Sunday Gazette: September 13, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Sunday! This week's riddle is about the one holding the pencil, not the park itself.
Our father designed the most famous park in America, a green rectangle carved out of Manhattan that gave city dwellers their first real breath of open space. He died before the new century turned, but we carried on the family trade under his name. In 1911, a young California city hired us to lay out its own urban oasis at the edge of town — lakes, shade trees, and all. We never touched that famous rectangle in New York ourselves, but everyone still assumes we did.
Who are we, and what's the Riverside park we're known for here?
Send your guesses to newsroom@raincrossgazette.com — we'll share the answer tomorrow morning.
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FROM THE KITCHEN GARDEN
September, The Garden Reset
Tips on what to plant, when to pick, and what to watch out for in your home garden.
September has arrived, but here in Riverside, it certainly doesn't feel like fall yet. We've had stretches of 101°F and even 107°F, along with humidity that makes stepping outside feel like walking into an oven. The plants are feeling it too. Heat-stressed plants require more water, struggle to recover from damage, and can become much more attractive to pests like aphids, spider mites and leaf-footed bugs.
So, for me, September is a garden reset. I'm taking out spent plants, repairing broken irrigation, refreshing my garden boxes and getting everything ready for the season ahead. I'm not necessarily tearing out every healthy plant or rushing to fill every empty space. With temperatures still so high, I'm letting the weather, not the calendar, tell me when it's time to really get my fall garden planted.
But here's the part I really want every Riverside gardener to hear: don't skip the fall garden. Fall is my favorite season to grow, and I think it is one of the biggest gardening opportunities we have here in Riverside. For years, I didn't understand this. I was a serious gardener for about 15 years before I discovered just how incredible our fall growing season could be. Once I did, I was hooked.
Read and share the complete September Garden Guide...
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CREATIVE PROMPTS
Chances Are
A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.
This week, open the utensil drawer and listen for our next creative nudge clinking around the cutlery drawer: the butter knife.
As the resident cook and dishwasher in my house, I have learned that butter knives need extra care. Mine emerge from the dishwasher clean enough for most reasonable people, but rarely sparkling and spotless. I am apparently not most reasonable people. If I want them cleaned to my standard, I must wash them by hand.
This is a tactile reminder that machines are very good at many things, and the list of those things grows every day. Dishwashers wash dishes. Chatbots help write creative nonfiction. Both allegedly save me time; both regularly leave behind something that requires another look.
The butter knife itself offers a gentler version of the technological innovations shaping the world today. I like the implied safety of putting “butter” before “knife.” Knives are dangerous. But no action hero has ever reached dramatically for the butter knife to avert disaster. Perhaps you will be the creative genius to write that blockbuster, and pitch Brandon’s Diner to sign on as executive producer.
Read and share the complete prompt...
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This Week in Riverside
Sunday, September 13
- Welcome Back Party! at First Congregational Church of Riverside
- Prayers and Public Information Meeting at Riverside Baha'i Center
- Sunday Experiment After Dark at Downtown Experiment
Monday, September 14
- Interfaith Prayer Meeting at Riverside Baha'i Center
- FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Land Use Committee at Riverside City Hall
Tuesday, September 15
- County Board of Supervisors Meeting at 4080 Lemon Street, 1st Floor
- FREE YOGA - Mandala Yoga with Alejandro at Community Yoga Center
- Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training Course at Riverside City EOC
- Karaoke Tuesday Competition at The Hideaway
- Music Workshop from Colombia Pacific Coast at Riverside Art Museum
- ScotSurplus Sale at ScotSurplus Store
Wednesday, September 16
- About Writing at Janet Goeske Center
- Stretch & Dance Class at Janet Goeske Senior Center
- FREE Beginning Square Dance Lessons with Line Dancing at Cowtown Square Dance Center
- 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)
- National Play-Doh Day at the Marcy Library at Marcy Library
- Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
- Riverside Jams at Carbon Nation Brewery
- Riverside Mission Belles at Victoria Presbyterian Church ($25)
Thursday, September 17
- 2026 Turfgrass and Landscape Research Field Day at Agricultural Operations
- Constitution Day at University of California, Riverside
- Faith Chat with Mother Kelli Grace Kurtz at Online via Zoom
- Family Storytime at Lincoln Park
- History on the Rocks! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
- Men's Soccer vs UC Irvine at UCR Soccer Stadium
- Women's Soccer vs. Northern Colorado at UCR Soccer Stadium
Friday, September 18
- Open Mic Night at Riverside Baha'i Center
- FOOS GONE WILD: The FOOS GONE WILD Tour 2026 at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
- Gasolina Reggaetón Party (18+) at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
- Murder Mystery Co. Dinner Theater Show at The Old Spaghetti Factory ($69)
Saturday, September 19
- Water Smarts 101 at Western Municipal Water District
- Pirates of the Caribbean Movie and Craft at Marcy Library
- The Zonta Club of Riverside presents Join me for a Cup of Coffee or Tea at The Care Office
- Adrián Uribe: 50 y Pico Tour at Fox Performing Arts Center
- Fold, Spindle, Mutilate at UCR ARTS
- Its A 2000's Party (18+) at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Save the Date
- Sep 20: FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 21: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 23: FREE Beginning Square Dance Lessons with Line Dancing at Cowtown Square Dance Center
- Sep 23: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- Sep 25: Moon Festival at Heritage House
- Sep 25: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Sep 26: FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- Sep 26: FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 3: Aquamotion Aquathon at Shamel Pool
- Oct 7: Fifty & Better Health Fair at Janet Goeske Center
- Nov 14: Riverside Veterans Parade - Downtown Riverside/Market St.
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