Saturday, September 19, 2026

Altadena Musicians and Fire-Displaced Makers Anchor Pasadena ARTWalk’s Sunday Close

An Altadena nonprofit born out of the January 2025 Eaton Fire will have a place on the stage Sunday, Sept. 20, as the 18th annual Pasadena ARTWalk closes its two-day run on Green Street.

Kevin Sandbloom performs from noon to 2 p.m. under the banner of Altadena Musicians, the group Brandon Jay founded after his family lost their home and recording studio in the fire. He is one of three ARTWalk acts booked through the nonprofit, and the fair’s roster also includes Altadena makers who lost homes and studios and have since found their way back to their work.

The free fair runs 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19 and 20, on Green Street between Los Robles and El Molino avenues in Pasadena’s Playhouse Village, with more than 180 hand-selected artisans. Organizers suggest 561 E. Green St. as a midpoint. Sunday’s music runs from Felipe Saray at 11 a.m. through Sandbloom at noon, Rusty Perez from 2 to 4 p.m. and Ricky England from 4 to 6 p.m.

Altadena Musicians says it has returned more than 1,500 instruments and more than 1,300 albums to people who lost theirs in the Eaton and Palisades fires. The group runs Instrumental Giving, a registry that matches donated gear with musicians, and operates the Altadena Music Center.

Gloria Baghdassarian, event coordinator at Jackalope Arts, which produces the fair with the Playhouse Village Association, said the company found the nonprofit online. “They’re a really cool nonprofit organization that raises money for musicians who lost their instruments and equipment in Eaton Fire,” she said. “And I feel really lucky that we get to play a part in giving them a platform for people to meet them.”

Two artisans came to the fair by way of the fire. Heather C. Morrow lost her Altadena home of 17 years and her ceramic studio when the Eaton Fire swept through on Jan. 7, 2025, and has turned to photography, building a portrait project on fellow survivors. René Amy, who lost his home, runs the native-wildflower business Altadena Maid Products at booth 132. He created the Great Altadena Poppy Project, which set out to sow some 250 million California poppy seeds across roughly 700 fire-affected properties at no cost to owners.

Baghdassarian, who grew up in Altadena and Pasadena, called producing the fair in the second year after the fire “really surreal.” “Even after something so devastating, you can still see that our little community here is still filled with so much connection and creativity,” she said.

The ARTWalk is open to all ages and handicap accessible, and leashed pets are welcome.

Pasadena ARTWalk, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19 and 20, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Green Street between Los Robles and El Molino avenues, Pasadena; use 561 E. Green St. for a midpoint. For more, call (323) 989-2278 or visit https://www.jackalopeartfair.com/pasadena-artwalk. Admission: Free.