🍊 Sunday Gazette: March 23, 2025

Sunday Gazette: March 23, 2025

Hello Riverside, and Happy Sunday.

This warm spring morning is a lovely start to National Tamale Day, which seems like the perfect time to encourage you to grab tickets to next month's Tamale Festival in White Park; all of the proceeds from the event support the Spanish Town Heritage Foundation's work to preserve and restore the Trujillo Adobe.

BUSINESS

Riverside's Farm House Collective Breathes New Life into Historic Motel

Bailey family preserves mid-century landmark, creates vibrant hub for food vendors, retail and live music.

The Farm House Motel on University Avenue has been reborn as the Farm House Collective, featuring food vendors, retail spaces, and live music. The Bailey family restored the mid-century motor court, preserving a piece of Riverside's history.

Driving the news: The Collective's grand opening is set for March 29, 2025, featuring a free show by Allah-Lahs, which is already sold out. Even if you don't have tickets, the Collective will still be open for visitors to explore!

• The venue's diverse concert schedule aims to make it a regional destination.

Why it matters: The project breathes new life into a stretch of University Avenue, showcasing postwar American tourism architecture.

• It's seen as both a family business and a passion project for the Baileys.

The big picture: The Farm House Collective offers a mix of food, retail, and entertainment options:

• Food vendors include Ga-Tang, Blue Bowl, Batter Rebellion, and Bricks and Birch.
• Retail spaces feature Rat City vinyl store, Eco Now sustainable products, and Rooted in Love plant shop.

What's next: Upcoming events include performances by WAND, Elijah Fox, and Souls of Mischief. 

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NEIGHBOR OF THE WEEK

Neighbor of the Week: Brenda Lussier

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

When Brenda and her family moved to Riverside in 2004, it was for a job opportunity that brought them to this vibrant community. After retiring, Brenda began volunteering with BAT (Banquets at Trinity), a food program at Trinity Lutheran Church serving unhoused individuals, seniors, and families in need.

Her passion for this work is deeply personal. As a teenager, Brenda and her family experienced homelessness for several years. That experience shaped her desire to help others facing similar challenges and to offer the same kindness and support her neighbors once gave her.

A few years after joining BAT, Brenda was asked to co-manage the program. In 2021, she helped expand outreach by launching Shower of Hope, which provides showers and connections to vital resources. Through partnerships with local agencies, they now assist with obtaining ID cards, securing housing, and offering additional meals — creating a lifeline for those in need. Brenda’s mission is simple: to show love, dignity, and care to every neighbor she serves.

Get to know Brenda...

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CREATIVE PROMPTS

Puddle for One

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

This week, we're shifting our focus to a more fluid and reflective subject: a puddle. Puddles tell us it's rained or that we have a leaky pipe. By just being themselves, they can ruin an outfit. Want to tell a movie audience that your protagonist is in trouble? Just have them step in a puddle; the deeper, the better!

Puddles reflect the world in distorted, ephemeral ways. Their literal from the ground up perspective invites us to pause, toobserve the world from a different angle, and when we are lucky, find beauty. A simple puddle at night can transform a concrete urbanscape into a canvas of light and shadow, a playground for our imaginations.

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This Week in Riverside

Sunday, March 23

• Savvy Chic Kids Consignment Early Bird Shopping at Mission Grove Shopping Center - Former KMart (Free- $16.00)
• Baseball vs. Cal State Fullerton at Riverside Sports Complex
• Frida Kahlo, Self-Portraits| Painting Session at Riverside Public Library | Marcy Branch
• Celebrate Riverside County Arts and Culture Month at Participating Locations throughout Riverside County (Free- $35.00)

Monday, March 24

• Spring Animal Kids Camp - Session One at Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center ($240)
• Honors Program Information Session at Riverside City College
• Bridge Card Game at Calvary Presbyterian Church ($8- $9)

Tuesday, March 25

• Volunteer Interest Hour at Riverside Meals on Wheels, Inc
• Lunchtime Jazz at RCCD Center for Social Justice and Civil Liberties
• Inland Empire Chorus Rehearsal at Temple Beth El Synagogue
• Tuesday Karaoke at The Hideaway

Wednesday, March 26

• Certified Farmers Market at 10th & Lemon Streets
• Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
• The Comedy Lobby at The Lobby
• DIY Flower Pressing Workshop at Riverside Public Library | Marcy Branch
• Softball vs. Grand Canyon at Amy S. Harrison Field
• Paint n Sip Party- Citrus Raincross at Riverside Food Lab

Thursday, March 27

• 2025 Riverside Reads Book Discussion at Main Library

Friday, March 28

• Riverside Sunrise Rotary at Zacatecas Mexican Cafe
• Goeske Spring Festival at Janet Goeske Center
• Softball vs. CSUN at Amy S. Harrison Field

Saturday, March 29

• Downtown Certified Farmers Market at Main Street at 5th
• ParkRun at Ryan Bonaminio
• Cars and Coffee at Harvest Church
• Yoga at Euryale Brewing Company
• Cacao Sound Healing Circle at Rouse Yoga
• Spring Native Garden Ramble 2025 at four gardens throughout Riverside
• The 4th Annual "A Queen's Meeting" at Victoria Club
• Nirvana Tribute at The Concert Lounge
• Riverside Electric Light Parade Monthly Ride Experience at 4050 Main Street
• Wild Child - A Live Doors Concert Recreation at Riverside Municipal Auditorium ($20)

Save The Date

• March 30: Monopoly Challenge Riverside Edition at ProAbition at ProAbition ($30- $100)
• April 4: World Premier Melodrama by Westmont Village Masquers Theatre Club at Westmont Village
• April 5: Alzheimer's & Dementia Support Group at Discovery Commons Raincross
• April 5: 4th Annual Downtown Riverside Tweed Ride begins at Riverside Historic Courthouse
• April 5: In/VISIBLE, Un/HEARD: Riverside’s Civil Rights Stories at Multiple Sites
• April 5: Riverside Arts Council's Mayor's Ball for the Arts at Barbara & Art Culver Center for the Arts ($100) 
• April 12: Braver Angels Red/Blue Workshop at Joyce Johnson Community Center at Nichols Park

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🏆 Nominate a remarkable Riversider as Neighbor of the Week.