Two Kneeling Figures, by Wayne Thiebaud, one of the pieces on display at the Pasadena Museum of California Art

Now that ArtNight has had a few seasons here in Pasadena — it arrives once each spring and once each fall — it’s become one of the most popular happenings of the year. Everyone gets into the game: all the museums and arts organizations, a bunch of restaurants, the local bike-riders’ group called CICLE, and the city itself. And the attendees are a wonderfully diverse bunch: families, college students, packs of refreshingly art-savvy high-school students, seniors, pearl-wearing Junior Leaguers, pierced-lip artists, you name it.

In case you’ve not yet joined in the fun, here’s the deal: Admission is free to all the participating arts organizations, and a free shuttle connects the venues. Parking is also free, and the One Colorado restaurants (Il Fornaio, Akbar, Sushi Roku, Johnny Rockets, Russell’s and Gordon Biersch) are offering a free dessert to any diner who orders an entree before 6:30 p.m. CICLE is organizing a free group ride from venue to venue, and the city has helpfully mapped out several self-guided walking tours for the evening.

The pickings are particularly rich this year. There’s an amazing triple-header show at the Pasadena Museum of California Art (Wayne Thiebaud, Frances Gearhart, Ray Turner), an equally wonderful 20th-anniversary show at the Armory, a fun, multimedia exhibit about baseball at the Pasadena Library, yet another Wayne Thiebaud show at the Norton Simon and a vividly colorful exhibit about California-style multiethnic graffiti at the Pacific Asia Museum. And that’s just the beginning.

Pasadena ArtNight
Friday, October 9, 6 – 10 p.m.
626.744.7887, artnightpasadena.org