The City of Pasadena, in collaboration with the Pasadena Recreation and Parks Foundation (PRPF), is rallying its residents around an inspiring cause to “Bring Levitt Home” to Memorial Park in Old Pasadena. This effort aims to revive the beloved Levitt Music Series, a free outdoor concert tradition that once brought vitality, diversity, and a sense of community to Pasadena’s historic Memorial Park.
Since its original launch in 2003, Levitt Pavilion Pasadena was a pioneering venture philanthropy project by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation. The music series breathed new life into the underutilized and crime-prone Memorial Park by offering 50 free concerts each summer, attracting over 75,000 attendees annually from across Pasadena and the greater Los Angeles area. This vibrant cultural programming transformed the park into a cherished community gathering space for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Though the original Levitt Pavilion Pasadena concluded its partnership with the national Levitt network in 2017 and the venue was renamed the Pasadena Pavilion for the Performing Arts, the legacy and impact of the series continue to resonate in the city. Now, the City of Pasadena and PRPF are competing to win a Levitt Music Series Grant that could provide up to $120,000 over three years to reinstate free professional concerts in Memorial Park starting in 2026.
The Levitt Foundation, an organization dedicated to turning underused public spaces into dynamic cultural destinations through free live music, emphasizes community engagement as central to the program’s success. Reflecting this, Pasadena’s bid for the grant involves a public voting phase from September 5 to 15, 2025, where residents can support the return of the Levitt Music Series through online or text votes.
Koko Panossian, Director of the City’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, highlights the shared commitment of the city and foundation to “fostering inclusive, accessible, and high-quality public programming that enhances community engagement and celebrates musical diversity.” Bringing the Levitt Music Series back to Old Pasadena not only promises to enrich the cultural landscape but also to activate an iconic public space into a vibrant, welcoming destination for Pasadena residents and neighboring communities.
The “Bring Levitt Home” event is more than a concert series; it is a celebration of Pasadena’s history, community spirit, and the transformative power of free music to unite people in a beloved urban setting. Residents are encouraged to vote and support the vision of renewed community music experiences in Old Pasadena’s Memorial Park — a place where music once again can bring people together under the stars.
Voting is open through September 15, 2025, online at Levitt.org/Vote or by texting PASADENA to (877) 409-5525. The announcement of grant recipients will be made on November 18, 2025.
