April is a full breath. The weather turns generous, the days stretch out, and Riverside answers with a calendar that earns it — art exhibitions that ask hard questions about identity and place, performances that fill rooms with something real, a tamale festival at a beloved park, a citywide cleanup that puts neighbors to work together, and a lit-up bike ride through the streets at golden hour. This city knows how to show up for itself. Check our community calendar for even more ways to get out and get involved.
Event details can shift and change. We recommend checking with each venue and organization directly for the most current information before attending.
Arts & Culture
Apr. 2 — Our Empire – Opening Reception
- 6:00–9:00 p.m., The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, 3581 Mission Inn Ave.
- Free
- The Inland Empire doesn't always get to tell its own story — this exhibition changes that. Two artists raised in Redlands, James McClung and Marcus Mercado, turn their lenses on the region's parking lots, storefronts, desert edges, and everyday corners, finding beauty and meaning in the places most people drive past without looking. Their contrasting styles create a genuine dialogue, and the result is something that feels like a reclamation — the I.E. seen with care and pride. Come out for the opening reception and catch it before the crowds.
Through Apr. 12 — 60 Miles East: Riverside's Underground Punk Rock, Hardcore & Ska Scene
- Riverside Art Museum, 3425 Mission Inn Ave.
- Closing soon — don't miss it
- Before Riverside was connected to everything, it was at the outermost edge of suburban sprawl — and that geographic isolation helped spark one of the most vital underground music scenes in Southern California. This exhibition celebrates the punk, ska, and hardcore culture that erupted here from the late '80s through the early 2000s. If you came up in that era, this one is yours. If you didn't, it's a window into a Riverside most people never knew existed. Closes April 12 — last call.
Apr. 26 — Out in the I.E. Poetry Night
- 4:00–7:30 p.m., Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California, 3933 Mission Inn Ave., Ste. 102
- Tickets via Eventbrite
- April is National Poetry Month, and CRIISC is marking it with an evening of poetry in collaboration with the IE LGBTQ+ Center. Out in the I.E. Poetry Night is a celebration of queer voices and stories rooted right here in the region. Come to listen, come to read, come to feel less alone in a room full of people who get it.
Apr. 2 — Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture: Jamelle Bouie
- 6:00–7:30 p.m., University Theatre, 900 University Ave.
- Free
- New York Times columnist and CBS Face the Nation contributor Jamelle Bouie brings his sharp political analysis to UCR's University Theatre for the 2026 Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture. A Hillman Prize winner and member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Bouie is one of the most incisive voices writing about American politics, race, and history today. This is a rare opportunity to hear that perspective live and for free, right here in Riverside.
Apr. 5 (Easter Sunday) — Easter Celebration at First Congregational Church
- 10:00–11:00 a.m., First Congregational Church of Riverside, 3504 Mission Inn Ave.
- Free
- First Congregational Church of Riverside opens its doors for an Easter Sunday celebration. All are welcome.
Apr. 5 (Easter Sunday) — Easter at Hangar 24
- 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, Riverside
- Egg hunt all day
- Hangar 24 Riverside is open Easter Sunday with a family-friendly egg hunt running the full day. Bring the kids, grab a pint, and start the holiday off right.
Apr. 8 — Becoming Neighbors: A Community Conversation on Resettlement and Belonging
- 6:00–8:00 p.m., Cellar Door Bookstore, 473 E. Alessandro Blvd., Ste. B
- Free | Registration required
- Cellar Door Bookstore hosts a panel conversation bringing together community members and representatives from the Human Migration Institute to explore the universal experiences that shape refugee lives — leaving, rebuilding, and belonging. Using Chantha Nguon's memoir Slow Noodles as a touchstone, the discussion widens to the shared human questions that emerge across many journeys. What does it mean to resettle, to form community, to become a neighbor? Register in advance via the link above.
Apr. 9 — Movie Bingo: Demon Slaying K-Pop Edition
- 6:00–8:00 p.m., Thompson Brewing Co., 9900 Indiana Ave., Unit 7
- $23.18 | All ages
- K-pop, bingo, prizes, and sweet treats — Thompson Brewing Co. hosts an all-ages movie bingo night with a very specific and very fun energy. Games and goodies included in the ticket price.
Apr. 18 — Walk with the Animals
- 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., Fairmount Park, 2601 Fairmount Blvd.
- $20–$40 (prices increase closer to the event — register early)
- For more than 30 years, the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center's Walk with the Animals has been the region's signature pet-friendly fundraiser. This year's event returns to Fairmount Park with the signature walk, a pancake breakfast, vendor village, pet contests, and a kids zone. Bring your dog, bring your family, bring your love for animals who are still waiting for their second chance. Presented by DCH Subaru of Riverside.
Apr. 25 — 2026 Greatest American Cleanup
- 9:00–11:30 a.m. citywide; Lunch & celebration 10:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, 3985 University Ave.
- Free
- The biggest community cleanup of the year sends volunteers across Riverside to tidy up their assigned corner of the city. No central staging — you'll receive your team assignment and meeting location by email a few days before the event. Bring closed-toe shoes, sun protection, a reusable water bottle, and a good attitude. Event t-shirts provided. After the work is done, everyone comes together at the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce for lunch and a community celebration. Register via the link above.
Apr. 25 — Riverside Light Parade
- Meet at 5:30 p.m., roll at sunset
- Free
- The last Saturday of every month, a free, family-friendly group bike ride winds through Riverside's streets at sunset — and in April, that means a golden hour departure with the days finally getting long again. This is a non-competitive ride for everyday people who want to see the city on two wheels. Many riders deck out their bikes with lights for the occasion. The group has coordinated with local law enforcement to ride safely and legally. All ages, all bikes, no experience required.
Festivals
Apr. 11 — Riverside Art Market – 11th Annual
- 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., White Park, Downtown Riverside
- Free admission
- One hundred artists and artisans fill White Park for the Riverside Art Alliance's annual outdoor market — and it goes well beyond browsing. Kids get face painting, rock painting, wood ornament decorating, and sidewalk chalk in the Children's Pavilion. Entertainment runs all day, including classical guitarist Dr. Ricardo Reyes Paz performing Mexican folk ballads, Ballet Folklorico, Stokoe Elementary and Promenade Choir, and more. Local artists demonstrate their craft in real time. There's a silent auction, a beer and wine garden featuring Euryale Brewing Company, and food vendors covering all the cravings. This one's a fundraiser for Riverside Art Museum classes and programming, so your attendance genuinely counts for something.
Apr. 18 — 13th Annual Riverside Tamale Festival
- 11:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m., White Park, Downtown Riverside
- Info at rivtamalefest.com
- Thirteen years in and the Tamale Festival at White Park remains one of the best days Riverside puts on the calendar. Tamales in every style, live entertainment, and a full afternoon in one of Downtown's best outdoor spaces. Mark it.
Apr. 25 — Festival at Fairmount: Riverside Concert Band's 150th Anniversary
- 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Fairmount Park
- Free
- The Riverside Concert Band marks 150 years with an afternoon celebration at Fairmount Park. That's a century and a half of music in this city — worth showing up for.
Apr. 25 — Riverside Insect Fair
- 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Riverside Main Library
- Free
- Bugs, beetles, and everything in between. The Riverside Main Library hosts this annual celebration of our six- (and eight-) legged neighbors. Great for curious kids and the adults who secretly are too.
Make Something
Apr. 18 — Layers of Me: Painting Our Truths
- 1:00–4:00 p.m., Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California, 3933 Mission Inn Ave., Ste. 102
- Tickets via Eventbrite
- CRIISC, the Riverside Community Arts Association, and artist Perry Picasshoe come together for a hands-on self-portrait workshop that pushes back against conventional ideas of representation and identity. You'll leave with something you made and something worth thinking about.
Apr. 2, 3, 4 (7 p.m.) & Apr. 4, 5 (2 p.m.) — Legally Blonde – Landis Performing Arts Center
- Landis Performing Arts Center
- Tickets and info at performanceriverside.org
- Elle Woods takes the stage — the musical adaptation of the beloved film brings big energy, big hair, and a genuinely uplifting story to the Landis Performing Arts Center for a full weekend run. Worth every sequin.
Apr. 4 — Johnny Ruiz & The Escapers / Sindicato ft. Los Yesterday's Rhythm Section
- Farm House Collective, Riverside
- Tickets via Eventim
- Penrose Records brings a double bill of local flavor to Farm House Collective to kick off the month. Johnny Ruiz & The Escapers share the stage with Sindicato featuring Los Yesterday's Rhythm Section — a night of live music with deep Riverside roots.
Apr. 11 — QUAL + DJ Fn1
- Farm House Collective, Riverside
- All ages | Tickets via Eventim
- William Maybelline's solo project QUAL brings his dark, industrial-influenced synth-electro sound to Farm House — heavier and more atmospheric than Lebanon Hanover, with a post-apocalyptic edge that's genuinely its own thing. DJ Fn1 opens, with special guests. Come for the bass, stay for whatever this turns into.
Apr. 16 (7 p.m.), Apr. 17–18 (7:30 p.m.), Apr. 19 (2 p.m.) — Full Circle Players Present: The Life of Galileo
- The Box, Riverside
- Info and tickets at fullcircleplayers.com
- Full Circle Players bring Brecht's landmark play to the stage — a story about science, conviction, power, and compromise that feels as urgent as ever. Four performances across the weekend; Sunday matinee for those who like their theater early.
Apr. 18 — ULTRA SUNN + Special Guests
- Farm House Collective, Riverside
- All ages (21+ to drink) | Tickets via Eventim
- Dark synth, cold-wave, and pulsing club rhythms — ULTRA SUNN brings a neon-lit night to Farm House Collective with driving basslines and icy, danceable energy. Come early, dress dark, and stay late.
Apr. 23 — Nights with the Museum: Riverside's Butterflies – A Natural History with Ian Wright
- 6:30 p.m., Riverside Main Library Community Room, 3900 Mission Inn Ave.
- Free
- The Riverside Main Library's Nights with the Museum series brings naturalist Ian Wright to the Community Room for an evening on Riverside's butterflies. Wright is a beloved local figure whose decades of field work in the region have made him something of a living encyclopedia of our native species. A lovely mid-week pause for the naturally curious.
Every Saturday in April — Route 30 After Dark
- 8:00 p.m., Route 30 Brewing
- Free
- Every Saturday night in April, Route 30 Brewing puts local musicians on stage — and if you haven't been paying attention to the talent coming out of Riverside lately, this is your wake-up call. This month features Stereo Grim and D.A.M.N., among others. Craft beers and good food.
