Mini-Grants artists to perfrom during ArtNight Pasadena Friday

Fourteen major arts and cultural venues will open their doors for free during ArtNight Pasadena on Friday, Oct. 8, from 6 to 10 p.m.

To ensure that individual artists and small arts and culture organizations have an opportunity to participate as well, the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission has awarded 15 Mini-Grants. [See a complete list at the end of this release.]

Live music, dance, performance art and story telling will take place throughout the community, and free shuttles will provide door-to-door service.

ArtNight Pasadena is a part of an ongoing partnership between the commission and the many cultural institutions that open their doors for free to offer the public a rich sampling of quality art, culture and music.

For more information visit www.artnightpasadena.org or call (626) 744-7887. For accessibility information or materials in alternative formats, call (626) 744-7249. To join ArtNight Pasadena Bicycle Tours visit www.cicle.org.

ArtNight Pasadena kicks off Pasadena ArtWeekend, a three-day, six-event, citywide arts festival. Saturday’s offerings include ArtHeritage parade ending in La Pintoresca Park, ArtWalk in the Playhouse District, Art of Food on South Lake Avenue and ArtRhythm music at Paseo Colorado; and on Sunday afternoon, ArtPerformance, a cultural dance festival at Levitt Pavilion. For more information call (800) 307-7977 or go to www.PasadenaArtWeekend.com

Fall 2010 Mini-Grant recipients for ArtNight Pasadena (by venue)

Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave.
· Dean Vivirito of Bird and Moon Music will play standards and original tunes from 6 to 8 p.m. as ArtNight Pasadena visitors enjoy themselves under the stars on the front steps before catching a shuttle bus to one or more of 14 cultural venues.
· Show of Support Productions will present “The 60’s Revisited” from 8 to 10 p.m., taking listeners back to a nostalgic time when music captured the essence of love and peace during a somewhat turbulent era.

Alliance Francaise, 34 E. Union St. (Kendall Alley)
· Music of France will fill the air as the flute and harp duo of Arpa y Aulos play music from the time of the French impressionists to Edith Piaf.

Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N. Raymond Ave.
· Buddy Zapata and The Theatre of Low Expectations will provide music rooted in influences from the Deep South and infused with a definitive and exclusively Southern California sound that will resonate with the event’s diverse audience.

Kidspace Children’s Museum, 480 N. Arroyo Blvd.
· Lineage Dance will perform a site-specific dance in which a cast of spiders, bumble bees and a curious girl explore the Ant Climber through joyful, playful movement reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil. Participatory dance time for children and families will also be offered throughout the evening.

Lineage Performing Arts Center, 89 S. Fair Oaks Ave.
· Michelle Bloom will play music from her latest work “Fields of Attention” inspired by the writings of poets, neuroscientists, Buddhists and monks.
· Renowned trumpet player Sarah Kramer and her group will present a lively concert of jazz and favorite standards.

Pasadena Museum of History, 470 W. Walnut St.
Grammy Award-winning Ian Whitcomb & Friends will present a program about popular music, dance and etiquette at the turn of the 20th century.

Pasadena Central Library, 285 E. Walnut St.
· Reiyukai America will provide a free arts workshop where visitors can unleash their creativity to make bookmarks from recycled materials.
· Michael Kluch, a professional photographer and instructor at Pasadena High School, will exhibit student and personal photographic images in the form of large-format Inkjet prints.
· Crown City Chamber Players will provide music in the Children’s Room in front of the fireplace continuously from 6 to 10 pm.
· Flights of Fantasy Story Theatre will present interactive theatrical performances of children’s folk stories and fables from around the world that promote reading and cultural awareness and demonstrate life lessons that can be learned through world literature.

Shumei Arts Council, 2430 E. Colorado Blvd.
· Traditional Japanese taiko drumming will be performed featuring Makoto Taiko and Grammy Award-winning taiko master Koji Nakamura at 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.

Pasadena Symphony and POPS at Ambassador Auditorium, 131 S. St. John Ave.
· From Irish to classical jazz, harpist Alison Bjorkedal will lead the audience in a musical journey featuring works composed by harpists.

One Colorado, north side of Colorado Boulevard between Union, Fair Oaks and DeLacey
· American Composers Forum of Los Angeles will provide an evening of colorful, contemporary music with local ensembles Dragonas and The Cal Poly Pomona MIDI Band.