Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Small-Business Mixer Brings County Officials to Altadena’s Lincoln Avenue Friday

A free, two-hour event hosted by Project Passion will connect Pasadena and Altadena entrepreneurs with grants, lenders, and the LA County Assessor

A free small-business mixer will bring Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang and the executive director of a Los Angeles community lender to a Lincoln Avenue bar Friday from 6 to 8 p.m., hosted by a Pasadena-based nonprofit that has worked with partners since the Eaton Fire to support impacted families and businesses.

The DENA Small Business Mixer, hosted by Project Passion and four collaborating organizations, is scheduled for Friday, June 12, at the Good Neighbor Bar Patio, 2311 Lincoln Ave., Altadena. The event is free, and registration is encouraged, according to the host.

The mixer takes place inside the footprint of the Eaton Fire, which began January 7, 2025, and destroyed 9,414 structures and damaged 1,074 more across Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre, according to Cal Fire data. Nineteen people were killed.

Project Passion, registered with the California Secretary of State as a Pasadena-based nonprofit public benefit corporation, says in its press release that it has worked alongside dozens of partners since the Eaton Fire to support thousands of impacted families and businesses through direct services, recovery initiatives, and community-driven solutions. The mixer, according to the announcement, is designed to bring small-business owners, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and resource providers from both communities together to strengthen the local business ecosystem.

The host’s listed collaborators are Inclusive Action for the City, the Pasadena NAACP, My Tribe Rise, and the Eaton Fire Collaborative Business Recovery Initiative.

Many local businesses continue to face financial hardship, customer displacement, workforce shortages, and barriers to accessing capital and technical assistance in the wake of the Eaton Fire, according to the press release. The host says the mixer was created to serve as a bridge between business owners and the organizations committed to supporting them.

Scheduled speakers and resource partners, according to Project Passion’s release, include Prang; Rudy Espinoza, whom the release identifies as executive director of Inclusive Action for the City; the Altadena Chamber of Commerce; and the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity. The release adds that additional community and economic development leaders will also take part.

Inclusive Action for the City is a nonprofit, certified Community Development Financial Institution based in Los Angeles, according to the organization’s website. Prang has served as Los Angeles County Assessor since 2014 and was re-elected most recently in 2022, according to the Assessor’s Office.

The evening will feature networking, presentations on available grants and business resources, and technical-assistance information, according to the press release.

“Small businesses are the heartbeat of our community,” Brandon Lamar, founder of Project Passion, said in the press release. “They create jobs, preserve culture, and keep our neighborhoods vibrant.”

Lamar also addressed the past year’s hardship. “Many of our local entrepreneurs and Small Businesses have endured unimaginable challenges over the past year,” he said. “This mixer is about ensuring they know they are not alone and that there are organizations ready to invest in their success. Recovery is strongest when we recover together.”

According to Project Passion, the mixer also aims to foster collaboration among nonprofit organizations, government agencies, financial institutions, and business owners to build long-term strategies for economic resilience across the Pasadena and Altadena communities.

The Eaton Fire Collaborative, formed in the weeks after the fire, describes itself as a coalition of community groups, nonprofits, and government partners coordinating recovery in Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre. It opened a permanent Long-Term Recovery Group hub in Altadena in October 2025, according to Pasadena Now reporting at the time.

Event details: Friday, June 12, 2026, 6 to 8 p.m., Good Neighbor Bar Patio, 2311 Lincoln Ave., Altadena. Free; registration encouraged. Light refreshments will be served.