Riverside City Hall is lighting up as decorations go up for the Festival of Lights, which kicks off this Saturday. (Luke López)
Wednesday Gazette: November 20, 2024
Hello Riverside, and Happy Wednesday!
I'll get right to the point: I am seeking the help of an experienced grant writer who is willing to help the RG.
Here's the full story: This year, I have applied for nearly $250k in different grant opportunities for local newsrooms and have yet to be awarded any of them. When attempting to diagnose my results, I found one common denominator whose dial I might be able to turn: me.
Last week, a nationwide initiative to financially support local newsrooms, called Press Forward, put out an open call for a combined pool of up to $20 million to "fund solutions to common challenges in local news," and rather than simply giving up after all of the rejection I would like to give it another go and submit an application in December. So, if an experienced and successful grant writer is in RG's audience and willing to help, please email me.
New Statue of Cheech Greets Visitors at The Cheech Center for Chicano Art and Culture
Renowned Chicano Artist Ignacio Gomez created his second Riverside City Project and sculpted the Cesar Chavez Memorial on Main.
The new bronze statue of Cheech at “The Cheech”. (Ken Crawford)
There’s a new greeter on the promenade in front of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Arts and Culture. Sculptor and pioneer of Chicano art Ignacio Gomez, was commissioned to create a life-sized bronze statue of the Museum’s namesake, Cheech Marin. At the entrance to the building, with his name above the doors, the statue “Cheech” stands with open arms, offering a warm greeting to each visitor. Unlike some famous flops that have popped up recently in the news, this statue absolutely nails the subject. It looks like Cheech and captures the spirit of the universally known and beloved man.
“Meet me at the Cheech” became a rallying cry during the early stages of the Museum’s organization and fundraising. Cheech used the phrase during the first press conference announcing the project.
Kathy Allavie Receives Frank Miller Civic Achievement Award
The Award, given by the Mission Inn Foundation, celebrates the spirit of community service.
Jennifer Gamble (from left), Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, and Kathy Allavie share a moment on stage as Allavie accepts the Frank Miller Civic Achievement Award during the Mission Inn Foundation gala, honoring her decades of service to Riverside. (Ashley Chruszcz)
Beginning in 1997, the Mission Inn Foundation has given the Frank Miller Civic Achievement Award to a Riversider who embodies the Inn founder's commitment to service the community with a big-picture vision and a willingness to put in the work to make Riverside the best city possible. This year's awardee, Kathy Allavie, has four decades of volunteer commitment to the service of the city. Her bona fides are uncontroversial.
Her work spans the Junior League and PTA, her advocacy for public art projects and civic events like the Art Float of 2018, and her role in creating the Ghostwalk. Kathy stayed impossibly busy in her service to our community, even finding time to volunteer as a docent and sit on the board of the Mission Inn Foundation.
The Mission Inn Foundation Cuts the Ribbon on their New Home
The Ceremony marks a new beginning just in time for the downtown holiday crowds.
A small crowd gathers for the grand opening of the new Mission Inn Foundation storefront. (Ken Crawford)
The new home of the Mission Inn Foundation and Museum had been welcoming visitors and serving as the headquarters for docents for a few weeks. The Sunday ceremony in front of their new Market Street home marked the official business start for the new foundation storefront. City and community officials gathered with the faithful fans of the Inn to celebrate the beginning of the new chapter in the new building just in time for the Festival of Lights crowds beginning this weekend.
Councilman Philip Falcone, a longtime friend of the Foundation, was there for Museum president Jennifer Gamble’s ribbon cutting and official opening of the new space. The new store and museum replace the traditional home of the Foundation at the corner of Mission Inn and Main, inside the Hotel. The Mission Inn Foundation and Museum retains most of the collection and the right to sell Mission Inn merchandise from their new storefront. While hotel employees will execute the tours of the Inn, the Foundation docents have a new slate of tours that showcase the external perimeter of the hotel and other points of interest and historical significance downtown.
The first annual Raincross Color Run Caps Thanksgiving weekend with a 4k run and community festival.
Color Run participant at pigment station. (Ken Crawford)
Put down the turkey sandwich and head to Bordwell Park for the first annual Raincross Color Run. The run, part of the Local Vibes Event Series, is a city-sponsored, family-friendly, community event aimed at getting people out of the house and engaged in their neighborhood.
Color Run participants will run four-kilometer laps around Bordwell Park, passing through "Color Stations," where they will be blasted with pigment. What starts as a white T-shirt becomes a technicolor proof of participation. Racers are encouraged to finish as much of the race as they would like and at the pace with which they are most comfortable.
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