Kevin Bronson on June 9th, 2017

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The inaugural Arroyo Seco Weekend comes with marquee headliners, a bucolic setting and top-shelf cuisine and libations.

Oh, and a library. Actually, several libraries — little ones, the “take one, leave one” dispensaries you find on some street corners.

They are among the touches that will make the inaugural festival, June 24-25 adjacent to the Rose Bowl, distinctly Pasadena. So besides headliners Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and Mumford & Sons and stellar second-liners like Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Weezer and the Shins, Arroyo Seco Weekend will have book drops (sponsored by stellar Pasadena outlet Vroman’s), a menu that plays right into Southern California’s foodie culture (you can pre-order picnic baskets), locally curated art installations and even children’s activities orchestrated by the nearby Kidspace Children’s Museum (kids 10 and younger get into the festival free, by the way).

It’s all about balancing festival promoter Goldenvoice’s incursion into the wealthy enclave with the culture of Pasadena, festival director Nic Adler explained at a press preview of site on Thursday. Yes, the proverbial “little old lady from Pasadena” weighed heavily in how this festival will feel.

“They care about their culture here,” Adler said. “This is not a festival where crowds of people will be running from one stage to another. … This is where you’ll bring a blanket, sit down with your family and friends and kids, maybe explore a little and enjoy the music.”

One prevalent misconception about Arroyo Seco Weekend is that it’s inside the Rose Bowl. It’s not. The three stages (two outdoors and one in a tent) are situated on the back 9 of Brookside Golf Course No. 1. Golfers will recognize the location of the main Oak Stage as the gnarly, bunker-guarded dogleg on hole No. 16. To the north, the Sycamore Stage sits at the end of Hole No. 15. The Willow Tent will be just south of the channel, on the 18th fairway.

The green expanse was part of the lure. Adler remembers attending a UCLA homecoming game with Goldenvoice honcho Paul Tollett (who booked Arroyo Seco’s music) and the two deciding that “this would be the perfect place for a festival.

“It didn’t start with the idea that we have this group of bands, let’s find a place to do it,” Adler said. “The site drove it.”

The “discovery element” of the festival may rest more in the food than the music, said Adler, who curates the menu at Goldenvoice’s premier event, Coachella: “The food was low-hanging fruit. … We’ve tried to source the best restaurants in Southern California.”

Goldenvoice has a 10-year contract with Pasadena for the festival, and attendance for the first year is expected to be about 30,000.

“Everyone is behind it in this neighborhood,” Adler said of the overall vibe, “and we have to do right by them.”

||| Tickets: Weekend GA passes are $225. Picnic baskets are extra.

||| Also: Set times have just been announced: