:: Past Events Highlights
2007 Events
Wednesday, January 31, 7 pm
Author Event: Gayle Brandeis
Gayle Brandeis presents her just-published second novel,
Self Storage. Set in current-day Riverside, the book has been praised as “suspenseful, thought-provoking, and inspiring,” “beautifully written
and warmed with wit.”
Come hear the author speak about this remarkable new book which,
according to Booklist, weaves “Walt Whitman, 9/11, and secondhand
goods into a provocative story about the nature of one’s self and the
intrinsically human need to find meaning in life.”
Gayle Brandeis will read and discuss Self Storage, answer questions from the audience, and sign copies of the book, which will be available for purchase at the event.
Saturday, April 21, 3:00 p.m.
Oscar Clarke and Arlee Montalvo: Flora of the Santa Ana River and Environs
Oscar Clarke, natural historian and founder of the Herbarium at the University of California, Riverside, and Arlee Montalvo, Ph.D. plant population biologist and restoration ecologist, will present the new book, Flora of the Santa Ana River and Environs.
Come enjoy a PowerPoint presentation of selections from the
3,200 beautiful images and illustrations from this
extraordinary book, which represents a culmination of a lifetime of natural history study. The authors will answer questions and identify plants that you are invited to bring.
Oscar Clarke and his team have compiled a new comprehensive guide describing over 900 plant species arranged by evolutionary relationships. The result is a seminal new guide that also presents historical and cultural uses, plant diseases and associations with insects, birds and mammals of both native and introduced species.
Sunday, April 29, 3:00 pm
Orchestral Expeditions: A Family Music Event
Ruth Charloff and UCR Gluck Music Fellows introduce children and families to a variety of orchestral instruments and to ideas of how players, conductors and composers use these instruments in the service of expressive, vivid and unified music-making.
The goal is to enliven children's openness and interest not only in fun, expressivity and excitement of orchestral music, but to ensemble music-making in general and to tap their natural fascination.
Friday, June 15, 3 pm
French Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Music performed by UCR's Collegium Musicum
UCR Collegium Musicum is a student music ensemble dedicated to the historically-informed performance of Western European music from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque eras. The group will play French and Franco-Flemish instrumental music from the 13th-16th centuries, combined with lively and informative demonstrations of the colorful array of wind, string and keyboard instruments popular in this era, including recorder, crumhorn, sackbut, viol, lute, guitar and harpsichord. Music by Isaac, Semisy, Crequillon, Janequin, Arcadelt, Manchicourt, Josquin and that beloved and timeless composer, Anonymous. Dr. Janet Beazley directs. A Gluck Fellows Program of the Arts event.
Sunday, August 5, 12, 19 & September 2, 12 noon
Edens Lost and Found: Sunday Film Series
A four-part documentary miniseries about urban sustainability—making cities more livable and less taxing on natural resources. Produced by the filmmaking team of Harry Wiland and Dale Bell, the four films investigate the fascinating phenomenon of urban renewal sprouting in four American cities. View a movie clip from the series and visit the series website to get a teacher’s guide, ideas for community involvement, or to order the series or companion book. Refreshments and Discussion will follow each film.
For more information call (951) 682-1040.
Brought to you by the Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside in cooperation with the Riverside Land Conservancy and the Riverside Public Library in support of the City of Riverside’s Clean and Green Iniative.
August 5 — Philadelphia
It's the birthplace of America, where the Founding Fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution…but in recent decades Philadelphia had slipped into decline. Hope for the city’s revival now rests in the hands of those who are cleaning it up, beautifying it with greenery and realigning the city with nature.
August 12 — Chicago
A new program of urban renewal seeks to beautify the city, attract new residents, reduce the stifling summer heat, conserve precious water, purify the air, and make the city more livable.
August 19 — Los Angeles
In this seeming paradise, water is always in short supply and rampant sprawl is eating up more and more precious real estate. You’ll learn how concerned citizens and city government are working together to reverse these trends in America’s promised land.
Special Bonus Local Film: The Hills of Riverside Produced by Heyming & Johnson, Inc. With support from the Riverside Land Conservancy & the Riverside Public Library.
September 2— Seattle
The age of technology was supposed to be Seattle’s salvation. But technology, rampant development, and a growing population have only provided endless challenges for the “Emerald City.”
Tuesday, September 18, 6:30 pm
Panel Discussion
The Future of History is Local
Come listen to a discussion of local history, its value and future.
Panel participants: David Crosson, President, California Historical Society
Steve Lech, President, Riverside Historical Society
Molly McGarry, Director, Public History Program, UCR
Sue Strickland, President, African American Historical Society
Moderated by: John Worden, Executive Director, Mission Inn Foundation
Wednesday, September 26, 6:30 pm
INLANDIA Film Screening/Discussion
Beyond the Mesas and Beautiful Resistance: The Indian Boarding School Experience
Viewing and discussion of these two films by Emmy winner Allan Holzman. Beyond the Mesas is a 35-minute documentary film on the forced removal of Hopi People to boarding schools such as Sherman Institute and their experiences there. Beautiful Resistance presents the psychological, sociological and cultural impact that Indian boarding schools had on the native population from the perspective of contemporary Native American artists. Discussion leaders include: Allan Holzman; Dr. Cliff Trafzer, UCR; and Lori Sisquoc, Sherman Indian Institute.
Saturday, October 20, 3 pm
Author Event
Diana Abu-Jaber
The award-winning novelist will read and discuss her new book, Origin and other works, including Language of Baklava, Crescent and Arabian Jazz. A frequent contributor to NPR, the author is a creative writing professor at Portland State University.
2008 Events
Wednesday, January 9, 6:30 pm
Inlandia Event: Author Presentation
Fast Cars and Frybread: Reports from the Rez by Gordon Johnson
The author presents his critically acclaimed essays, which capture the spirit of the Pala Indian Reservation with skill and sensitivity.
Wednesday, January 16, 6:30 pm
Author Workshop
“Write Your Family History” presented by Linda Weaver Clarke
The Main Library welcomes author and educator Linda Weaver Clarke, who will discuss her new work for young readers, Melinda and the Wild West, and lead an interactive workshop encouraging others to turn their family history into a variety of interesting stories. Linda Weaver Clarke’s workshop series has received national acclaim as a fun and informative experience. The author will discuss important elements of writing, such as creative approaches to getting started, writing lively characters and recounting history in an emotional and timeless way.
A graduate of Southern Utah University, Clarke writes articles for the American Chronicle. She travels nationally with her Family Legacy Workshop Series, helping others to see the importance of telling their own stories. Her novel Melinda and the Wild West is the first of five in a family saga.
The event is sponsored by the Riverside Historical Society, the Riverside African American Historical Society, and the Genealogical Society of Riverside.
Tuesday, January 22, 6 pm
Inlandia Event: Film Screening
“We Are Still Here”
"We Are Still Here" is the story of Katherine Saubel and the Cahuilla Indians. The presentation will include discussion and appearances by Cahuilla Elder Katherine Saubel, Sherman Indian School Museum Director Lorene Sisquoc and Archaeologist Daniel McCarthy.
Tuesday, February 12, 2:30 pm
Author Reading / Discussion
The Poetry of Marvin Bell
Iowa Poet Laureate Marvin Bell reads and discusses his work. He is the author of several books of poetry, most recently Mars Being Red (Copper Canyon Press, 2007), Rampant (2004) and Nightworks: Poems, 1962-2000 (2000). His earlier book Stars Which See, Stars Which Do Not See (1977) was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Bell was born in in New York City in 1937, and grew up in the rural hamlet of Center Moriches, Long Island. He holds a bachelor's degree from Alfred University, a master's degree from the University of Chicago, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa.
About his early work, the poet Anthony Hecht said, "Marvin Bell is wonderfully versatile, with a strange, dislocating inventiveness. Capable of an unflinching regard of the painful, the poignant and the tragic; but also given to hilarity, high-spirits and comic delight; and often enough wedding and blending these spiritual antipodes into a new world. It must be the sort of bifocal vision Socrates recommended to his drunken friends if they were to become true poets."
His honors include the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and Senior Fulbright appointments to Yugoslavia and Australia. He was on the staff of the The University of Iowa's Writers Workshop for more than thirty years, where he was the Flannery O'Connor Professor of Letters.
Beginning in 2000, Bell served two terms as the state of Iowa's first Poet Laureate. He currently divides his time between Iowa City and Port Townsend, Washington.
Wednesday, February 13, 5 pm
Inlandia Event: Reading / Discussion
Opening Reception: Riverside African American Society Journal, The African-American Presence in Riverside
The Riverside African American Historical Society (RAAHS) was born of the need to ensure the visibility of the African American experience in the celebration of the City of Riverside’s 100-year anniversary but has evolved into something much larger, an organization whose stated mission is nothing less than “to preserve African American culture and heritage in the Inland Empire”. The Journal of the RAAHS is filled with stories of pioneering and exceptional people and is a key part of the Society’s effort to “preserve the past” and “capture the present” in Riverside and beyond.
Saturday, February 23, 2 pm
Author Event
Camille F. Forbes
Camille F. Forbes is an Assistant Professor of African-American Literature and Culture at University of California at San Diego. She will be discussing her newly published book Introducing Bert Williams: Burnt Cork, Broadway and the Story of America's First Black Star (Basic Civitas).
Egbert Williams was raised in Riverside, attending Riverside (now Poly) High School in the early 1890’s. “…modest, private, and conservative in his personal life, Williams left political activism and soapbox thumping to others. More than the simple narration of a remarkable life, Introducing Bert Williams offers a fascinating window into the issues surrounding race and artistic expression in American culture. The story of Williams' long and varied career is a whirlwind of inner turmoil, racial tension, glamour, and striving — nothing less than the birth of American show business.”
Sponsored by the Riverside African American Historical Society.
Wednesday, May 14, 6:30pm
Author Reading / Discussion
Mine: A Name for Herself by Mary Curtin
The author discusses her play and the fascinating life of internationally renowned artist Mine Okubo, a Japanese-American born and raised in Riverside. Okubo studed art in France and Italy under a 1938 scholarship but was forced to return home when World War II broke out. She began working for the Federal Arts Program and even worked under Diego Rivera on WPA mural projects. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, she was suddenly considered an enemy and was forcefully relocated to the Japanese internment camp of Tanforan. While there she recorded details of life in the camp through paintings, drawings and sketches which were published in her book, Citizen 13660.