Playhouse Village Association

Vroman's Bookstore: Shop Local with Richard Scarry: A Special Story Time Reading in Celebration of Small Business Saturday
2025-11-29 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
“All the Busytown workers have worked hard to help their families and friends. I think it is about time to have a party to celebrate. Don’t you?” — Richard Scarry, What People Do All Day
Join the Vroman’s Children’s Department on November 29th at 11am for a special Small Business Saturday celebration, inspired by Richard Scarry and the Busytown books! There will be music with Ms. Marie and stories with Mr. Steve, along with activities, giveaways, and more!

Vroman’s Type-In Returns! A Holiday Celebration of Typewriters & Typewriting!
2025-11-29 13:00 - 16:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
An afternoon of celebrating manual typewriters awaits. A Type-in is a community-based, family-friendly gathering where typewriter enthusiasts share their love for the analog art of putting ink to paper with mechanical marvels of the late 19th and 20th centuries. Visitors can enjoy demonstrations and experience the satisfying click and clack, no plug-ins needed.

Vroman's Bookstore: An Artisan’s Holiday Market on the Vroman’s Paseo (Weather Permitting)
2025-11-30 11:00 - 16:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Join Vroman’s Bookstore for a special holiday market outside on the Vroman’s Paseo. We have a confirmed list of local crafters and artisans all set to join us for this day in celebration of Artists Sunday, supporting local artists nationwide.

Vroman's Bookstore: Holiday Music @ Vroman’s with Café Luar!
2025-11-30 13:00 | Vroman’s Stage, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, Select a Country:
Vroman’s Bookstore is celebrating the holidays with the Pasadena Conservatory of Music (PCM). Café Luar, a folk music trio, will perform as part of this partnership with the Pasadena Conservatory of Music.

Vroman's Bookstore: Falon Ballard discusses & signs Something Wicked
2025-12-02 18:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
The country of Avon is in deep turmoil…
The Uprising has overthrown Avon’s monarchial rulers, and a decree has been issued. Candidates for the first presidential election will be selected by the completion of a special task: to kill the former monarch of their home province.
Callum, the son of the recently dethroned king, is determined to be in the running. But coming to terms with patricide will require the help of Lady Caterine, a Gifted courtesan at La Puissance, Avon’s premiere sex club.
Lady Caterine has always had the magical ability to manipulate the emotions of anyone who experiences an orgasm in her presence. If Callum can only open up to Cate, he will be able to commit the newly fated murder without suffering the guilt and take his place as the rightful candidate from his province. But Callum has a deep-seated mistrust of the Gifted. And the last thing he expects is to be confronted with an undeniable connection with Cate that neither of them understands or wants.
With the fate of the country at stake, Callum and Cate search for ways to bare themselves to each other, and discover a darker force building within La Puissance, one that might ruin the future of Avon forever. To stop Avon from falling to ashes, they must sacrifice everything they have . . . even if it requires betraying each other.

Landmark Theatres: Retro Replay: Gremlins (1984)
2025-12-02 19:00 | Landmark Theatre, 673 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
In the fantastical black comedy Gremlins, a father (Hoyt Axton) buys a pet “Mogwai” as a Christmas present for his son (Zach Galligan). The boy is told to keep the cute and furry pet away from water, out of the light, and never to feed it after midnight. Inadvertently, the creature is dampened and almost instantly spawns other creatures who transform into destructive, evil little monsters—which continue to multiply as they turn a small town upside-down. Also starring Phoebe Cates, Corey Feldman, Judge Reinhold and Dick Miller. Written by Chris Columbus (The Goonies) and directed by Joe Dante (The Howling, Innerspace, Small Soldiers, Explorers).

Tickets to this movie are only $5 for paid Loyalty members! (Limited time offer. Exclusions may apply.)

Music at Noon: The Riner Scivally Trio, jazz ensemble
2025-12-03 12:10 - 12:45 | Pasadena Presbyterian Church Musical Events, 585 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California, 91101
Pasadena Presbyterian Church presents Music at Noon with The Scivally Trio, jazz.

Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration!
2025-12-04 17:00 - 18:00 | Playhouse Village Park, 701 Union St, Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Playhouse Village Holiday Tree Lighting
Thursday, December 4
5 pm to 6 pm
Playhouse Village Park
701 E. Union St.
FREE & ALL AGES
Experience Pasadena twinkle as we illuminate our tree to celebrate the holiday season in Playhouse Village! With live music and performances, and maybe even some snowfall, this is the perfect way to enjoy the sights and sounds of the holidays at Playhouse Village Park. The evening also features craft activities for children, free hot chocolate, and a snow flurry surprise!

Vroman's Bookstore: Suzanne Weerts discusses & signs Champagne Girl in a Budweiser Family: A Memoir in Stories
2025-12-04 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
“Suzanne Weerts’ Champagne Girl in a Budweiser Family gives us a delightful and vivid time machine to bygone days of youthful folly and wide-eyed hope, while reminding us why girls in the seventies were just as eager to leave that time behind.” -Cara Lopez Lee author of Candlelight Bridge, a 2025 Pick in Fiction in Southwest Books of the Year
“Whether unintentionally poisoning the neighborhood kids as a child, getting asked to dance last at the Spring Ball, or being attacked by a flock of birds while basking in the afterglow of breaking her chastity vow, Suzanne Weerts approaches life with a refreshing dose of charm, grace, and self-deprecating humor. If you’re looking for something to bring a smile to your face, give you a good laugh and warm your heart, you’ve found it.”
-Carlos Kotkin, author of Please God Let it Be Herpes and host of The Moth StorySLAMs
“Equal parts hilarious and heartfelt, Suzanne Weerts’s stories of growing up in the 70’s south whisk you back to a simpler, golden-hued, Aquanet-scented time. Her writing is charming and evocative, and so honest and self-aware- I loved every Tab-infused page.”
-Johanna Stein, author of How Not to Calm a Child On a Plane
In a Southern town in the 1970s, the rules for girls are simple: look pretty, behave politely, and marry well. But for this rebel-in-the-making, life beyond suburban America beckons. Before she can escape, however, she’ll have to navigate extreme diets, feathered hair, and a mother who insists on hanging her bras on the clothesline in full view of the boys next door. Will she ever find a life that fits and a beverage that suits her champagne dreams?

Vroman's Bookstore: Tom Toro presents & signs And to Think We Started as a Book Club…
2025-12-05 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
What can Leonardo DiCaprio, Bernie Sanders, Greta Thunberg, and Elon Musk all agree on? That Tom Toro’s cartoons belong in their social media feeds. Now, with this debut collection by one of The New Yorker’s contemporary stars, everybody can enjoy the timeless witticism and thigh-slapping wisecracks of Toro’s cartoons without needing to go online.
In Tom Toro’s hilarious world, the Grim Reaper binges television while Superman shops for health insurance. The collection features original chapter art that sets the perfect tone for these brilliant cartoons and what they reveal about the absurdity of modern life, all drawn in the author’s wry and winsome style
Showcasing hundreds of Toro’s greatest hits from his fifteen-year career at the New Yorker, as well as previously unpublished cartoons that we shouldn’t shy from calling “undiscovered masterpieces,” this book is sure to delight readers—if not outright corrupt them.

Vroman’s Special Holiday Event - Santa Comes to Vroman’s
2025-12-06 11:00 - 13:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Come get your photo taken with Santa and let him know what you want for Christmas this year! Photos are FREE courtesy of Vroman’s Bookstore. And while you’re here, don’t forget to finish up your holiday shopping!

Vroman's Bookstore : Kids Holiday Crafting Fun!
2025-12-06 11:00 - 13:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
After guests take their photo with Santa at Vroman’s Bookstore, they are invited upstairs to the event space for a special holiday craft activity. All supplies will be provided.
To ensure there are enough materials for everyone, Vroman’s Bookstore asks participants to RSVP by emailing rsvp@vromansbookstore.com with the number of attendees.

Vroman's Bookstore: Pasadena Conservatory of Music presents Musical Storytime: Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
2025-12-06 13:30 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
The Pasadena Conservatory of Music will be putting on a special musical storytime with featured book: Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner. Caregivers and children aged 3-9 will enjoy story, craft activities, creative movement and a mini-concert!

Vroman's Bookstore: Elena Brower discusses & signs Hold Nothing: An Invitation to Let Go and Come Home to Yourself
2025-12-06 18:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
A distinctive, artful, contemplative guide for self-discovery and self-inquiry, with wisdom, encouragement, and thought exercises by the best-selling author of Practice You. Includes 45 practices and full-color pieces of artwork by the author.
What if the most important work of your life isn’t something you chase—but something you uncover, slowly, in stillness? What if your presence is the greatest offering you can make to the world? This book is an invitation to come home to yourself—gently, honestly, and with great love.
As an evolution of, and a departure from, her best-selling journals, Practice You and Being You, Brower draws on her memories and life experiences, her practice of yoga and Nonviolent Communication, and more recently, her study of Zen, to offer us a road map for living with presence and reverence.
Each chapter offers teachings, contemplations, and prompts on a single theme, such as:

establishing presence in your daily life
bearing witness to small moments of reverence
embracing the art of not knowing
invoking the wisdom of emptiness and stillness
and more

She also includes 45 pieces of her full-color artwork to inspire deeper insight and creativity as readers explore each theme. This is not a manual for self-improvement; it is a field guide for self-remembrance, for cultivating tenderness toward your own heart, and for showing up to life completely, with purpose and heartfulness.

Vroman's Bookstore: Annual Gingerbread House Decorating Party
2025-12-07 12:00 - 17:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Back by popular demand! Please, join us for the return of our Annual Gingerbread House Decorating Party. Decorate a house that you can take home!
This event usually sells out, so we will be hosting two time slots at 12pm and at 4pm.
Space is very limited. No more than 4 people per gingerbread house.
This is a ticketed event with two time slot options.
Ticket 1: 12pm – 1pm
Ticket 2: 4pm – 5pm
Tickets include one house and decorations, though you can bring extra candy & décor.

Vroman's Bookstore: Holiday Music @ Vroman’s!
2025-12-07 13:00 - 14:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Vroman’s Bookstore invites the community to celebrate the holidays with a special performance from the Pasadena Conservatory of Music (PCM). This Jazz Trio, featuring saxophone, keys, and bass, is presented in partnership with the Pasadena Conservatory of Music.

Vroman's Bookstore: Elline Lipkin reads from & signs Girl in a Forest
2025-12-08 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Elline Lipkin’s Girl in a Forest explores the roles and tropes of women at different life stages, filtered through the lens of the Brothers Grimm tale of Hansel and Gretel. These poems lay a trail of breadcrumbs through permutations of grief as a mother realizes her mortality, a girl awakens to possibility, and an elder reckons with loss. Lipkin invites the reader to step into the enchanted, “the grip of night, / a swarm of marble /feelings set / inside a storm” and to question, reinscribe, and reverse the tensions of womanhood in both the fairy tale and contemporary life.

Boston Court: Flutist Sarah Shin
2025-12-08 20:00 | Boston Court Pasadena, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena, CA, 91206, United States
Vibrant and eclectic flutist Sarah Shin, who played with Lizzo at the Met Gala, shares her artistry in a voyage through the centuries of solo flute music.

Landmark Theatres: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
2025-12-09 19:00 | Landmark Theatre, 673 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Landmark Theatres invites guests to experience these Holiday Essentials with family and friends the way they were meant to be seen — on the Big Screen at Landmark Theatres. Be social and have fun! Titles screen on the dates and showtimes shown below, and all seats are only $5 for Paid Loyalty Members!

Vroman's Bookstore: Nadia Davids discusses & signs Cape Fever
2025-12-09 19:00 - 20:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
From award-winning South African author Nadia Davids comes a gothic psychological thriller set in the 1920s, where a young maid finds herself entangled with the spirits of a decaying manor and the secrets of its enigmatic owner.
I come highly recommended to Mrs. Hattingh through sentences I tell her I cannot read.
The year is 1920, in a small, unnamed city in a colonial empire. Soraya Matas believes she has found the ideal job as a personal maid to the eccentric Mrs. Hattingh, whose beautiful, decaying home is not far from The Muslim Quarter, where Soraya lives with her parents. As Soraya settles into her new role, she discovers that the house is alive with spirits.
While Mrs. Hattingh eagerly awaits her son’s visit from London, she offers to help Soraya stay in touch with her fiancé, Nour by writing him letters on her behalf. So begins a strange weekly meeting where Soraya dictates and Mrs. Hattingh writes–a ritual that binds the two women to one another and eventually threatens the sanity of both.
Cape Fever is a masterful blend of gothic themes, folk tales, and psychological suspense, reminiscent of works by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Daphne du Maurier, and Soraya Matas is an unforgettable narrator, whose story of love and grief is also a chilling exploration of class and the long reach of history.

Pasadena Presbyterian: Music at Noon: David Lee Ruest, violin, and Taro Wayama, guitar
2025-12-10 12:10 - 12:45 | Pasadena Presbyterian Church Musical Events, 585 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California, 91101
Pasadena Presbyterian church presents Music at Noon, David Lee Ruest, violin, and Taro Wayama, guitar!

Vroman's Bookstore: Fiction Reading
2025-12-10 19:00 - 20:00 | Atrium Building, 709 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
The Vroman’s Fiction Reading Group explores contemporary fiction -– long and short -– from a diverse selection of writers. Enjoy lively discussions at our one-hour meetings. Our Fiction Reading Group is free and inclusive – there are no requirements nor criteria to join. We announce upcoming titles 3-6 months in advance and choose titles that are available in paperback. Drop by our next meeting!
This month’s pick is Real Americans by Rachel Khong.

Holiday Music @ Vroman’s with the Pasadena Conservatory of Music!
2025-12-13 13:00 | Vroman’s Stage, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, Select a Country:
Jazz faculty from the Pasadena Conservatory of Music perform a variety of holiday classics. This program is presented in partnership with our friends at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music.
Musicians: Danny Janklow (saxophone), Sam Hirsh (piano), Ahmet Türkmenoğlu (bass)

Pasadena Playhouse: Jingle & Mingle
2025-12-13 13:00 - 17:00 | Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
The Pasadena Playhouse presents Jingle and Mingle: A Holiday Concert, a joyful seasonal celebration featuring students from the Playhouse’s classes of all ages. Audiences can enjoy a heartwarming blend of song, story, and performance, including a Frozen megamix, personal storytelling, festive numbers from the Playhouse Singers, and a lively audience singalong that captures the holiday spirit Playhouse style.

Vroman’s Bookstore & PJ Library of the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel & Pomona Valleys Present: Dara Henry reading from & signing Hanukkah Pajamakkahs
2025-12-14 11:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
A lively picture book celebrating holiday traditions, the patience of parenting, sibling relationships, and children’s fondness for pajamas, along with a fun, read-aloud, new book to help everyone celebrate the holiday together – in, or out, of pajamakkahs.
When Ruthie receives pajamakkahs for Hanukkah, she loves them so much she refuses to take them off–for all eight nights. But as they get smeared and stained, splattered and smudged, Ruthie’s determined to show her parents she can stay spotless.
With globs of humor, a big splatter of love, and out of the gift-box creativity, Hanukkah Pajamakkahs is a fresh, new celebration of a special holiday.

Holiday Music @ Vroman’s with The Ukelele Orchestra of the Western Hemisphere!
2025-12-14 13:00 | Vroman’s Stage, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, Select a Country:
The Ukelele Orchestra of the Western Hemisphere is what happens when 16(ish) ukes of wildly varying shapes, sizes, and questionable backgrounds fall into the hands of an equally eclectic group of humans. This isn’t your average ukulele group—it’s a genre-bending ensemble that plays the unexpected with charm, energy, and joy.
The UOWH takes on music never meant for four little strings: think new wave anthems, dance-pop bangers, torch song heartbreakers, Top 40 hits, and deep cuts from the collective musical subconscious. The result? Unexpected, unrestrained, and undeniably entertaining.
Over the years, The UOWH has rocked local venues like El Cid, The Bootleg, The Coffee Gallery, and The Autry Museum. They have a soft spot for school fairs, fundraisers, retirement homes, community festivals, weddings, and the occasional sketchy traveling circus. Their antics and passion are even the subject of the documentary STRUMMERS.
The UOWH is ukulele-fueled mayhem on a mission to surprise, delight, and every now and then, baffle. We guarantee you’ve never heard ukuleles like this.

Landmark Theatres: Retro Replay: Elf
2025-12-16 19:00 | Landmark Theatre, 673 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Experience these Holiday Essentials with family and friends the way they were meant to be seen — on the Big Screen at Landmark Theatres. Be social and have fun! Titles screen on the dates and showtimes shown below, and all seats are only $5 for Paid Loyalty Members!

Vroman's Bookstore: Dec 18 Christmas Paper Craft Workshop with Joel Stern
2025-12-18 16:00 - 17:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Join origami artist and author Joel Stern for a Christmas paper craft workshop on Thursday, December 18th, from 4-5pm! Participants will be making origami evergreen trees and five-pointed stars, as well as pop-up cards using characters from Joel’s book, In the Holly Jolly North Pole.
Joel is the author of Into the Deep Blue Sea, Into Starry Outer Space, and many other papercraft books. His art has been featured in movies, commercials, and on television. Visit his website here.

Chanukah Menorah Parade & Celebration
2025-12-18 17:00 - 18:00 | Playhouse Village Park, 701 Union St, Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Chabad of Pasadena and Playhouse Village Foundation invite you to a joyous Chanukah Celebration as we illuminate the night with a spectacular menorah car parade, public menorah lighting, and festive activities for the whole family! The excitement kicks off at 5 pm with a dazzling car parade, starting at Chabad of Pasadena and winding its way through the charming streets of Pasadena. As the parade concludes, gather at Playhouse Village Park for a magical celebration featuring a grand menorah lighting, Chanukah arts and crafts for kids with Drawn2Art, and the delicious aroma of hot latkes and donuts filling the air. This free event promises to be a festive evening, spreading the warmth and light of Chanukah throughout the community. Don’t miss out on this enchanting celebration of the Festival of Lights!
The car parade begins at 5:00 PM at Chabad of Pasadena, located at 1090 E. Walnut St., and ends with a celebration at 6:00 PM at Playhouse Village Park, situated at 701 E. Union St.

Holiday Music @ Vroman’s with the Pasadena Conservatory of Music!
2025-12-20 13:00 | Vroman’s Stage, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, Select a Country:
A brass quintet with friends and faculty from the Pasadena Conservatory of Music perform a variety of holiday classics. This program is presented in partnership with our friends at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music.
Musicians: Mike Zonshine (trumpet), Mike Davis (trumpet), Melia Badalian (horn), Lori Stuntz (trombone), Blake Cooper (tuba)
