#7 - free concerts

august will be the last month of the sky is big in pasadena.  

i have accepted a position at salford mennonite church in harleysville, pennsylvania.  we will be moving in september, so august will be my farewell month to the city of pasadena.  when we moved here from virginia i posted a list of the ten things i would miss most about harrisonburg.  i figured that would be a good way to end our time here, so each day i will be doing one final rundown of life in this great city.  i have prepared two lists - ten things i won't be sad to leave behind, and twenty of my absolute favorite things about pasadena.  we have arrived at the top ten things about life in pasadena.

#7 - free concerts

one of the coolest things about living in pasadena is the levitt pavilion summer concert series.  getting in to free music concerts is always a good thing, but when they occur four times a week throughout the summer, well that is a GREAT thing.  i thoroughly enjoyed katie herzig (pictured above) and the belle brigade (who are amazing - go check them out right now!) - two artists i probably would have paid to see, but i got to see them for free. 

while writing this...  i'm wondering if i should have made this higher on my list.

by request...

we took this photo last night after bumping in to some friends at levitt pavilion for the free kids putamayo show.  after the photo was taken, a few of these people asked - "is this going to end up on the sky is big?"

of course.

kids show at levitt pavilion

meredith was at work last night, so i decided to take the baby to levitt pavilion for one of their outdoor summer kids concerts.  while it did seem to be a popular destination (more crowded than i've ever seen it), the music was WAY too loud for a baby, and she was fast asleep anyway. 

we had a nice walk, but this wasn't the best destination idea i've ever had.  lesson learned for the new dad!

jessica fischot at levitt pavilion

for meredith's birthday, we packed a picnic dinner and met up with some friends for a tuesday outdoor concert at levitt pavilion. 

we had a fantastic time lounging on the lawn, enjoying food and friends, and the beautiful music from jessica fichot - an artist who draws on her french, chinese, and american background (and also sang songs in russian and arabic!).

check out her music.  it is fun and funky.  we were all pleasantly surprised!

waiting for summer music to begin

is anyone else patiently waiting for pasadena's outdoor summer concert series to begin? okay, maybe not waiting quite as patiently as this guy is, but the warmer weather we've been having is making me think more about this amazing aspect of our town.

i'm getting excited!

chris peirce at the levitt pavillion

on thursday night we went to see chris peirce as one of the final few events of pasadena's summer concert series at levitt pavillion. as such a cool aspect of the summer months of life in pasadena, we're sad to see it go - but of course we've got next summer to look forward to!

salsa celtica at the levitt pavilion

pasadena's summer concert series is in full swing at levitt pavilion. on friday we went to see the band 'salsa celtica' - an interesting blend of... you guessed it, salsa and celtic music. high energy and a lot of fun. we picniced with some friends before the concert and then sat back in the cool of the evening (very nice concidering the heatwave we've been going through).

make music pasadena

what a cool concept - a free concert spread out all across the city with hundreds of up and coming artists from around the world. don't you wish your city was as cool as pasadena?

i was really impressed with red molly - pictured above - and the set that they performed at the levitt pavillion. and it made me pretty excited for the upcoming summer concert series which will be held in the same location. i also headed over to one colorado for mirah.

more from my busy weekend coming up tomorrow.

concert at levitt pavilion

memorial park is the home of pasadena's summer concerts under the stars. these free concerts happen from wednesday to sunday, every week during the summer from june to august. last night was out first taste, and it left us wanting to come back for more. great family fun, lots of picnics, lawn chairs, and blankets, and most importantly - great music. last night featured ricardo lemvo & the makina loca who spent the evening showing us their fantastic blend of latin and african influences.

an update from the mortimer levitt foundation: there is another levitt pavilion in macarthur park that also offers 50 concerts free of charge in an outdoor setting similar to pasadena. visit levittla.org

thanks for the heads up!