Mexican Folk Dance Closes Out a Summer of Concerts at Kidspace

Kidspace has spent the summer running a small geography lesson disguised as a party. West African drumming in June. Indonesian bamboo instruments in July. The Philippines in early August. On Friday the series ends where a Southern California summer probably should — with Mexican folk dance.

“Folklórica de México” brings Ballet Folklorico de Esperanza to the Stone Hollow Amphitheater for the final program of the 2026 Sunset Music Series. The company performs traditional folk dances that move region by region through Mexico, in the full costume the form demands, and the museum encourages audiences to clap along.

The group performs twice, at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and the museum stays open until 8 p.m. — the actual draw for many families, since a children’s museum in the cooler hours of a Pasadena evening is a different place than the same museum at 1 p.m. in August. Families can bring a picnic or buy from the cafe and visiting food trucks. Each Sunset Music Series evening also includes hands-on art activities keyed to the performance.

Kidspace is a nonprofit children’s museum on a 3.5-acre outdoor campus at 480 N. Arroyo Blvd., next to the Rose Bowl in Brookside Park. The museum funded this year’s series in part through a grant from the Pasadena Community Foundation.

Admission to the concerts is included with general museum admission and is free for members. Reservations are recommended.

Five Fridays, five traditions, one amphitheater. Friday is the last of them until next summer.

“Folklórica de México” with Ballet Folklorico de Esperanza will be performed on Friday, August 21 at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Stone Hollow Amphitheater, Kidspace Children’s Museum, 480 N. Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena. Museum open until 8 p.m. For more information, call (626) 449-9144 or visit kidspacemuseum.org. Included with general admission; free for members. Reservations recommended.