from Suburbia” features Lady Penelope (aka actress Penny Peyser) serving up a funny take on modern day life in Shakespearean sonnet form.

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 7 p.m., vromansbookstore.com

Mark Shrager discusses “The First Kentucky Derby: Thirteen Black Jockeys, One Shady Owner, and the Little Red Horse That Wasn’t Supposed to Win”

AUGUST 11

In 1875, the year of the first Derby, the majority of jockeys in the race were Black, in stark contrast to the present-day event, where participation by African American jockeys is rare. In “The First Kentucky Derby,” racing historian Mark Shrager examines the events leading up to the first “Run for the Roses,” the unsuccessful effort that the winning owner might have made to rig the race for his preferred horse, and the prominent role played by African Americans in Gilded Age racing culture — a holdover from pre-emancipation days, when slaves were trained from birth to ride for their wealthy owners and grew up surrounded by the horses that would be their life’s work.

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 7 p.m., vromansbookstore.com

Mullet Time

AUGUST 11

Come see the crazy first-hand: Bear Badeaux, Stoner Rob, Frank Castillo, Adam Ferrarra, Nicole Becannon, Chris Kidder and Elyssa Philips.

The Ice House, 24 N. Mentor Avenue, Pasadena, tickets start at $20,

10 p.m., icehousecomedy.com

Cat Ce and Friends

AUGUST 12

Evening features Cat Ce, Samson Cruppen, Eugenia Kuzmina, CJ Franco, Christine Peake, Matt Dann, Sandy Velasco, D’Angelo Himes and Morgan Jay.

The Ice House, 24 N. Mentor Avenue, Pasadena, tickets start at $20, 7:30 p.m., icehousecomedy.com

Summer Concert Series

MONDAYS, AUGUST 14 TO SEPTEMBER 4

The Pasadena Senior Center will be transformed into a live music venue: Dad’s Band Plus One (New Orleans jazz) on August 14; JazzZone (jazz, funk and R&B) on August 21; Susie Hansen Latin Band on August 28; and the Great American Swing Band on September 4.

Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. Holly Street, Pasadena, free,

5 to 7 p.m., 626-795-4331,

pasadenaseniorcenter.org

Thomas Vozzo discusses “The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life”

AUGUST 15

The CEO of Homeboy Industries, Thomas Vozzo discusses his journey that led to his recognition that a radical approach is needed in business and in life: “What Homeboy has taught me is that we need to do business differently. … We need to bust up the system, swim upstream, avoid herd mentality.” Blending personal stories of his day-to-day with the founder and the Homies along with counterintuitive business ideas that are changing lives for the better, Vozzo shows you how you can live, lead and shake things up with toughness, determination, compassion and grit.

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 7 p.m., vromansbookstore.com

Alex Brown, in conversation with Justine Pucella Winans, discusses “Damned If You Do”

AUGUST 16

Queer Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Filipino folklore in this horror comedy about a high school stage manager who accidentally sells her soul to a demon. Seven years ago, Cordelia Scott’s abusive father left without a word, and life has been normal ever since. The 17-year-old spends her days stage managing the school play pining over her best friend, Veronica, and failing one too many pop quizzes. She’s never been sad that her father left, but she knows something is missing. When her school guidance counselor, Fred, reveals during a session that he’s actually a demon, she learns that something is indeed missing: a piece of her actual soul.

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 7 p.m., vromansbookstore.com

Brando Skyhorse, in conversation with Jaime Paglia, discusses “My Name is Iris”

AUGUST 17

Iris Prince is starting over. After years of drifting apart, she and her husband are going through a surprisingly drama-free divorce. She’s moved to a new house in a new neighborhood and has plans for gardening; coffee clubs; and spending more time with her 9-year-old daughter, Melanie. It feels like her life is finally exactly what she wants it to be. Then, one morning, she looks outside her kitchen window — and sees that a wall has appeared in her front yard overnight. Where did it come from? What does it mean? And why does it seem to keep growing?

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 7 p.m., vromansbookstore.com

Karol G

AUGUST 18 AND AUGUST 19

Global superstar Karol G announces her return to the stage with her Mañana Sera Bonito stadium tour. She’s the first female artist to reach No. 1 on Billboard Top 200 with a Spanish-language album.

Rose Bowl, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena, resale tickets available, 7 p.m., ticketmaster.com

Juicebox: A Tribute to the Strokes

AUGUST 19

Juicebox performs songs by the Strokes and Albert Hammond Jr.

The Mixx, 443 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, tickets start at $10, 9 p.m., themixxclub.com

Group Event Celebrating the Release of the “Caltech Anthology, Inner Space and Other Thoughts: Speculative Fiction” from Caltech and JPL Authors

AUGUST 22

Participants include Ann Bernath, S.B. Divya, Richard Doyle, Ashish Mahabal, Christine Corbett Moran and Rachael Kuintzle. Fact ignites fiction in this first-of-its-kind anthology of speculative tales by Caltech and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientists, engineers, technologists and students. Experts at the frontiers of their fields, along with renowned Caltech alumni such as David Brin, S. B. Divya and Larry Niven, present stories about alien astrobiologists, AI parenthood, a quest to preserve our histories beyond the heat death of the universe, a heist to steal engineering secrets from an ancient monk-scientist, the recovery of a long-lost phase of the human life cycle, the demise of Earth’s first intelligent species — billions of years before the rise of humanity.

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 6 p.m., vromansbookstore.com

Yunte Huang, in conversation with Paula Yoo, discusses “Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong’s Rendezvous with American History”

AUGUST 23

Born into the steam and starch of a Chinese laundry, Anna May Wong (1905-61) became old Hollywood’s most famous Chinese American actress, a screen siren who captivated global audiences and signed her publicity photos — with a touch of defiance — “Orientally yours.” Now, more than a century after her birth, Yunte Huang narrates Wong’s tragic life story, retracing her journey from Chinatown to silent-era Hollywood, and from Weimar Berlin to decadent, prewar Shanghai, and capturing American television in its infancy.

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 7 p.m.,

vromansbookstore.com

“The Muppets”

AUGUST 25

Starring Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Chris Cooper, “The Muppets” movie takes over The Huntington during its Family Fridays Movie Nights. Bring a picnic dinner (no outside alcohol allowed) or visit the concessions.

The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, free to $20, 7:15 to 9:15 p.m., huntington.org

Music of Queen

AUGUST 26

Celebrate English legends Queen with songs like “I Want It All,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Under Pressure,” “Killer Queen,” “Fat Bottomed Girls,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “Somebody to Love,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We are the Champions.”

LA County Arboretum, 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, tickets start at $25, 7:30 p.m.,

pasadenasymphony-pops.org

Vroman’s Local Author Day featuring Charles Retts, Sharon Heath and Christopher M. Allport

AUGUST 27

Charles Retts, Sharon Heath and Christopher M. Allport discuss their books “It’s All About You!,” “The Mysterious Composition of Tears” and “Senja Chronicles,” respectively.

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 4 p.m.,

vromansbookstore.com

Tyler Parker discusses “A Little Blood and Dancing”

AUGUST 29

Combining the linguistic punch of Elmore Leonard, the living landscapes of Cormac McCarthy, and the comic soul of Charles Portis, “A Little Blood and Dancing” announces Tyler Parker as “one of our most extraordinary new voices,” according to Vroman’s.

Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, free, 7 p.m.,

vromansbookstore.com

40th Annual Succulent Plants Symposium

SEPTEMBER 1

Join experts from around the world for talks about agave conservation, xeriscape design and climate change impacts on cacti.

The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, $100, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., huntington.org

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