Sunday Gazette: August 23, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Sunday! Last week's riddle got such a great response, we're doing it again. A hundred years ago this month, thousands of Riversiders crowded onto a bridge near Mount Rubidoux, many expecting to see a disaster. A local pilot, known by a nickname that stuck for good, was about to fly his plane through a bridge opening barely taller than his own aircraft.
Who was he, and what did Riverside come to call him? Send us your guesses, we'll share the answer tomorrow morning.
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COMMUNITY
Homegrown: How Two Riverside Plant Lovers Built Plant Bingo
What began as informal plant-shopping visits in a Riverside apartment has grown into a regional game-night business with DJing, prizes and a loyal following.
Plant Bingo is homegrown in the truest sense — it started in the living room of founders Donovan Moreno and Genevieve Aleman, who once invited people into their apartment to shop for houseplants one at a time.
Moreno and Aleman said Plant Bingo started as informal plant-shopping appointments out of their Riverside apartment after the couple had a baby last year and were looking for extra income.
Word of mouth grew — "I've been to your house," one recent Plant Bingo attendee told them — and the pair began hosting small groups at local businesses instead of one-on-one visits.
The pair started the first Plant Bingo event last September with about 20 people at a cafe where Aleman was working — and it has run regularly since.
What started as one-on-one plant-shopping appointments has grown into a recurring game night that combines plant care lessons with prizes, live DJ sets and, organizers and attendees say, a rare space for strangers to make friends.
People can buy tickets through Greenprint Collective's website, with many events including a meal. Attendees show up, eat and socialize before the game begins. Organizers then run 20 rounds of bingo, starting slow and picking up speed — with prizes ranging from a small succulent to a mini rubber tree.
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COMMUNITY
Riverside Art Museum Names Vivian Zavataro as Executive Director
Zavataro will start Oct. 1, joining RAM from the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University.
The Riverside Art Museum has named Vivian Zavataro as its next executive director, the museum announced Friday. Zavataro will begin the role Oct. 1.
Zavataro comes to Riverside from the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University, where she has served as executive and creative director, overseeing the museum's strategic, operational and creative direction. RAM said her appointment comes as the museum has expanded its exhibitions, education programs and national profile, including through its role as home to The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture.
"The Riverside Art Museum has grown from a beloved community museum into a dynamic cultural institution with an international presence," Patricia Reynolds, president of RAM's Board of Trustees, said in a statement. "Through our historic Julia Morgan building and The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture, we create opportunities for people to experience, learn from, and celebrate art that reflects the diverse stories and voices of our community."
Reynolds said Zavataro's combination of institutional leadership, curatorial experience and community engagement work makes her well suited to guide RAM's next chapter.
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CREATIVE PROMPTS
The Big Reveal
A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.
This week’s creative nudge is a literal curtain call.
The curtain gets my vote for least secure boundary in a room. It has no lock, no latch, and no instruction manual. Simply drawing a curtain signals that a space has changed. That understanding requires cooperation. Anyone can push a curtain aside. We usually don’t because curtains depend on our respect for the performance.
A closed curtain says, “Whatever is happening back here is not currently part of your business,” and most of us agree. Curtains offer visual privacy while remaining remarkably unconcerned about sound, smell, temperature and conversation. We can’t see what is happening behind a curtain, but engaging all your senses, and a little imagination, can tell you everything you need to know.
I regularly attend performances at the Landis Performing Arts Center on the Riverside City College campus, and I love the moment when the curtain retracts and unveils the vividly designed set for the first time. The props and performers were there all along (perhaps forever!?!); the curtain gives us a before and an after. When it opens, something must happen.
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This Week in Riverside
Sunday, August 23
- Prayers and Public Information Meeting at Riverside Baha'i Center
- PIZZA and ICE CREAM SOCIAL 2026 at TEMPLE BETH EL RIVERSIDE
- FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Sunday Experiment After Dark at Downtown Experiment
Monday, August 24
- Volunteer Interest Hour at Riverside Meals on Wheels
- Board of Public Utilities at Riverside City Hall
- Goeske Bingo at Janet Goeske Center ($20- $100)
- FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Sip with a Scientist at Killer Queens Social House
Tuesday, August 25
- MSRPAC's Monthly Community Cat Spay/Neuter Day at Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center's Spay-Neuter Clinic ($45)
- City Council at Riverside City Hall
- Karaoke Tuesday Competition at the Hideaway at The Hideaway
Wednesday, August 26
- Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
- Stretch & Dance Class at Janet Goeske Senior Center
- Community Police Review Commission at Riverside City Hall
- FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- History on the Rocks - Round Two! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
Thursday, August 27
- Human Relations Commission at Riverside City Hall
- History on the Rocks! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
- Past, Present, and Future: Bridging Memory and Modernity at the Museum at Riverside Main Library
- Sight Unseen Reframed Exhibition Opening at Civil Rights Institute Inland Southern California
- Women's Soccer vs. Utah Tech at UCR Soccer Stadium
- Linea Personal: TODO Ø NADA at Fox Performing Arts Center
Friday, August 28
- Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Paint Your Pet at Hangar 24 Brewing: Sip, Paint & Support Shelter Pets at Hangar 24 Brewing ($55)
- ANTESDE QUE NOS OLVIDEN EN RIVERSIDE at Fox Performing Arts Center
- Courthouse, Murals and Heroes Walking Tour at Mission Inn Foundation ($23.18)
- Happy Hour Karaoke at Hideaway
- La Luz at Farm House Collective
Saturday, August 29
- Little LandUse Learners Spring/Summer Programming at LandUse Learning Center
- Mt. Rubidoux Walking Tour at Mt. Rubidoux Trailhead, a short walk from Ryan Bonaminio Park. ($21.20)
- ScotSurplus Sale at Corporation Yard
- FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Low-Cost Vaccination Clinic at Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center's Spay-Neuter Clinic ($10- $28)
- Teo Gonzalez and Mario Aguilar: 90 vs 60 La Comedia Perfecta at Fox Performing Arts Center
- Amor Prohibido - Tribute to Selena at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Save the Date
- Aug 31: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 2: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- Sep 3: Orange Street Mural Unveiling at Main Museum Pedestrian Walkway (Orange Street)
- Sep 9: FREE Beginning Square Dance Lessons with Line Dancing at Cowtown Square Dance Center
- Sep 18: Open Mic Night at Riverside Baha'i Center
- Oct 3: Aquamotion Aquathon at Shamel Pool
- Oct 7: Fifty & Better Health Fair at Janet Goeske Center
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