The stage at the Los Angeles County Arboretum where the Pasadena POPS plays its summer concerts will be set, on Thursday night, June 18, for a different kind of audience: the people paying to keep the stage lit.
The Pasadena POPS — the popular-music arm of the Pasadena Symphony Association, headquartered at 150 S. Los Robles Ave., Suite 460 — will host “Party at the POPS,” a fundraising reception from 7 to 10 p.m. on the orchestra’s Arboretum performance platform. The Pasadena POPS invites guests, in its promotional materials, to “join us on the POPS stage for an exclusive summer kick-off party.” Single tickets are $500, and proceeds, according to the Pasadena Symphony Association, will support the 2026 Rusnak Summer POPS Series, the four-concert summer run that follows at the same venue between July and August.
The evening will feature cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the stage itself, followed by what the Pasadena POPS describes as an “intimate sunset set” by Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank, who will perform on piano, and guest vocalist Morgan James, a Juilliard-trained singer whose stage credits include the original Broadway casts of Motown: The Musical, Godspell, Wonderland, The Addams Family and Kristin Chenoweth’s For The Girls. The Pasadena POPS also states that tickets are “extremely limited.”
Sponsorships are available at four levels, according to the organization’s published terms: Platinum at $15,000 ($13,500 tax-deductible), Gold at $10,000 ($9,000 tax-deductible), Silver at $5,000 ($4,500 tax-deductible) and Patron at $2,500 ($2,000 tax-deductible). The Platinum tier includes six complimentary tickets, presenting-sponsor credit in event materials and signage, premium event seating, a meet-and-greet with the conductor and guest artist, on-screen recognition as a major supporter at all POPS concerts, and ten complimentary tickets to a Symphony or POPS concert of the sponsor’s choice. Gold includes six tickets, sponsor credit, preferred seating, a meet-and-greet, video-screen recognition at all POPS concerts, and four complimentary tickets to a Symphony or POPS concert. Silver includes two tickets, sponsor credit, and four complimentary tickets to a Symphony concert. Patron includes two tickets and patron credit in event materials. The Pasadena POPS also lists underwriting opportunities for the guest artist ($10,000), food ($7,500), wine and spirits ($5,000) and general event underwriting ($5,000).
The June 18 reception precedes the Rusnak Summer POPS Series concerts on July 11, July 25, August 15 and August 29, all at the Arboretum, which is located at 301 N. Baldwin Ave. in Arcadia.
Readers interested in tickets or sponsorship can reach Liliane Ribeiro, Director of Development for the Pasadena Symphony Association, at (626) 414-2198 or LRibeiro@pasadenasymphony-pops.org. Event information is at pasadenasymphony-pops.org/concert/pops-party.
For an orchestra whose summer home is a tree-shaded lawn in Arcadia, the platform itself becomes the room — and, for one night in June, the guests get to stand on it.
Party at the POPS — Summer Kick-Off — LA County Arboretum, 7:00 p.m. | $500 single tickets. 🔗 https://www.pasadenanow.com/weekendr/events/?event_item=278994 pasadenanow
