Sunday Gazette: June 8, 2025
Hello Riverside, and Happy Sunday! Our friends at Bar Ni Modo, a new-era Mexican cocktail bar inside the Farmhouse Collective, have cooked up something special for Gazette readers: free tacos! Just flash today’s newsletter during your first visit in June—valid Sunday through Thursday only. While you're there, catch a free outdoor screening of Space Jam, watch the Dodgers take on the Mets, tune in to the NBA Finals, or join Board Game Night—there’s something happening almost every night over at the Farmhouse Collective.
NEIGHBOR OF THE WEEK
Neighbor of the Week: Kim Louis
Each week, we will introduce a new neighbor. This is not a who's who list. These are regular Riversiders doing exceptional things.
When Kim retired in 2019, she started taking morning walks with her dogs—and something surprising happened. She began meeting other neighbors she hadn’t encountered during her usual evening strolls. Like many dog owners, she quickly learned the names of everyone’s pets, but not always their humans. As the months went by, an idea began to form: what if she brought together the women in her neighborhood for something simple and meaningful?
And just like that, Ladies of the Hills was born.
Kim invited a few women from each street in the hills to join her for coffee, asking them to spread the word to others on their block. What started small slowly grew, and though the pandemic briefly paused things, the group resumed in 2022 with even more momentum. Today, about 50 women are involved, and each month a different neighbor volunteers to host. The format is simple—bring your own mug, maybe bring a friend, and spend time connecting. No agenda. No pressure. Just neighbors becoming friends.
Kim is the one behind the scenes, sending the invites and supporting each hostess along the way. Under her quiet leadership, Ladies of the Hills has become more than a monthly coffee klatch. It's a circle of support. Whether celebrating life’s joyful moments or navigating its challenges, these neighbors have come to count on one another—not just as neighbors, but as true friends.
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ART & ENTERTAINMENT
Plan Ahead for a Season of Spectacle: Tickets for A CBU Christmas and 2025–26 Theatre Now Available
California Baptist University opens ticket sales earlier than ever for its popular performing arts lineup, encouraging Riverside families to secure seats now for a season of musicals, plays, and a beloved holiday tradition.
California Baptist University's School of Performing Arts has released tickets for its upcoming theatre season and A CBU Christmas earlier than ever before, responding to high demand and consecutive sold-out performances.
Driving the news: The 2025-26 season, themed "Grow Where You Are Planted," features two plays, two musicals, and the popular A CBU Christmas event.
- Performances include "Our Town," "Shrek the Musical," "Steel Magnolias," and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."
Why it matters: A CBU Christmas has become a signature event for the Inland Empire community, with both 2023 and 2024 performances selling out.
- The eighth annual presentation is expected to involve more than 500 students and faculty.
The big picture: The early announcement allows theatergoers to plan ahead and gives students something to anticipate.
- Auditions and rehearsals won't begin until September 2025.
What's next: The season kicks off with "Our Town" on October 10, 2025, and concludes with "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" in April 2026.
- A CBU Christmas performances are scheduled for December 6 and 7, 2025.
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CREATIVE PROMPTS
Stain by Me
A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.
This week, we're delving into another intriguing kind of mark: the stain. From the ghost of spilled tea on a favorite shirt to the weathered discoloration on an old garden wall, stains are often seen as imperfections, accidental blemishes. Yet, like fingerprints or ancient hieroglyphs, they are also records—testaments to past events, telling tales of what happened and when.
A stain compels us to look closer, to deduce, to infer. As humans, our brains are hardwired to seek patterns and meaning, often mistaking inanimate forms for familiar figures, like faces in clouds or eyes in tree knots. This tendency to fill in the blanks, to complete the incomplete, isn’t just a quirky evolutionary trait—it’s a powerful engine of creativity.
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This Week in Riverside
Sunday, June 8
- Talleres with La Familia Gutiérrez at The Cheech Center for Chicano Art and Culture
- Unearthing Black Histories Through Photography at UCR ARTS, Culver Center Screening Room
- Sunday Movie Matinee at La Sierra Library
Monday, June 9
- Board of Library Trustees at Riverside City Hall
- Board of Public Utilities at Riverside City Hall
- Riverside County Board of Supervisors Meeting at County Administrative Center
- Future Vets, Helping Pets! Summer Animal Kids Camp, Week 1 at Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center ($200- $240)
- Academic Boot Camps - Kinder to 5th Grade at My Learning Studio ($472- $547)
- VBS 2025 at River of Life Church
- Social Media Academy at Riverside Police Department
- Beginners Round Dance Class Two Step at Cowtown Square Dance Center (Free- $10)
Tuesday, June 10
- Riverside Magnolia Farmers Market at Riverside Magnolia Farmers Market
- Volunteer Interest Hour at Riverside Meals on Wheels, Inc
- California Joe's Adventure Magic Show at Arlanza Library
- Inland Empire Chorus Rehearsal at Temple Beth El Synagogue
- Trivia Night at Orange Terrace Library
- Tuesday Karaoke at The Hideaway
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Hidden In Pieces Tour at Fox Performing Arts Center
Wednesday, June 11
- Certified Farmers Market at 10th & Lemon Streets
- 8 Bit Canvas Painting at Marcy Library
- Family Storytime at Casa Blanca Library
- Finance Committee at Riverside City Hall
- Level Up Your Self-Care at Main Library
- Riverside Open Mic Music Series at Back to the Grind
- State Assembly Candidates Form at Mission Grove Neighborhood Alliance at Orange Terrace Community Center
- Stretch & Dance at Janet Goeske Senior Center
Thursday, June 12
- Budget Engagement Commission at Riverside City Hall
- Mobility and Infrastructure Committee at Riverside City Hall
- Education Through Imagination at Westmont Village
- Noteworthy Puppets "Sherlock Homerun" at SPC. Jesus S. Duran Eastside Library
- Pierce Street Jazz at La Sierra University
- Sensory Play: SLIME! at Arlington Library
- TFDP Culmination Celebration at University Theatre
- Drag Queen Bingo Supporting the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center at VIP Nightclub, Restaurant, and Bar ($25)
Friday, June 13
- Riverside Sunrise Rotary at Zacatecas Mexican Cafe
- Courthouse, Murals and Heroes Walking Tour at Mission Inn Foundation ($23.18)
- Fridays are Fun! at My Learning Studio ($247- $277)
- Courtyard Shakespeare Festival at California Baptist University ($10- $15)
- Depeche Mode dance party in Riverside! at The Hideaway Cafe & Lounge
- Journey USA at Fox Performing Arts Center ($20- $35)
- Open Mic & Karaoke at Euryale Brewing Company
- Reggaeton Rave - 18+ at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Saturday, June 14
- Downtown Certified Farmers Market at Main St at 5th
- Riverside People's Free Market at Fairmount Park near the Tennis Courts
- Adult Disney Day Comedy Paint Party at Back to the Grind
- Youth Writer's Camp at Bourns Family Youth Innovation Center
- Avenue Art Night at The Avenue Church
- No Kings demonstration at Market St between University Ave and Mission Inn Ave
- Bottle To Barrel - A Wine and Whiskey Tasting Experience at Woodcrest Event Center
- Concert: From Beethoven to Jazz to Jaws at Henry W. Coil Sr. and Alice Edna Coil School for the Arts
- Ebk Jaaybo: Boogieman Tour at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
- Joke & Stroke with Jaq and Jill at Back to the Grind at Back to the Grind
- Limp Bizkit & Deftones Tributes at The Concert Lounge - Romano's Mission Grove
- Jess Ray Live at 3431 Mt Vernon Ave
Save The Date
- June 27: Museum of Riverside Groundbreaking at 3580 Mission Inn Avenue
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