Wednesday Gazette: October 14, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Wednesday! Today is National Stop Bullying Day! Today is a good reminder that small acts matter: checking in on a kid who seems quieter than usual, speaking up when something doesn’t sit right, or making room at the table for someone new. If you’d like help starting the conversation at home, StopBullying.gov has resources for parents, kids and educators.
Here’s what else is happening around town:
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NATURALLY RIVERSIDE
The Flowers That Guide the Dead Home
Two orange and yellow blooms, one Mexican and one Mediterranean, light the way to Riverside's ofrendas.
Anticipation of Riverside's Day of the Dead festival evokes images of Aztec dancers and sugar skulls. Intricately decorated ofrendas fill White Park. Folks dressed as sexy, yet skeletal, catrins and catrinas stroll down Market Street past food and craft pop-ups. Let's not forget the ubiquitous orange and yellow flowers that are the glue that ties the celebration together.
While many flower species may be used for decoration, the vast majority of Dia de los Muertos flowers belong to two species that account for the orange and yellow froth around ofrendas and other shrines. The traditional flower is commonly known as marigold in English or cempasuchil in Spanish (derived from cempohualxochitl in the still extant Aztec language, Nahuatl). It also goes by "American marigold," "Aztec marigold" or "African marigold." The scientific name is Tagetes erecta. This plant is the OG Mexican decoration dating from pre-Columbian times. The bright orange and yellow colors act to guide spirits from the Land of the Dead to their family's ofrenda.
Each of its names tells a story. Cempohualxochitl means "the flower of twenty petals." Twenty was the sacred number of the Aztecs. Indeed, the Aztec counting system is base twenty.
If you look closely at a marigold "flower," you will see that the individual "petals" are actually florets. That means that the "flower" is actually an inflorescence (or flowerhead) of tiny flowers. That arrangement is typical of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), the largest of all plant families, including dozens of well-known species, from daisies, black-eyed Susans and chrysanthemums to dandelions and artichokes.
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SPORTS
Arlington Girls Flag Football Is Paving the Way
In his second season, coach Michael Zaremba has the Lions off to their best start in program history. Now the team just needs someone in the stands.
Michael Zaremba would never have applied for the opening at Arlington High School to coach the girls flag football team if it weren't for his daughters begging him to apply.
The only reason he applied was to have the opportunity to tell his daughters that he tried.
Zaremba became the third coach in the program's history, hired for the long run with the administration hoping he could grow the program.
"I would have never thought that they would hire me, being an outsider," he said.
Since taking over the Lions' flag football program, a sport that has only been CIF-sanctioned and a part of the athletic department at Arlington High School for four years, Zaremba has established a foundation.
During his first year as coach of the junior varsity and varsity teams, he didn't have to make any cuts during the tryouts and finished with six wins in 19 games.
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Noteworthy
The Police Department received $461,000 in grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety to fund DUI checkpoints, distracted-driving patrols, free motorcycle rider training and free child safety seats for families in need through September 2027.
La Sierra University freshmen launched their college journey with a Parent Blessing service, followed the next day by a Hello Walk lined with cheering, high-fiving faculty and staff.
No. 1 RCC football improved to 6-0 with a 52-28 rout of No. 13 Chaffey College, powered by Christopher Cooper’s 380 passing yards, and hosts Southwestern College for homecoming Oct. 17 at Wheelock Stadium.
What's Happening in Riverside
Today
- Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
- Stretch & Dance Class at Janet Goeske Senior Center
- FREE Reading Assistance Program (RAP) at My Learning Studio
- Adult Ballet Class at Riverside Ballet Arts LLC
- 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)
- Men's Soccer vs CSUN at UCR Soccer Stadium
- Riverside Jams at Carbon Nation Brewery
- Riverside Mission Belles at Victoria Presbyterian Church ($25)
Tomorrow
- Family Storytime at Lincoln Park
- History on the Rocks! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
Save the Date
- Oct 16: FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 16: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Oct 17: 14th Annual Good Neighbor Awards Dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory ($35)
- Oct 17: Dark Carnival at Heritage House
- Oct 17: FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 17: FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 17: Knights of Columbus Annual Italian Dinner! at St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church ($20- $35)
- Oct 17: Spooky Music Organ Concert at First Congregational Church of Riverside ($30.00)
- Oct 19: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 21: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varnerat All Saints Episcopal Church
- Oct 22: Experience RUSD, Riverside Unified State of the District at Riverside Municipal Airport
- Oct 24: Magic Underground at Back to the Grind ($30- $45)
- Oct 24: Skeleton Keys at First United Methodist Church of Riverside
- Oct 24: Vintage Car and Warbird Show at Riverside Airport - Commemorative Air Force Hanger and Museum
- Oct 25: A Glorious Celebration of America at 250 at Calvary Presbyterian Church ($15- $25)
- Nov 5: Les Miserables at Woodcrest Christian School ($15- $20)
- Nov 7: Art in the Gardens at UCR Botanic Gardens
- Nov 14: Riverside Veterans Parade - Downtown Riverside/Market St.
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