Vroman's Bookstore: TICKETED - Jordan Harper, in conversation with S.A. Cosby, discusses & signs A Violent Masterpiece
2026-04-30 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
The next epic crime novel from Jordan Harper, a story of Los Angeles power brokers and those at the edge, and a single shattering incident that threatens to bring it all crashing down.
Los Angeles, right now. America with its back up against the wall. This Frankenstein’s monster of crimes and lurid dreams sewn together into something like a city.
A city ready to explode: A Hollywood pedophile is arrested, and is ready to tear down the city to get his freedom. A young woman goes missing — and men in black rubber gloves who look like cops clean out her apartment in the middle of the night. And the serial killer known as the LA Ripper is on the loose, leaving tragic/graphic/brutal crime scenes in his wake. Three people trying to keep their heads above the dirty water will find themselves coming together to unite these strands into one enormous, unspeakable crime …
Jake Deal is a gonzo live-streaming nightcrawler, beaming the city’s chaos straight to his audience of blood-hungry subscribers, giving them the view from the top of the mushroom cloud — until a job he can’t refuse drags him back into his old life of Hollywood glamour, drugs, sex and sleaze. Armed with cameras and hidden mics, he’ll infiltrate private clubs, gather high-class dirt — and stumble onto a conspiracy woven into the center of LA’s most powerful men, who call themselves “The Kids in the Candy Store.”
Doug Gibson is a street lawyer, who fights for his clients against the army of cops, prosecutors and judges – he is the knife they bring to the gunfight. But when he’s hired by a Hollywood pedophile ready to sell out his friends for a chance for freedom, he’ll take on a fight bigger than he could have imagined. And when his client “commits suicide” in prison, Gibson will have to stop being a weapon – and become a warrior.
Kara Delgado works for an underground private concierge company – a make-a-wish foundation for the terminally rich. She scores drugs, makes connections, and plans multi-million dollar sex parties.She has learned the secret truth of this world: there are no rules, only prices. Her best friend Phoebe has gone missing, and Kara’s the only person who knows that Phoebe’s place was wiped clean of evidence by men in black rubber gloves. But when she begins to unravel the mystery of what happened to Phoebe, and its connection to the killer known as the LA Ripper, it will drag her into the dark heart of the city.
As Jake, Doug and Kara all investigate these crimes, they’ll encounter ketamine-addled sitcom stars, bloody riots, homeless gangsters, a killer cop on death row, secret vaults in Beverly Hills, tech-bro orgies, medical cannibals, true crime junkies, private security wet-work teams, reality shows, street takeovers, car chases, coyotes, a sadistic Tarzan, and a three day, fifty million dollar wedding, before everything is revealed and they must each make their choice about how to fight back in this violent world before the bloody, blazing conclusion.

This is a ticketed program and will take place at Vroman’s Bookstore, located at 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101.
Your Eventbrite ticket will include a copy of A Violent Masterpiece, to be handed out at check-in on the night of the program.

Litfest In the Dena
2026-05-01 06:00 - 21:30 | Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena , CA, 91101, United States
Founded in 2012, LitFest in the Dena connects the Pasadena, Altadena, and greater Los Angeles communities with literature and local authors through this free, community literary festival for lovers of the written word. LitFest events include panel discussions, readings, author guest talks, workshops, and literary performances that engage, challenge, and inspire. Southern California’s most diverse literary festival, LitFest in the Dena is writer-driven and deeply representative of Los Angeles County’s communities, celebrating our diversity, and featuring programming for all literary interests.

Vroman's Bookstore: Pasadena Conservatory of Music presents Musical Storytime: If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen
2026-05-02 11:30 | 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: If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen. Caregivers and children aged 3-9 will enjoy story, craft activities, creative movement, and a mini-concert!

Robbins Bros: Baubles, Bubbles, and Blooms
2026-05-02 13:00 - 17:00 | CA
Celebrate Mother’s Day at Robbins Brothers Pasadena. 20% off everything in store, live music, floral takeaways, a champagne bar, live art, and custom jewellery boxes.

Pasadena Heritge: Historic Preservation: Then & Now
2026-05-04 17:00 - 19:00 | Pasadena Heritage, The Blinn House 160 N Oakland Ave, Pasadena, 91101, United States
Pasadena Heritage invites the community to mark the start of National Historic Preservation Month with a reflection on the role preservation continues to play in shaping Pasadena.
Established in 1977, Pasadena Heritage was born during a critical turning point for the city. Ambitious redevelopment plans sought to revive the local economy, but often at the expense of historic buildings, established neighborhoods, and the character of the original downtown. In response, residents organized at the grassroots level, advocating for preservation and ultimately helping to reshape Pasadena’s trajectory.
Today, those same tensions around growth, density, and identity are resurfacing with renewed urgency. As Pasadena Heritage approaches its 50th year, this moment offers an opportunity to examine how past advocacy efforts shaped the city as it exists today—and what those lessons reveal about the challenges ahead. Preservation is not only about protecting buildings; it is about continuity, collective memory, and ensuring that the stories carried forward reflect the full diversity of the community, including those that have historically been overlooked.
The events of the 1970s, the emergence of a new vision for Pasadena, and the evolving role of preservation today will be explored in a talk by Executive Director Dr. Bridget Lawlor on Monday, May 4.

Vroman's Bookstore: Davin Malasarn discusses & signs The Outer Country
2026-05-06 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
This tender, elegant debut examines the struggle of holding a family together when secrets threaten to unravel it.
“Both a book of demons and a book of uncommon grace; an instant classic in the queer canon. Davin Malasarn is an exquisite writer of the heart.”–Justin Torres, author of Blackouts
Sisters Manda and Siripon have been divided by continents for years, estranged since their parents decided to send just one of their daughters from Phet Buri to America–the foreign land they call “the Outer Country.” As the eldest, Manda assumed she would be the first to go. When their parents chose Siripon, the more obedient second daughter, the decision sparked a lifetime of rivalry.
The birth of Siripon’s son brings the sisters back together. Despite the disorientation of Los Angeles and the difficulty of sharing her sister’s home, Manda becomes a second mother to Ben, a precocious only child who fills her with fierce joy. But as Ben grows increasingly effeminate, her joy transforms to fear. Believing that the spirit of a dead girl has possessed her beloved nephew–and that her sister won’t do anything to fix matters–Manda and Ben’s father, Kamron, secretly arranges a Buddhist exorcism. The ceremony sets off a decade of anxiety-induced illness and bullying, even as the ritual burrows beyond Ben’s memory.
For Ben to grow into his authentic self, he must accept his queerness and confront the scars of his past. He attempts to navigate his family’s tense relationships and live amidst the damage. But how long can they all go on before the truths are uncovered?
From the mangrove forests of Thailand to a modest stucco house in Los Angeles to the sandstone quadrangles of Stanford, The Outer Country is at once epic and intimate in scope, a breathtaking journey across cultures and generations.

Vroman's Bookstore: Nicole Maggi, discusses & signs Lost in Yellowstone: A National Park Mystery Volume 2
2026-05-07 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
A foot in a geyser. A school in the wild. A truth no one saw coming.
When a human foot is ejected from a geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Special Agent Emme Helliwell of the National Park Service is assigned the chilling case.
Tasked with identifying the victim and uncovering what led to such a grisly end, Emme is drawn into the park’s vast, unforgiving wilderness–and into the orbit of a private school for at-risk teens where extreme backcountry excursions are part of the curriculum. As disturbing truths begin to surface, Emme must also confront personal fault lines, including the unresolved tension with an ex-boyfriend who’s suddenly back in her life and assigned to the same case.
In a place where danger hides behind natural beauty and good intentions can mask darker motives, Emme must navigate both treacherous terrain and emotional landmines to solve a mystery that could cost her everything.

Vroman's Bookstore: Mario Garcia discusses & signs Rupert García: The Making of an American Artist, a Testimonio
2026-05-08 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
This is the first biography of the renowned American Chicano visual artist and activist Rupert García, drawing on fifty hours of interviews conducted over thirty years and accompanied by eighty images. This in-depth oral history gives an unparalleled look at García’s life and work, tracing his evolution as an artist and the political upheavals that shaped his life and worldview.
Mario T. García’s testimonio places Rupert García’s art in historical perspective, from his beginnings as a working-class Mexican American from California’s Central Valley, his coming of age in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, his involvement in the antiwar movement during the San Francisco State student strike in 1968-69, and his participation in the Chicano Movement and beyond. Influenced by history and politics, García’s vital works of art represent a changing world through the eyes of an artist, speaking to issues of poverty, racism, capitalism, war, and the role of the artist in society.
His art–from revolutionary silkscreen posters to monumental pastels to portraits of political icons like Frida Kahlo, Che Guevara, and Dolores Huerta–serves to critique history and reassess it. It is work that will endure for generations to come.

Vroman's Bookstore: Keala Kendall discusses & signs That Which Feeds Us: A Hawaiian Gothic
2026-05-09 15:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore
A native Hawaiian teen travels to a luxury island resort in search of her missing twin and uncovers the dark side of paradise, in this YA supernatural thriller that’s Mexican Gothic meets She is a Haunting.
“This astounding book is both a finger pointed directly at the rotting heart of colonial greed and a truly heart-pounding mystery.” — Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Compound Fracture
For the world’s wealthiest, Kōpaʻa Island Resort is more than a destination. It’s the ultimate escape. With no cell service or Wi-Fi, the Hawaiian island is a coveted wellness retreat renowned for its persimmon orchard and promises of rejuvenation.
But their dream vacation is Lehua’s nightmare. When her twin sister, Ohia, goes missing, Lehua follows her trail to Kōpaʻa to find her. Instead, Lehua is cut off from civilization–and help–after the island’s boat leaves without her, stranding her with the resort’s lavish guests and enigmatic staff.
As Lehua investigates Ohia’s disappearance, she discovers her missing sister isn’t the island’s only mystery. Kōpaʻa’s rich exterior and sweet persimmons hide its dark plantation past. And Lehua can’t ignore the dreams haunting her each night–nor the warning telling her to leave the island at once. To uncover what happened to Ohia, Lehua will have to unearth the island’s bloody history and face the horrors that lurk within its sugarcane fields–or risk being consumed by them.
Sharply observed and gorgeously written, That Which Feeds Us explores the true cost of paradise as Lehua must fight to reclaim the land, the stories, and the very souls of her people.

Vroman's Bookstore: El Martillo Press reading with playwright Herbert Siguenza (Culture Clash) and poets Lorna Dee Cervantes, Paul S. Flores, Sonia Gutiérrez and Ceasar K. Avela
2026-05-12 08:00 - 17:00 | CA
El Martillo Press publishes writers whose pens strike the page with clear intent; words with purpose to pry apart assumed norms and to hammer away at injustice. El Martillo Press proactively publishes writers looking to pound the pavement to promote their work and the work of their fellow pressmates. El Martillo is the builder of bridges and the destroyer of walls.
Herbert Siguenza was recently the Playwright in Residence for the San Diego Repertory Theatre, thanks to a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Herbert is also a founding member of the performance group CULTURE CLASH.
Born in San Francisco, raised in San José, Barrio Horseshoe, Lorna Dee Cervantes was a self-taught activist by fifteen, taught herself how to run her own printing press and was founding editor/publisher of MANGO Publications at twenty, and author of the American Book Award winning EMPLUMADA at twenty-four.
Paul S. Flores is one of the most influential Latino performance artists in the country and a nationally respected arts educator. He creates plays, oral narratives, and spoken word about transnationality and citizenship that spur and support societal movements that lead to change.
Sonia Gutiérrez is the author of Spider Woman / La Mujer Araña and the recipient of the Tomás Rivera Book Award 2021 and the International Latino Book Awards 2022 for her novel, Dreaming with Mariposas.
Ceasar K. Avelar is the second poet laureate of Pomona, CA. His poems speak the truth, not only to people in a position of power, but also to the everyday person that views the working class as a stigmatized identity.

Vroman's Bookstore: Jennifer Lee & LeUyen Pham, in conversation with Gene Luen Yang, discuss & sign As I Dream of You
2026-05-12 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Franny and Sam are each other’s entire world. So what do you do when your world ends? Frozen’s Jennifer Lee and Lunar New Year Love Story’s LeUyen Pham deliver a tour de force young adult romance with a supernatural twist.
Falling in love is supposed to hurt. That’s what Franny and Sam, two cynical teens raised on tales of heartbreak and loss, have come to understand. But when they fall for each other, they find the reality of love is something else entirely—it’s electrifying, effortless, all-encompassing, and easy. Theirs is a love that can conquer anything…maybe even death.
After a shocking accident ends the couple’s life together before it can really begin, Sam finds himself drowning in thoughts of Franny. He simply can’t imagine a world without her in it. And soon, he doesn’t have to. In a series of vivid lucid dreams that blur the line between reality and fantasy, the two find each other again and vow to never separate. But as time goes on, cracks begin to form in their perfect world, and unsettling truths become harder and harder to ignore.
This heartrending yet life-affirming romance from Disney’s Jennifer Lee is paired with breathtaking, career-best art from LeUyen Pham. The result is a sublime YA graphic novel that’s poised to become a classic.

Vroman's Bookstore: Jenna Ramirez discusses & signs Burnout Summer
2026-05-13 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
For fans of Tessa Bailey, Emily Henry, and Elle Kennedy: a beachy friends-to-lovers romance through a post-grad journey that will have readers cheering (and falling in love!) along.
Four years after graduation, life isn’t going the way Camille Luna expected. Her corporate career is soul-sucking, she’s in debt from student loans, and her breakup with her ex has created a serious rift between her college best friends. When her spiraling lands her in jail for the night, it’s Danny Brennan –the lovable burnout from their college clique– who bails her out and offers the perfect solution to her quarter-life crisis: a summer by the beach.
Cam is whisked away to Elswick, Rhode Island, where former slacker Danny has taken over his uncle’s restaurant and turned it into a seaside hotspot. But while Danny has grown into a devoted boss and dog dad, his carpe diem life philosophy is still as fiery as ever. The hazy summer days start to blur between shifts at the restaurant, dips in the ocean, and a reignited passion for writing, all alongside Danny who makes her laugh like nobody else. Cam can’t help but wonder –is it the salty waves that have her feeling so renewed, or is it the carefree friend she always overlooked? But summer can’t last forever, and Cam’s looming student debt reminds her at every turn that the frigid air of corporate office life is waiting.
As September approaches, Cam must decide between snuffing out the flames with Danny in order to keep her beloved friend group together and return to the corporate grind–or falling into his forbidden arms and setting her old life ablaze.

Pasadena Playhouse: Brigadoon
2026-05-14 14:00, 2026-05-14 19:00 - 20:00 | Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Two American travelers lose their way in the Scottish Highlands and stumble upon Brigadoon—a mysterious village that appears for just one day every hundred years. With its lush score, live orchestra, sweeping choreography, and a newly adapted book, this beloved classic is a heart-stirring journey into a world where time stands still, and love defies all logic. Featuring the Lerner & Loewe Broadway standards “Almost Like Being In Love” and “The Heather on the Hill,” let yourself be swept away by one of the most romantic musicals ever written, as timeless as the legend itself.

Vroman's Bookstore: Steven J. Ross discusses & signs The Secret War Against Hate
2026-05-14 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
From the author of Pulitzer Prize finalist Hitler in Los Angeles, the definitive story of the intrepid activists and spies who fought against a resurgent movement of hate in America.
Americans today like to believe that the end of World War II brought a new era of tolerance in the United States. But antisemitism and racism went up-not down-after the war’s end. Violence broke out in cities across the country, and the number of organized hate groups more than doubled from 1940 to 1946. In this shocking account of a resurgence of White Supremacy in America, celebrated historian Steven J. Ross reveals how four key leaders-Emory Burke, J. B. Stoner, James Madole, and George Lincoln Rockwell-worked together to “finish the job Hitler had begun,” launching deadly attacks on Jews and African Americans and building a network of terrorists across the U.S. In response to this “war of hate,” three men-Arnold Forster of the Anti–Defamation League, George Mintzer of the American Jewish Committee, and James Sheldon of the Non–Sectarian Anti–Nazi League-along with dozens of men and women, launched a multipronged effort: They infiltrated, monitored, and undermined these hate groups, putting their own safety on the line and scoring important victories that, today, have been all but forgotten.
Tracing the extraordinary work of these unsung heroes, The Secret War Against Hate provides a groundbreaking reconsideration of the legacy of the “Good War,” and essential reading on how America today can beat hate once again and build a just and united nation.

Boston Court NPRF26: The Labours
2026-05-14 19:30 | CA
A Modern Tragedy Seeking Redemption—and a Community Finding Reflection
In The Labours, Luis Alfaro’s bold new reimagining of Euripides’ Herakles, the mythical Herakles becomes Era (Spanish for Was), a female soldier navigating the disorienting path from military service back to civilian life. Her labours are not the heroic feats of legend, but internal battles—grappling with guilt, loss, and the irreversible harm done to her own family. The military becomes the modern underworld, and the battlefield is now within. This new Labours explores the trauma of war, the price of violence, and the long, uncertain road to redemption.

USC PAM: Market Place@PAM: Creativity and Tradition
2026-05-16 11:00 - 16:00 | USC Pacific Asia Museum, 46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Shop handmade crafts, textiles, jewelry, ceramics, and artisan foods as you hear the personal stories behind each craft. Celebrate the ways immigrant communities bring their artistry, traditions, and entrepreneurial spirit across borders, creating new cultural connections in Los Angeles. Scheduled artisans include Stacy Wong Handmade, Emily Young Ceramics, Honey My Heart, and Kasih Co-op.

Boston Court NPRF26: Agape
2026-05-16 14:00 | Boston Court Pasadena, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena, CA, 91206, United States
In the basement of the In Guiding Light Charismatic Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, the young women of the Agape Drama Ministry shine at their brightest, performing biblical skits every week to edify their congregation. But when one of their own returns after a long time away with new ideas, their delicate ecosystem and relationships begin to crack.
A moving, profoundly funny coming-of-age story about the stress of college, crises of faith, arrested development, and reckoning with not having all the answers.

Third@First: Hers: Music Ensemble
2026-05-16 16:00 - 17:00 | CA
A newly formed group dedicated to the empowerment and uplifting of female identifying musical artists. This concert, featuring award-winning vocalists Karen Hogle Brown and Tamara Bevard and pianist Jennie Jung, will present vocal selections by celebrated LA female composers including Reena Esmail, Zanaida Robles, Dale Trumbore and many more.

Vroman's Bookstore: Local Author Day (Young Readers Edition) Introducing Susana Porras & Matt Bolinger
2026-05-17 11:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Susana Porras presents Danny’s Trails
Danny’s Trails: Mossley, England, is loosely based on a true story and is filled with youthful creativity, and lessons in inner awakening, and mindfulness. This children’s book is appropriate for children ages 6-9. Consequently, the story’s imaginative use of real landmarks, walkable trail, and map makes it engaging for readers of all ages.
Matt Bolinger presents Dino Babies in Space
From deep within the primordial bog emerges… the debut Graphic Novel of the Dino Babies comic series!!! There’s a rock barreling through space at about a million miles per hour about to collide with Earth and cause the most catastrophic climate event the world has ever known!! But in the deep recesses of a secret government facility, a group of renegade dino scientists has kidnapped an elite group of dino babies. Follow along as Brik, Luna, Chonk, and Yo-Yo begin their journey through the farthest reaches of space in a last-ditch effort to find a new homeworld. What kind of strange creatures, and crazy adventures will they have along the way??

Boston Court NPRF26: The Frankenstein Project
2026-05-17 14:00 | Boston Court Pasadena, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena, CA, 91206, United States
In 1816, Mary Shelley grieves her lost child and conjures a creature and his godlike creator in her masterpiece, Frankenstein. In the present, Mary Lattimore mourns her mother and begins an unlikely friendship with a sentient AI robot her father has created and brought home. The Frankenstein Project is about the monsters we battle, the monsters we create, and the monsters we (sometimes) are.

Archetype Yoga: Community Appreciation Week
2026-05-18 10:00 - 20:30 | CA
Mark your calendars: May 18th-23rd. A week dedicated to the people who make our studio what it is. Join us for special classes, giveaways, and a few surprises along the way.
➡️ Members + Class Pack holders are automatically entered into a raffle for prizes. You’ll receive an email letting you know!
➡️ Treats after class.
➡️ Special classes to be announced! Stay Tuned
➡️ Looking for a new community? Join us starting May 18th

Vroman's Bookstore: Tiffany Ezuma discusses & signs Major Gift: An 831 Stories Romance
2026-05-18 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
The widow of a tech mogul is determined to give her wealth away–and keep one secret from the journalist tasked with telling her story. A hot new take on the billionaire romance.
When Ndidi Davis’s husband unexpectedly dies, she’s left bereft–and with $2.1 billion in the bank. She channels her grief into launching a charitable foundation, but the endeavor is made more complicated by Geoffrey Campbell, an ambitious, perceptive journalist assigned to profile her philanthropic pursuit. Geoffrey’s reporting slowly uncovers Ndidi’s whole heart–and some parts of her past she’s worked hard to keep out of the public eye.

Vroman's Bookstore: Alyssa Villaire discusses & signs The Neon Sky
2026-05-19 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
For fans of Stephanie Garber and Maggie Stiefvater comes the bewitching sequel to The Glittering Edge, where magic is real, witches make irresistible boyfriends, and keeping secrets is dangerous–but not as dangerous as the truth.
Penny Emberly didn’t expect to fall head over heels for Alonso De Luca last summer–or to discover that he’s a witch. Together with their friend Corey Barrion, they managed to save her mother from a deadly spell. Now autumn has arrived, and Penny believes they can take on anything.
But darkness is descending on the small town of Idlewood. Corey is desperate to undo the bloody legacy that made his family rich. The price, however, is steep: to unravel the magical bargain made by his grandfather, Corey must take a life.
As Corey wrestles with an impossible choice, Alonso begins to change. The more he pushes the limits of his magic, the more volatile, violent, and possessive he becomes. When tragedy strikes one of their classmates, the trio is forced to confront a terrifying question: is Alonso being consumed by something that’s bent on the destruction of everyone around him–especially Penny and Corey?
As supernatural forces drive them apart, Penny, Corey, and Alonso must decide what they’re willing to sacrifice before more blood is spilled–even if it means losing each other.

Vroman's Bookstore: Natalie Lemle discusses & signs Artifacts
2026-05-21 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
For readers of The Cloisters and Counterfeit, Natalie Lemle’s debut novel offers an insider’s view into the world of stolen artifacts and the hidden networks that link museums to organized crime, when a woman is forced to remember the summer she spent on an archaeological dig in Italy, as everyone she knew then may now be in danger.
Successful trusts and estates attorney Lena Connolly is asked by a colleague to assist on a case: the Italian government claims an artifact was looted and sold to a museum illegally, and is seeking repatriation. The object in question is a cup made of dichroic glass, which would have been rare even in Ancient Rome, let alone thousands of years later.
Lena has done everything she can to put the study abroad summer she spent on an archaeological dig in the Italian Alps behind her. Her dreams of being an archaeologist were shattered when her mentor, Cyrille, disappeared, and her enigmatic boyfriend Giamma went dark, but with this new case, the past comes roaring back.
Told in alternating timelines, Artifacts follows young Lena as she falls in love with both archaeology and Giamma on the streets of Torino while her adult self pieces together what truly happened on the dig, now a fully restored Roman villa with World Heritage status. The dichroic cup, Lena discovers, may have been taken from the very site she helped unearth.
Powerful and exuberant, Natalie Lemle’s Artifacts brings readers behind the museum glass and asks questions about cultural heritage and the historical preservation of our shared sense of humanity.

Archetype Yoga: Monthly Bookclub: Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
2026-05-23 11:00 - 12:30 | Hello You’re Welcome, 445 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
At Archetype Yoga, the community is encouraged to evolve beyond the mat through a monthly book club focused on wellness, movement, mindfulness, and personal growth. Each month, participants gather to explore a new book, share insights, and learn together in a welcoming community setting.
Readers can also enjoy exclusive studio discounts as part of the experience.
For the latest book pick, visit @archetypeyoga on Instagram or email hello@archetype.yoga for more information.
Next Meeting will be held at Hello You’re Welcome, on May 23 at 11 AM

This month’s book is Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Summary: Big Swiss follows Greta, a 45-year-old woman living in Hudson, New York, who works as a transcriptionist for a local sex therapist known as “Om.” Through hours of recorded therapy sessions, Greta becomes obsessed with one particular client she nicknames “Big Swiss,” a tall Swiss gynecologist named Flavia who is grappling with trauma, intimacy, and her inability to orgasm.

Play Day in the Park
2026-05-24 12:00 - 16:00 | Playhouse Village Park, 701 Union St, Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
Get ready for an epic day of fun and games at PLAY DAY in the PARK with giant games, board & card games, music, prizes, and kids’ crafts.
GAME ON! Get ready for an epic day of fun and games at PLAY DAY in the PARK presented by Playhouse Village Foundation. On Sunday, May 25th, from 12 pm to 4 pm, head over to Playhouse Village Park and challenge your friends and family to GIANT versions of your favorite games from Sorry! and Connect 4 to Candy Land and Uno, to so many more! But the big fun doesn’t stop there – we’ll also have table board & card games, prizes, music, and kids’ activities. Plus, satisfy your cravings with Bobby’s Place, featuring a menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, and more at the park concessions space. Don’t miss out on this exciting event packed with friendly competition and endless entertainment!

Vroman's Bookstore: Vroman's Fiction Reading Group
2026-05-27 19:00 | Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 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 or 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!
May’s pick is Human Acts by Han Kang.

The Mixx: FREE Live Tribute to NO DOUBT Show and Dance Party
2026-05-29 20:00 - 23:30 | The Mixx, 443 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
The Mixx Pasadena invites guests to a FREE live tribute to No Doubt and dance party featuring YES DOUBT. Calling all No Doubt fanatics for a night packed with live performances of the band’s biggest hits by local tribute rockers YES DOUBT. Guests can dance and sing along to the soundtrack of their “Tragic Kingdom” with DJ Jack Tames, plus live music video mixxes showcased on the largest LED wall in town.

Pasadena Heritage: Explore Historic Architecture in the Playhouse Village
2026-05-31 10:00 - 11:30 | Pasadena Heritage, The Blinn House 160 N Oakland Ave, Pasadena, 91101, United States
The Pasadena Playhouse Historic District includes approximately 34 buildings that tell the story of Pasadena’s eastward growth in the 1920s and 1930s, as the city shifted from its agricultural roots into a center of tourism, culture, and design. This period of development brought a mix of architectural styles that still define the district today, most notably Art Deco, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Mediterranean Revival.
This walking tour takes a closer look at how these styles came together during a moment of real growth and change in Pasadena. Along the way, we’ll stop at landmarks like the Scottish Rite Cathedral, the United Artists Theatre, and the Warner Building, along with other buildings that reflect the energy and optimism of the period.
Join Pasadena Heritage as they explore how architecture and development shaped this district, looking at both the original vision for the area and how it continues to evolve today.
