Pasadena weekend: October 24-26

Celebrate National Food Day and the Arroyo Food Co-op, brainstorm solutions for the 710 freeway stub, check out local plant and gardening events. Plus: exhibitions, petitions, a survey and this week's random read.

Grand opening party at the Arroyo Food Co-op on Saturday afternoon. Expect local vendors with their products and free samples, a milk flight (milk tasting,) crafts and activities for kids, live music in the parking lot, a local organizations showcase plus the Mayor of Pasadena, Bill Bogaard. The store will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

710 freeway stub. On Saturday morning, Maranatha High School will host a workshop titled Designing the Ditch. A grassroots planning effort, it invites the public to share ideas for transforming the 710 freeway stub into a viable space for.

National Food Day. On Friday, the City of Pasadena will honor National Food Day with a family festival that includes live entertainment, cooking demonstrations, healthy food tastings, children’s activities. Also in the mix: information booths for visitors to learn about local healthy eating, food assistance and urban agriculture.

GardeningThe Huntington is hosting its annual fall plant sale on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Expect salvias, ceanothus, irises and lots more. On Saturday morning, you can self-tour The Huntington's Ranch, an urban agriculture site, and pick up some inspiration for growing your own fruits and vegetables sustainably. Transition Pasadena's Throop Learning Garden meets on Sunday morning.

Petition, vulnerable road users. The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition has initiated a petition for the City to adopt an ordinance to protect vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, skateboarders and persons with disabilities.

Survey. Pasadena Water and Power is conducting a survey on the city's energy future. To participate go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PWP_Energy_Future2014. (Note: PWP has not posted any information on when the survey period ends, but as of this printing the link was still up.)

Cycling. On Sunday morning Pasadena Cyclery will hold Gwen's Group Ride and the Sunday Morning Neighborhood StrollFor details see the calendar page of Pasastainable, CA.

Exhibition 1. As part of the Pasadena Arts Council's AxS Festival, the Armory presents Karin Apollonia Müller's World’s Edge, a photographic exploration of the intersection between the natural landscape and complex urbanization. Ends next summer.

Exhibition 2. An exhibition at Descanso Gardens in La Canada titled Signs of Life aims to look at water "in all its moods and states." The event is part of this year's AxS Festival, a celebration of the arts and sciences that is held in Pasadena every two years.

Got kids? On Saturday morning, the Eaton Canyon Nature Center is hosting a family nature walk. Bring your small children, walking shoes, sunscreen, water and a hat. Also on Saturday morning at the Nature Center: the weekly Nature Tails Story Hour which includes stories, nature walks and puppet shows for children ages 3-5.

Random read. In the days after 9/11 the soundscape of the Atlantic Ocean changed; commercial shipping stood still, the noise from freighter engines and other manmade sources ebbed away, and for a brief time the water returned to a state of pre-industrialized quiet. A scientist from New England who was recording whale songs later said, "'It's like you could hear a pin drop.'" The anecdote is part of a feature, Sound off, that the science writer Peter Brannen recently published in the online magazine Aeon. Researching how human activity has affected life in the oceans, Brannen found that "modern North Atlantic right whales have shifted their calls up an entire octave over the past half century or so, in an attempt to be heard over the unending, and steadily growing, low-frequency drone of commercial shipping. Where right-whale song once carried 20 to 100 miles, today those calls travel only five miles before dissolving into the din."

- - - - - - - - - - -

Unless otherwise noted, all events take place in Pasadena. For times, addresses and other details please see the calendar page of Pasastainable, CA or the event owner's webpage.