Sunday Gazette: August 16, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Sunday! Hello Riverside, Happy Sunday, and Happy National Tell a Joke Day! In honor of the day, here's a riddle for you: I share my name with a famous explorer, though I never sailed the ocean blue. I came to Riverside to survey land for a canal that brought water to this city, and my son turned my humble tavern into a world-famous inn. Who am I? Think you know the answer? Email us at newsroom@raincrossgazette.com and we'll reveal it tomorrow.
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HISTORY
The Lower Canal Flume Trestle
A wooden trestle once carried the Lower Canal across the Tequesquite Arroyo, until crews pulled it down in one dramatic crash in 1914.
Snaking its way through Riverside, the Tequesquite Arroyo cuts a path that separates certain portions of the city. The Victoria Avenue Bridge is one solution to this problem, allowing Victoria Avenue to cross over the ravine. The Magnolia Fill was another answer that allowed Magnolia Avenue to connect to Downtown Riverside. Another answer to the obstacle of the arroyo was building a trestle near the western end of the arroyo to extend the Lower Canal on its journey to bring water to the southern part of the city.
The early Riverside settlers brought water to their homes and fields by digging a canal that ran along the eastern edge of the mile square of Downtown Riverside and brought water to the city as early as 1871. This became known as the Upper Canal.
As Samuel C. Evans and William Sayward began to develop the area south of the original Riverside Colony, they needed a source of water. When John W. North refused permission to build a canal through the Colony property, Evans and his associates bought out the control of the Southern California Colony and combined it with their holdings and formed the Riverside Land and Irrigating Company. They could then build their canal, which became the Lower Canal.
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CREATIVE PROMPTS
To Insure Prompt Service
A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.
This week, we’re considering another small public signal of intention: the tip.
Tipping happens in all kinds of settings: restaurants, barbershops, hotels of course but digital dollars make tipping easier than ever. Under the right circumstances, just about anyone deserves a tip.
Sometimes I tip before anything has happened, like when I order food online. Sometimes I'm nudged towards a certain tip tier. If the restaurant has nice pens, I'll add another dollar to the tip and swipe the pen. It's subversive and practical at the same time.
A turn signal announces what we intend to do before we do it. The tip ritual asks us to monetize our opinion. Both involve quick decisions and other people trying to interpret our behavior. That's one functional definition of art.
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This Week in Riverside
Sunday, August 16
- Prayers and Public Information Meeting at Riverside Baha'i Center
- Gardening for Butterflies at UCR Botanic Gardens
- Dancing for Fun at Janet Goeske Center
- Sunday Experiment After Dark at Downtown Experiment
Monday, August 17
- FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
Tuesday, August 18
- Karaoke Tuesday Competition at The Hideaway
Wednesday, August 19
- Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
- Stretch & Dance Class at Janet Goeske Senior Center
- About Writing at Janet Goeske Center
- County Planning Commission Meeting at 4080 Lemon St., 1st Floor
- Foundations of Yoga Instruction at University of California, Riverside
- 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)
- Riverside Mission Belles at Victoria Presbyterian Church
Thursday, August 20
- History on the Rocks! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
- LUCKI at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Friday, August 21
- Bee Gees Fever - Tribute To Bee Gees at Fox Performing Arts Center
- Cumbiatron - The Cumbia Rave (21+) at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Saturday, August 22
- Latin Legacy Tour: MC Magic, Baby Bash & Lil' Rob at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Save the Date
- Aug 23: FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Aug 24: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Aug 26: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- Aug 28: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Aug 29: FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- Aug 29: FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- 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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