This April, the Pasadena Jaycees are inviting the greater Los Angeles community to spend a spring day in Altadena, taking a scenic drive through fields of blooming California poppies and supporting local small businesses that have been fighting to stay afloat after the Eaton Fire. With a keepsake passport booklet to stamp at each stop, festival-goers will have a memento to mark the occasion and prizes to win if they visit every business on the route. And, many of the participating businesses are offering special discounts and promotions!
The Great Altadena Poppy Festival will take place on Saturday, April 18, and admission is free.
Altadena’s small businesses have faced an uphill battle since the Eaton Fire devastated the community in January 2025, including a loss of foot traffic. The Poppy Festival is designed, in part, to change that, even if just for a day. The event kicks off at Grocery Outlet in Altadena (2270 Lake Ave, Altadena), where festival goers can pick up their passport and begin getting it stamped at participating small businesses along the route.
The goal is to get customers in the door again, remind them that these businesses are still here, and give the community a reason to celebrate and spend locally.
In addition to patronizing the local businesses, the festival aims to highlight the community at large with a scenic drive through Altadena–getting the chance to see the transformation of the devastation from the fire into the beauty of blooming poppy fields.
launched last year by Altadena resident and longtime Pasadena Jaycees volunteer (and Santa!), René Amy. After losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, he began sowing California poppy seeds across vacant lots with the dream of blanketing the burn scars with fields of the state flower. Nearly 700 residents agreed to participate, and now it’s time to watch those seeds come to life. The Pasadena Jaycees stepped in to support the work that Amy has already done and to bring in the participation of local businesses through the festival.
The project is a grassroots effort to bring hope, visibility, and beauty to Altadena as the community continues to rebuild. RSVP coming soon.
