🍊 Sunday Gazette: February 16, 2025

Sunday Gazette: February 16, 2025

Hello Riverside, and Happy Sunday!

Today is the NBA All-Star Game. Big sporting events like this always have me wondering: If Riverside had its own NBA or WNBA team, what do you think it should be called? Tap reply and share your idea with us, and we'll share some of our favorite responses later this week!

HISTORY

Greet ‘Em with Oranges: Riverside’s Bold Welcome to the West

In the 1920s, the Riverside Chamber of Commerce turned a simple citrus gift into a nationwide sensation, greeting train passengers with fresh oranges, music, and grand spectacle.

In the 1920s, the Riverside Chamber of Commerce launched a bold promotional campaign to put the city—and its prized oranges—on the map. The “Greet ‘Em with Oranges” initiative welcomed train passengers arriving from the frigid East with fresh citrus, scenic postcards, and lively entertainment. Young women in Spanish costumes handed out fruit, bands played stirring music, and a grand archway adorned the station, declaring Riverside as “The City Beautiful.” The campaign’s success drew national attention, turning a simple gesture of hospitality into a marketing triumph that lasted for years.

Step Back in Time: Discover Riverside’s Legendary Orange Welcome...

NEIGHBOR OF THE WEEK

Neighbor of the Week: Lisa Henry

Each week, we will introduce a new neighbor. This is not a who's who list. These are regular Riversiders doing exceptional things.

Lisa Henry has been a champion of Riverside’s arts community since 2010, curating spaces where diverse stories come to life. As the Curator at the Riverside Art Museum, she brings a keen eye for photography and contemporary American art, shaped by years of experience with institutions across the country. From her work with Inlandia to her past leadership at ArtWorks Gallery, Lisa’s dedication to culture and community shines through in every project she touches.

Get to know Lisa...

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CREATIVE PROMPTS

Teabag Jag

A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.

Can you believe it's already mid-February? I know me too! Recognizing how fast time flies, this week's creative nudge is a tea bag. Few rituals invite moments of reflection into your day like a cup of tea. I'm a committed coffee drinker, and its go-go-go attitude is something I literally wake up in the morning for. But it's tea for me when I just want to let it be. 

My hope is that the attitudes and sensibilities around tea will seep their way into any creative activities you choose to try today. I know people who brew tea bags twice before disposal. I'm not that committed to the cause, but choosing used tea adds one more reuse to the tea bag's life cycle…and perhaps yours too.

Okay, it's time for your tea break! Remnants of your daily brew, "exotic" ones you stole from that hotel, or even those forgotten tea bags tucked away in the back of your cupboard that taste gross anyway… let's use them all to create a few minutes of space to catch up with our creative selves.

Read or share the complete story...

COMICS

Citrus Belle #10: Flourishing Fancy February

Part 10 of Mangaka Sebraé Harris' Citrus Bellé comic series.

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This Week in Riverside

Sunday, February 16

• Cars & Coffee at The Historic Riverside Auto Center
• Weekend Tours: Lost in the Wilderness: Ansel Adams in the 1960s at California Museum of Photography
• Anora at Culver Center of the Arts
• Baseball vs. Utah Valley at Riverside Sports Complex
• Solekt Sundays at Killer Queens Social House

Tuesday, February 18

• Volunteer Interest Hour at Riverside Meals on Wheels, Inc
• UCR ScotSurplus Public Sale at UCR Corporation Yard
• Inland Empire Chorus Rehearsal at Temple Beth El Synagogue
• Free Virtual Screening: Ruby Bridges at University of California, Riverside
• Still I Rise Meta Horizon Tour at Civil Rights Institute (Virtual)
• PAW Patrol Live! "Heroes Unite" at Fox Performing Arts Center ($29 - $179)
• Tuesday Karaoke at The Hideaway

Wednesday, February 19

• Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
• Certified Farmers Market at 10th & Lemon Streets
• Cultural Heritage Board at Riverside City Hall
• Safety, Wellness, and Youth Committee at Riverside City Hall
• Ward 1 Means Business Town Hall at Riverside Game Lab
• Galentine's Day - Women's Health Event at Janet Goeske Center
• One Piece- Trading Card Game at Euryale Brewing Company
• Paint n Sip Party at Retro on Main

Thursday, February 20

• Commission on Disabilities at Riverside City Hall
• Economic Development Committee at Riverside City Hall
• Local History Presentation: History of the Wood Streets Neighborhood at Main Library
• Poesía Peligrosa 2025 at The Stable (at The Barn)
• Apartness: A Memoir in Essays and Poems at Civil Rights Institute Inland Southern California
• Inlandia Institute Book Launch at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
• Teen Night at the Eastside Library at SPC Jesus S. Duran Eastside Library
• Long Beach State at UC Riverside Highlanders Mens Basketball at SRC Arena

Friday, February 21

• Riverside Sunrise Rotary at Zacatecas Mexican Cafe
• The Book of Will at The Wallace Theatre at California Baptist University ($9 - $14)
• The Riverside Dickens Festival 2025 at White Park (Free - $45)
• RoboCop at Culver Center of the Arts
• this is how you fall in love - ft. Jeremy Zucker at University of California, Riverside
• Destroy Lonely: FOREVER TOUR at Riverside Municipal Auditorium ($45)

Saturday, February 22

• Downtown Certified Farmers Market at Main Street at 5th
• Museum of Riverside - Guided Nature Walk at Ryan Bonaminio Park
• Yoga at Euryale Brewing Company
• Cars and Coffee at Harvest Church
• Parents Night Out/Kids Pizza Party at EDJ School of Jiu-Jitsu Riverside
• Women's Basketball vs. Cal Poly at SRC Arena
• Cal Poly Mustangs at UC Riverside Highlanders Womens Basketball at SRC Arena
• Grand Canyon Lopes at CBU Lancers Womens Basketball at Fowler Events Center
• Riverside Electric Light Parade Monthly Ride Experience at 4050 Main Street
• 3rd Comedy for Palestine - Fundraiser Comedy Show at Back To The Grind
• Gimme Gimme Disco at Riverside Municipal Auditorium ($20)
• Showtunes and More Organ Concert at First Congregational Church ($15 - $30)
• World Ballet Company: The Great Gatsby at Riverside Live

Save The Date

• February 23: Riverside Edition Monopoly Challenge at California Citrus State Historic Park ($30 - $145)
• February 28: Booker T. Washington - Frank A. Miller Tablet Dedication at Mt. Rubidoux Summit
• February 28: DOT by Colman Domingo at The Box Riverside ($22 - $25)
• March 1: An Evening at the Fox at Fox Performing Arts Center
• March 7: Pardi Gras Pub Crawl 2025 at Loft 84 Wedding & Event Center ($35)

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