Saturday, February 21, 2026

Classic Car Show Returns as Pasadena’s Black History Festival Marks First Anniversary of Eaton Fire

[photo credit: City of Pasadena]

Grammy-nominated headliner Angie Fisher and Grand Marshal Walt Butler anchor a day of music, tradition and recovery at Robinson Park

Pasadena’s 44th Annual Black History Festival returns to Robinson Park on Saturday with the classic car show restored and a full live entertainment lineup, one year after the Eaton Fire prompted organizers to cancel both the parade and the car show and convert the celebration into a resource fair.

The parade remains canceled for a second consecutive year. But the return of the car show — which organizers shelved in 2025 out of respect for local car and bike clubs whose vehicles were destroyed in the fire — and a lineup headlined by Grammy-nominated Pasadena native Angie Fisher signal a shift back toward the celebration that has anchored this community for more than four decades.

The fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures, according to Catalyst California, and disproportionately affected Altadena’s Black households: 61% fell within the fire perimeter compared with 50% of non-Black households, according to a data brief from the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

Leading the day as Grand Marshal is Walt Butler, 83, a former Pasadena High School runner, Pasadena City College track coach and longtime Altadena resident who lost his longtime home in the blaze.

“I am one of those ‘dumb’ athletes who thinks he can do everything,” Butler told The New York Post days after the fire. “If you get hit in the gut, you just suck it up. Well, I am sucking it up and standing tall. I will win the race.”

Butler grew up in Pasadena, won the State Junior College Championship in the 120-yard high hurdles while at PCC, then returned to coach the Lancers to three consecutive state championships from 1975 to 1977, according to ABC News. He was inducted into the USA Track and Field Master’s Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Pasadena City College Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. A GoFundMe campaign started by his children after the fire has raised more than $913,000.

“We are honored to have Walt Butler as our Grand Marshal for the 2026 Festival,” Pixie Boyden, co-chair of the Black History Planning Committee, said in a City of Pasadena press release.

“He is a shining example of who we are as residents of Pasadena, and a testament to our community. While we still grapple with the long-term effects of the Eaton Fire, we are proud to bring back portions of our festival that were cancelled due to circumstances.”

Kenneth James, the city’s recreation administrator for Parks, Recreation and Community Services, said the festival’s continuity carries particular weight for a community still recovering.

“When Pasadena brought in the freeway, through the middle of the heart of the Black community, we lost a lot,” James told the Los Angeles Sentinel. “Now you have this fire that devastated a large part of the Black community. And for us not to continue something like this, it’s like something else would be lost.”

The festival dates back to when two Pasadena Parks and Recreation staffers, Toy McCoy and Roy Hayes, organized the first celebration. The event traditionally included a parade down Fair Oaks Avenue followed by a festival at Robinson Park.

Fisher, the festival headliner, began her career at age 14 touring with All God’s Children, a children’s choir assembled by producer Lou Adler, according to Hidden Beach Recordings. She built a career as an in-demand session vocalist, working with artists including Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and Chaka Khan, before her 2014 single “I.R.S.” earned a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. Additional performers include Candace Lacy, Tanya DeCuir, Judah Lacy, Aretha Scruggs and Courtney Lindsey, who performs as SunWhoa, according to the city.

Serving as emcee is James Farr, host of “Conversation Live: Altadena Rising” on KBLA Talk 1580 radio, who has used his program to cover the roots of Altadena’s Black community and its response to the fire, according to the city.

Community Grand Marshals Dell and Dudley Stewart, married 70 years, raised 12 children — four of their own and eight nieces and nephews — and have been members of New Revelation Baptist Church for more than 60 years, according to PasadenaNow.

Youth Grand Marshals include the Knight Skies Space Research Team from La Cañada High School, whose members designed an experiment testing the effects of microgravity on bacteria that orbited Earth, and three MLK Legacy and Achievement Award recipients: Adonis Moret of Don Benito Elementary School, Jacob Chisanga Price of Polytechnic School and Olivia Trujillo-Jamison of Altadena Arts Magnet Elementary School.

The festival runs Saturday, February 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Robinson Park, 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave. Admission is free. Activities include youth performances by local middle and high school students, food trucks and community resource booths. Sponsors include the Pasadena Parks and Recreation Foundation, Tournament of Roses, Pasadena Management Association and Pasadena City College.