A Roadmap for the Arts, a STEAM Lab for Our Kids, and a Weekend Worth Showing Up For |
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From the Groves |
Why This Matters |
Every morning, I drive down Lugonia on the way to the office. Same route, most days of my life. Orange groves on one side, the mountains holding whatever snow is left this late in Ma (not much this year), the light coming in at the angle that only happens in spring. I have been making that drive for forty-seven years, driving through Redlands. This week felt like one of those weeks where Redlands reminds you what it is. The city adopted its first-ever Arts and Culture Master Plan. The Boys and Girls Club opened a new innovation center built specifically for our teenagers.
The Lady Bulldogs kept winning. None of that happened by accident. It happened because people here keep deciding this place is worth the effort.
Good week to live here. Let's get into what's happening around town. |
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🍊 GROVE STREET HEADLINES |
Redlands Finally Has a Roadmap for the Arts — and It's AmbitiousAfter three years of public input, consultant work, and planning, the Redlands City Council voted unanimously last month to adopt the city's first-ever Arts and Culture Master Plan. It is called "Rooted and Rising." That name fits. The plan gives city leaders and community organizations a shared framework for the first time. The goals include expanding public art, developing creative spaces, strengthening neighborhood access, and treating the arts as what they already are here: an economic engine. Redlands' creative industries generate around $103 million in earnings annually. Nonprofit arts organizations alone support more than 400 local jobs. This has been true for years. Now the city has a plan that matches the reality. Council member Denise Davis pointed to Umbrella Alley as her example of what art can do for a block, a neighborhood, a city's sense of itself. She's right. That alley used to be nothing. Now it's in half the photos people take when they visit downtown. The plan identifies gaps too. Access to arts programming is uneven across neighborhoods. Cultural representation does not always reflect who actually lives here. Those acknowledgments matter as much as the goals. Implementation begins in the next one to two years. The Redlands Bowl, A.K. Smiley Public Library, the Museum of Redlands — the anchors are already here. The plan builds around them. The Garner Holt Teen Innovation Center Is Open — and Kids Are Staying LongerSomething quiet and important happened at the Boys and Girls Club of Redlands recently. A new teen innovation center opened its doors, and a 15-year-old who used to complain about coming after school started asking if she could stay later. The Garner Holt Teen Innovation Center is designed for youth ages 11 to 18. It gives them hands-on access to design software, advanced fabrication equipment, and the kind of creative-technical tools that build real career skills. Curtis Weathers, the center's teen coordinator and a graphic design specialist who grew up as a club kid himself, said the impact was immediate: retention went up, enthusiasm went up, and kids started showing up even when their friends did not. "All creativity is problem solving," Weathers said. That sentence should be on the wall of every classroom in this city. Evan Sanford from the Redlands Chamber of Commerce put it plainly: this is an investment in who Redlands will be in twenty years, not just who it is today. For more information on the Boys and Girls Club programs, visit their location on Alabama Street or contact the club directly. |
🌳 AROUND THE GROVES |
Lady Bulldogs on a RollThe University of Redlands softball team entered this week's SCIAC tournament at 35-4 with a 25-game winning streak and a No. 5 national ranking in Division III. Head coach Jose Ortega notched his 200th career win along the way. The tournament is hosted on campus at the University of Redlands this weekend. If you have not watched this team play, now is the time. Great Y Circus Still Running Through MayThe Great Y Circus is in its 84th season and this year's show — "Saturday Morning Cartoons" — runs through the end of May at the Redlands Family YMCA, 500 E. Citrus Ave. This is the only YMCA youth circus program in the United States. Performers range from toddlers to teenagers doing advanced aerial work. Tickets are $24 at the YMCA front desk. Children seated on an adult's lap get in free. Weekend showtimes: Saturday at 5 PM, Sunday at 3 PM. Summer Art Camps Now EnrollingThe City of Redlands Recreation Division just announced two summer art camp programs: Art Studio Summer Camps for Teens and SWAC Art Studio Camps for Kids at the Carriage House. Details are on the City of Redlands website at cityofredlands.org. If your kids are the creative type, now is the time to get them registered before spots fill up. City Advisory Committee Seats OpenThe City of Redlands extended its application deadline for residents interested in serving on the Municipal Advisory Committee. If you have ever wanted a direct role in shaping local decisions, this is a real opportunity. Information is available at cityofredlands.org. |
La Peñita is no longer just a charming beach town.
It sits in the heart of Riviera Nayarit’s emerging luxury corridor — positioned between Mandarina and the Ritz-Carlton Reserve, where high-end, eco-luxury resort development is reshaping this coastline. That matters. Because when major luxury brands move into a region, they bring: At our Playa Vida Workshop, we’ll be talking about why La Peñita is catching our attention, what we’re building there, and how investors, builders, and future buyers can better understand the opportunity in front of them. Yucaipa, CA |
🎯 YOUR REDLANDS WEEKEND |
YOUR REDLANDS WEEKEND SATURDAY, 5/16 Great Y Circus: Saturday Morning CartoonsRedlands Family YMCA | 500 E. Citrus Ave, Redlands | $24 (children on lap: free) This is the 84th season of the Great Y Circus — the only YMCA youth circus program in the country. Kids as young as three years old take the stage alongside teenage aerialists who have been training all year. This year's "Saturday Morning Cartoons" theme is exactly what it sounds like: fast, colorful, nostalgic, and genuinely impressive. Tickets are sold at the YMCA front desk only. Saturday show is at 5 PM. More info →SATURDAY, 5/16 Armed Forces Day at Hangar 24Hangar 24 Craft Brewing | 1710 Sessums Dr, Redlands | Free entry Hangar 24 is marking Armed Forces Day all day Saturday — fitting for a brewery that sits next to the Redlands Municipal Airport and has always had a soft spot for the military community. The evening closes with a live country band from 6:30 to 9:30 PM. Food trucks on-site. The mountain views from that patio never get old. More info →SATURDAY, 5/16 Downtown Certified Farmers MarketState Street between 6th and 7th | Downtown Redlands | Free Saturday morning downtown. Fresh local produce, vendors, the smell of citrus in the air. The farmers market has been a Saturday anchor in Redlands for years. It is one of those things that is easy to take for granted right up until you miss a week. Worth the walk. More info →Citrus Blossom Summer Bake-off competition
Do you love to bake? Show off your best Summer- inspired creations at our Baking Contest during the Citrus Blossom Market! Saturday, May 16th 2026 Citrus Blossom Market – Edwards Mansion, 2064 Orange Tree Ln, Redlands, CA Contest begins at 11:30 AM Open to all ages – kids, teens, and adults are welcome to enter. Winners will take home prizes and bragging rights as Citrus Blossom’s top baker! Apply now and let your baking shine this Summer
More info SUNDAY, 5/17 Great Y Circus: Saturday Morning CartoonsRedlands Family YMCA | 500 E. Citrus Ave, Redlands | $24 (children on lap: free) If you missed Saturday, Sunday's 3 PM show gives you another shot. This is a Redlands tradition that traces back to 1929 and a former Ringling Bros. performer named Roy Coble who decided this community deserved a circus of its own. Ninety-seven years later, the show still goes on. Tickets at the YMCA front desk only. More info →SUNDAY, 5/17 Sunday Morning Market at Olive Avenue MarketOlive Avenue Market | 530 W. Olive Ave, Redlands | Free The Sunday Morning Market runs from 9 AM to 1 PM with local vendors set up outside the hundred-year-old market on Olive. Fresh food, coffee, small-batch goods from local makers. Olive Avenue Market has been a Redlands institution since 1924. The Sunday setup makes it even better. Good place to start the morning before the circus. More info → |
🎯 Live Music & Entertainment |
LIVE MUSIC THIS WEEKEND Confirmed bookings only. Always check with venues directly for last-minute changes. SATURDAY, MAY 16 Hangar 24 Craft Brewing — Country Band 1710 Sessums Dr, Redlands | 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM | No cover Live country on the patio next to the airport, with food trucks and mountain views. Hangar 24 is also hosting an Armed Forces Day celebration all day Saturday — a fitting backdrop. Ritual Brewing Co. — Live Music 1315 W. Colton Ave, Redlands | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM | No cover Ritual hosts live music every Saturday night. Specific performer not confirmed at press time — check their Instagram (@ritualbrewing) for the latest booking before you head out. SUNDAY, MAY 17 Hangar 24 Craft Brewing — Country Band 1710 Sessums Dr, Redlands | 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM | No cover Sunday afternoon session — country music, cold craft beer, and those San Bernardino mountain views. A good way to close out the weekend. Three Stags and Tartan of Redlands: No confirmed bookings found for this weekend. Check their social pages for updates. |
GRATITUDE & COMMUNITY |
GRATITUDE & COMMUNITY I got a note from a reader this week who said she moved to Redlands from out of state two years ago and still feels like she is finding new layers to the place. She asked how long it takes to feel like you really know it here. Forty-seven years, and I am still finding things. That is not a complaint. That is the whole point. This weekend, if you can do one thing, go to the Great Y Circus. Saturday at 5 PM or Sunday at 3 PM at the YMCA on Citrus. Twenty-four dollars. I have been a couple of times, and had many friends from school, it was a big part of their life, and the fact that it is still here — still running, still growing, still putting kids in the air is exactly the kind of thing I started this newsletter to tell people about. — Carlos Samaniego, EA |
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Contact us at info@redlandsnow.com to learn about sponsorship opportunities and tell us about your upcoming events, or next nominee for Inland Legend! That's all for this week! Thanks for reading, and we'll see you around the groves. Stay connected, stay local, The RedlandsNow.com Team |