Old Pasadena's First Holiday Passport: How 21 Small Shops, Two Weekends and Holly Street Fit Together

Old Pasadena is running a Holiday Passport for the first time this year. Starting Sunday, Nov. 15, you can pick up a passport at any of 21 small retailers and collect a sticker at each store you visit, with no purchase required. If you have at least 12 stickers by 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29, you can enter a drawing for one of three prize packages.

Thirteen of the 21 shops sit in two small clusters: one block of E. Holly Street and the alleys of One Colorado. The district's calendar already has an evening planned for the bigger cluster, so you can collect most of your stickers in one afternoon if you know where the stores are.

Where the 21 stores actually are

The Old Pasadena Holiday Passport page lists every participating store with an address. Grouped by location, they look like this:

Holly Street has the most passport stores of any spot, and they all sit between 6 and 65 E. Holly. That stretch alone gets you two-thirds of the way to 12. Add the five One Colorado shops and you have more than you need without walking up and down Colorado Boulevard. The four Colorado storefronts and four side-street shops are there for anyone who wants all 21 or just enjoys the walk.

Nov. 19 on Holly does most of the work

The Holly cluster lines up with an event the street already hosts. Holidays on Holly, put on by the Shops on Holly, is in its 15th year. It runs Thursday, Nov. 19, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It's free, and stores stay open late with discounts, trunk shows, and drinks and snacks.

Nine shops take part, and most specials run from 2 to 8 p.m. unless noted. The organizers ask shoppers to bring their passports. All nine are also passport stores: the eight Holly Street shops plus Homage, around the corner at 100 N. Fair Oaks. That means one evening can get you nine stickers. According to the Holidays on Holly listing, here is what each store is offering:

• AMT Vintage: 10% off storewide, a closet sale and book signing with Pamela Des Barres, plus drinks and light bites.
• Commune Records: 20% off storewide.
• Gold Bug: 20% off glass ornaments, with Prosecco from 2 p.m.
• Homage: 20% off storewide all day, refreshments, a Hemlock Park pop-up starting at 4 p.m., and a surprise local jewelry designer still to be announced.
• Jenette Bras: 15 to 20% off tights and loungewear, with cider and treats.
• Maude Woods: 20% off storewide, with food and drinks from 2 p.m.
• Mesmer Mesmer: A storewide discount and seasonal punch.
• Mignon Chocolate: 15% off for event participants, plus tastings of holiday chocolate flavors.
• Retreat: A free greeting card of your choice with every $50 purchase, up to a $7 card value.

Homage's discount starts in the morning, but most of the other shops start at 2 p.m. If you're working around a weekday schedule, the hours from 2 to 8 p.m. are when the whole street is participating.

One Colorado's alleys close the gap

Nine stickers from Holly leave three to go, and the closest place to get them is One Colorado. The Unicorn Store and M. Andonia are both on Douglas Alley. Rebecca Crews is on Hugus Alley. PlayLab Beauty faces N. Fair Oaks, and Shopaholic Sample Sales faces W. Colorado. Any three of those five finish the passport. If you get all five, you'll have 14, and the two extra stickers don't change your odds. Each person gets one entry, and every qualifying entry is eligible for all three prizes.

The prizes are two $500 packages, each with gift cards and merchandise from 12 participating retailers, and one $1,225 grand prize with something from all 21. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The launch weekend runs into two craft markets and CicLAvia

Passport pickup begins on what may be the most crowded weekend of Pasadena's fall. Here is how the three days line up:

Friday, Nov. 13. UCLA plays Illinois at the Rose Bowl at 6 p.m., according to the UCLA football schedule.

Saturday, Nov. 14. The Jackalope Art Fair opens in Central Park, 275 S. Raymond Ave., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's free and lists more than 200 hand-picked local artisans, selling things like fashion, jewelry, paper goods, home decor, art and food. A few blocks away, the Artazan Handcraft Market fills the Pasadena Convention Center at 300 E. Green St. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with more than 200 artisans, artists and makers. Artazan tickets cost $8 online in advance or $10 at the door, and anyone 17 or under gets in free.

Sunday, Nov. 15. Both markets are open again with the same hours. Passport pickup begins the same day, and Old Pasadena is launching it at CicLAvia Pasadena. Passports are available at all 21 participating stores from that day on.

Saturday gives you an early look at two of the passport stores. Jackalope is on S. Raymond, and Doggee Club is up the same street at 22 S. Raymond, with Imizzu nearby at 54 S. De Lacey. Stickers can't be collected until Sunday, though. Sunday puts the markets, CicLAvia and passport pickup on the same streets at once.

For Jackalope, the organizer recommends the Fishbecks lot at 150 S. Raymond Ave. as a low-cost option. It takes cash only. The fair's page also lists nearby garages, the Schoolhouse structure and metered street parking, and notes that Central Park is a two-minute walk from Del Mar Station.

Nov. 28 is the last good day for stickers

Small Business Saturday falls on Nov. 28, the day before passport entries are due. All 21 passport stores are giving away Shop Small tote bags and enamel pins while supplies last. The Small Business Saturday page suggests stopping by them to fill in your passport.

That day also includes the City of Pasadena and Visit Pasadena's Shop Local Pasadena campaign. Twenty-four local businesses citywide will act as welcome stations and hand out free canvas totes, first come, first served. Six of them are in Old Pasadena, and five of those six are also passport stores: Rebecca Crews, M. Andonia, PlayLab Beauty, Jenette Bras and The Unicorn Store. The sixth welcome station, Homage Pasadena, is the Homage on the passport list. So the One Colorado alleys and Jenette Bras on Holly have the most going on that day, with passport stickers, Shop Small giveaways and welcome-station totes all in the same few doorways.

The Pasadena Department of Transportation is offering free rides on Pasadena Transit on Nov. 27 and 28. Schedules and real-time arrivals are at PasadenaTransit.net or (626) 744-4055. Old Pasadena also posts a Shop Small / Dine Local map of its nearly 200 independent businesses, with the 21 passport stores marked by a star.

Entering, in four steps

1. Pick up a passport at any participating store starting Sunday, Nov. 15.
2. Ask each store for its sticker. You don't have to buy anything.
3. Once you have at least 12, write your name, phone number and email on the passport and take a clear photo of the page showing all your stickers.
4. Email the photo to [email protected] by 5 p.m. PT on Sunday, Nov. 29.

Three winners will be drawn at random on Monday, Nov. 30, at 3 p.m. PT. They will be contacted by phone or email and announced on Old Pasadena's Instagram and Facebook.

Dolf Al Emara and the team at Tholfaqar Al Emara pay close attention to what makes the streets around Old Pasadena work, block by block, all year long. If you'd like to talk about Pasadena with someone who follows it that closely, Let's Connect.