The Bowl Is Back. FC Is Home. Summer Has a Soundtrack Again

Redlands Bowl drops its full 2026 season (Frozen, ELO, Yacht Rock, Navy Band — every night free), FC opens at home Saturday at 7, and a fifth-generation citrus grower just put Redlands on the world stage. 

Redlands Bowl drops its full 2026 season (Frozen, ELO, Yacht Rock, Navy Band, every night free), FC opens at home Saturday at 7, and a fifth-generation citrus grower just put Redlands on the world stage. It's a good week to live here.

FROM THE Publisher,

Last weekend had other plans for us.

Saturday morning, a family health scare landed my mom at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Two days in. She was released Monday morning, doing fine. If you ever need a world-class hospital, you have one right here in your backyard.

That part I did not take for granted.

Liz and I did manage to sneak away for a few hours on Sunday. We walked into Harkins, sat down, and watched Pressure -- a WWII thriller about the 72 hours before D-Day. Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser. If you have not heard of it yet, you will.

It hit differently this Memorial Day.

My father's served in the Army & Navy. My son Andrew & daughter-in-Law are Naval Academy graduates.

My daughter Bella is currently aboard the USCGC Eagle -- a tall ship that was a war prize taken from Nazi Germany -- somewhere between Savannah and New Orleans as you read this. Four generations of this family have worn a uniform.

Sitting in that dark theater watching men storm a beach, I thought about all of them.

That is what Memorial Day is supposed to feel like.

Now this week we have soccer under the Saturday night lights, a century-old stage with a season worth marking, a fifth-gen citrus grower winning medals in England, and a 94-year-old veteran who flew to Washington not for himself, but for everyone who never got the parade. 

That's a real weekend. Let's get into it.

— Carlos Samaniego and the RedlandsNow Team

🍊 GROVE STREET HEADLINES

Under the Stars, All Summer Long: The Redlands Bowl's 103rd Season Is Here

It starts June 19. It ends August 14 with fireworks and Tchaikovsky. Every performance in between is free.

That is the deal the Redlands Bowl Performing Arts has been making with this community for 103 consecutive summers. No tickets. No reservations. Show up. Bring a blanket. Let the stars do the rest.

The 2026 lineup was just announced and it is stacked. Here is what is coming.

June 19 — Yacht Rock Symphony opens the season with original members of Ambrosia and John Ford Coley headlining an evening of smooth Southern California rock. If you grew up in the late 70s, this one is going to hit somewhere personal.

June 23 — The Grand Finals of the Redlands Bowl Concerto Competition. Four extraordinarily talented young instrumentalists compete on the Bowl stage. This is the one where you hear a 16-year-old play and sit quietly for a moment afterward.

June 26 — The season's official opening night: Ticket to the Moon, the ELO Experience, widely considered the best Electric Light Orchestra tribute in the world.

July 3 — A Star-Spangled Evening of Patriotic Pops with Maestro Nolan Livesay. The right show in the right week.

July 7 — The Filharmonic, the LA-based Filipino-American a cappella group known from NBC. July 10 brings Leyenda Folklorico — a full celebration of folklorico dance and mariachi that fills the bowl every time it visits.

July 14 — The Sweet Caroline Tour. Jay White has spent 25 years performing as Neil Diamond. He delivers.

July 23–26 — Disney's Frozen: The Musical. Four performances of the full stage production. Bring the grandkids. This one will draw a crowd.

July 31 — West Side Story in Concert, featuring the Inland Master Chorale.

August 4 — Navy Band Southwest's 38-member Winds Ensemble. Military families: this one is yours.

August 14 — The Fireworks Finale. The Redlands Symphony Orchestra, acclaimed violinist Miclen LaiPang performing Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, and fireworks over the bowl. That is not a night out. That is a memory.

All performances are Tuesdays and Fridays, plus select Thursdays and weekends, at 8 PM.

>

The Marmalade King of Redlands Just Won Eight Medals in England

Eight medals. One jar at a time. From the citrus groves of Redlands to a 1,000-year-old estate in the north of England.

That is where John P. Beall of Old California Botanicals found himself this spring — at the 2026 Artisan World Marmalade Awards at Dalemain House in Penrith, England. The competition drew more than 3,400 entries from over 33 countries. A handful of American producers medal each year.

Old California Botanicals took home eight.

Beall is a fifth-generation Redlands citrus grower. He did not arrive at marmalade-making as a hobby. He arrived there through family history — through orange groves that his family has worked across generations, through a conviction that the fruit grown in the shadow of the San Bernardino Mountains is worth preserving. Literally.

The Redlands Navel Orange marmalade earned a Silver Award, his top prize. The Eureka Lemon and Minneola Tangelo each took Bronze. The Valencia Orange earned a Merit Award. Every single jar submitted won two medals: one in the general competition, one in the Savoury category.

Three thousand four hundred entries. Every jar he brought, in the prize column.

You do not have to fly to England to find them. Old California Botanicals products are available locally at all Clark's Nutrition and Natural Foods Market locations.

🌳 AROUND THE GROVES

🟡 The View from the Foothills

Late May in Redlands — the jacarandas are still purple, the nights are back in the 50s, and the school year is wrapping up. The San Bernardino Mountains still have a little snow on the higher peaks if you catch a clear morning. This is a good week to take a walk downtown before the June heat arrives.

🥬 Market Watch

Three markets running this weekend. Grove School Farmers Market runs Saturday 8 AM–noon at 11126 Iowa St. Downtown Morning Market is Saturday at the municipal lot by Ed Hales Park — note the new hours: the City Council voted to shift to 7–11 AM (previously 9 AM–1 PM). Adjust the Saturday alarm. Sunday Morning Market at Olive Ave Market runs 9 AM–1 PM at 530 W. Olive Ave.

🏬 Downtown Notes

Redlands Public Market at 330 3rd St. is open and building momentum — Taco Twist and Take Ur Seat are operating and the food hall lineup continues to grow. La Popular is still in build-out nearby at 32 Al Harris Ln. The Redlands Theatre Festival opens its 54th season June 26 at Prospect Park — more on that below.

🎓 Campus Corner

The University of Redlands softball team is 41-5 after sweeping through NCAA Division III regional play in Iowa. The Bulldogs are in super regional play against top-seeded Texas Lutheran right now with an Elite Eight berth on the line. Follow updates at goredlands.com. Also: REV distance standout Elijah Medina qualified for the CIF State Track and Field Championships after a strong performance at the Masters Meet last weekend.

❤️ Community Heartbeat

The RUSD elementary art show returned last weekend for the first time since the pandemic — hundreds of student works on display at Smiley Elementary. Families showed up in force. Kids saw their paintings hanging in a real juried show for the first time in years. That is worth pausing on.

🎯 YOUR REDLANDS WEEKEND

Friday, May 29

🛍️ Friday Flea at Olive Avenue Market | 5:00–9:00 PM

530 W. Olive Ave.

Curated vintage and Y2K clothing, local vendors, easy Friday energy. Good way to ease into the weekend.

Saturday, May 30

☕ Downtown Morning Market | 7:00–11:00 AM (New Hours)

Municipal lot by Ed Hales Park, off Redlands Blvd. between 5th and 6th

The new hours are in effect. Earlier start, same certified farmers and produce. Come hungry.

🌾 Grove School Farmers Market | 8:00 AM–Noon

11126 Iowa St.

The reliable Saturday morning ritual. Local produce, community energy, no agenda.

⚽ Redlands FC Home Opener | 7:00 PM

Dodge Stadium, Redlands High School campus, 840 E. Citrus Ave.

After two road games in Arizona, Redlands FC is home for the first time in 2026. Their opponent is City SC — same club that beat them at Dodge last June. The Bulldogs enter 0-1-1 and have something to prove on their own field. Head Coach Cody Carlson's stated goal: go undefeated at home this season. Watch for Jose de la Torre in the #10 — Big West Midfielder of the Year at Cal State Fullerton — running the Redlands offense all summer. This club has historically been nearly unbeatable at Dodge. Saturday is where it starts over.

🎟️ Tickets and info at redlandsfootballclub.com

Sunday, May 31

🍊 Sunday Morning Market at Olive Avenue Market | 9:00 AM–1:00 PM

530 W. Olive Ave.

Small businesses, local makers, a slower pace to close out the weekend. Worth the stop.

🎶 Live Music & Entertainment

Friday, May 29

🎸 The Dogs | 8:30 PM

Septembers Taproom & Eatery, 515 Orange St., Suite B

The Dogs are a Claremont-based rock and roll institution — nearly 30 years in, still packing rooms across the Inland Empire. Their thing is the deep cuts: classic rock, punk, psychedelia, blues, songs other cover bands leave on the shelf. If you have not seen them, Friday night at Septembers is the introduction you have been missing. septembers.com

🍀 Live Music at The Three Stags | 8:00 PM

328 Orange St.

The Three Stags runs live music every weekend downtown. Check their socials for Friday's act. Solid pint, traditional Irish pub feel, and the kind of room where you can actually hear the music.

Saturday, May 30

🥩 West Palm Avenue Band | 7:00–10:00 PM

Tartan of Redlands, 24 E. Redlands Blvd. | tartanofredlands.com | (909) 792-9919

The Tartan has been a Redlands institution since 1964. Saturday nights mean live music 7–10 PM, and this week the West Palm Avenue Band is on. Prime rib starts at 5 PM. If you are looking for a proper Saturday night out — dinner, a drink, and live music in a room that has been doing this longer than most of us have been alive — this is it.

🎵 Live Music at The Three Stags | 8:00 PM

328 Orange St.

Saturday nights at the Stags get loud in the best way. Go early, eat first, stay for the music.

GRATITUDE & COMMUNITY

✨ GRATITUDE & COMMUNITY

At 94, He Flew to Washington for the Ones Who Never Got the Parade

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Hugh Pickett is 94 years old. He lives right here in Redlands. He recently made the trip to Washington, D.C. with Honor Flight Southland, an organization that takes aging veterans to visit the nation's military memorials.

Pickett served during the Korean and Vietnam War eras. He went to Washington not to stand in front of monuments with his ribbons on display. He went for the enlisted troops. The ones who fought in unpopular wars and came home to a country that had already moved on. The ones who never got the recognition they were owed.

At 94, he still carries them.

There are veterans who talk about their service with medals and milestones.

And then there are men like Hugh Pickett who, after a full career and a full life, look at a wall of names and still see only the people who deserved more than they got. Redlands is lucky to have him.

That is what this town is made of.

The Bowl. The kids painting at Smiley Elementary. The citrus grower who flew to England on his family's legacy. And the man who flew to Washington for someone else's.

Be good to your people this week. Go outside. Walk downtown. Buy something from a neighbor.  Go listen to some live music. Tip a little extra.

I'll see you next Thursday.
Carlos Samaniego, 
Publisher

Sponsorship Opportunities

Ready to connect with engaged Redlands residents? Our newsletter reaches dedicated community members who support local businesses.

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,
Carlos Samaniego, EA

The RedlandsNow.com Team