Goodbye Kmart, Winnie the Poohsical, and Frozen Comes to the Bowl

Hello, Redlands neighbors!

There is a musical playing in Redlands right now that you cannot see anywhere else on earth. Not New York. Not London. Not Los Angeles.

It was written here, it debuted here two weekends ago, and it stars a certain honey-loving bear. If you have kids or grandkids, your weekend just got planned.

And that is just the start. We say goodbye to an old friend on Redlands Boulevard after nearly 50 years, a comedy show with a secret address pops up somewhere in town Saturday night, Vivaldi plays under the stars Friday, and next week, Elsa herself takes over the Bowl.

Let's get into what's happening around town.

Next week, Disney's Frozen: The Musical takes over the Redlands Bowl for four nights, July 23 through 26, produced by Nathan Prince and Steve Simons of Legendary Productions. A full Broadway-scale musical, staged outdoors in Smiley Park, at America's longest continuously running summer music festival where no admission is charged. Bring the kids. Bring a blanket. Expect a crowd.

Here is the insider part, and this is the only issue where I can tell you in time. On Tuesday, July 21 at 8 PM, the Bowl opens the public dress rehearsal. Same stage, same cast, same songs, several nights before the official run. If your family's schedule is tight next weekend, or you simply want to see it twice, Tuesday is your quiet side door. Arrive early for parking either way. The Bowl fills fast for anything with Elsa's name on it.

Source: Redlands Bowl Performing Arts

If you grew up here, you have a Kmart memory. The Blue Light Specials. The popcorn at the snack bar. The back-to-school runs down aisles that felt a mile long. The store at 1625 W. Redlands Blvd opened in 1976, just four months before the Redlands Mall, and for 43 years it anchored that corner at Alabama Street until the chain's national collapse closed the doors in October 2019. The 115,000-square-foot building has sat empty ever since.

Last week, the crews arrived. Demolition is now underway, and as one city staffer put it, the Kmart building is technically no more. What rises in its place matters: the city's new 60,000-square-foot Safety Hall, which will bring four scattered police facilities under one roof and give Redlands its first true police headquarters since the old Safety Hall off Brookside came down in 2008. The city bought the 8.6-acre site back in 2022 for $16.1 million, paid in cash.

Think about that for a second. The mall and the Kmart went up within months of each other in the mid-70s, and they are coming down the same summer, both making way for what Redlands needs next. That is not a town erasing its past. That is a town building its next 50 years.

Source: Community Forward Redlands

Redlands FC's season ends one result short. The playoff decider we previewed last week finished in a 1-1 draw against Ventura County Fusion at Dodge Stadium, with Redlands fighting back for the equalizer while down to ten men. A draw was not quite enough, and for the second straight year the club misses the postseason by the thinnest of margins. Hold your heads high, boys. This town noticed the fight, and we will be back in the stands next spring.

Back2School Jam needs backpacks by July 24. Micah House's annual giveaway returns to Sylvan Park on Saturday, August 8, putting free backpacks and school supplies in the hands of thousands of local students. The deadline to donate filled backpacks, volunteer, or sponsor is next Friday, July 24, so this is the week to act.

Dogs and drafts at Smudgepot on Saturday. SoCal Animal Rescue brings adoptable rescue dogs to Smudgepot Brewing Co., 2025 W Park Ave #3, this Saturday. Bruno has instructed me to remind you that every good boy deserves a backyard in Redlands.

Save the date: the Repair Café returns July 25. Before you toss that broken lamp, bike, or watch, volunteer fixers will mend it free of charge, 9 AM to noon at the Flores Senior Center, 111 W Lugonia Ave. And a reminder from last week: tribal elder and historian Ernest Siva speaks at Trinity Episcopal Church this Sunday, July 19.

We Will Rock You — California Theatre of the Performing Arts, San Bernardino
📍 562 W 4th St, San Bernardino, CA | 🕐 Friday 8:00 PM and Saturday 2:00 PM matinee
The Queen musical, two dozen of the band's biggest anthems, inside San Bernardino's grand 1928 movie palace about 15 minutes from downtown Redlands. Tickets via Ticketmaster.

Lee Chan Won — Yaamava' Theater, Highland
📍 777 San Manuel Blvd, Highland, CA | 🕐 Saturday 8:00 PM | 21+
One of Korea's biggest trot stars in an intimate room. If you know, you already have tickets. Via AXS.

Eric Church — Yaamava' Theater, Highland
📍 777 San Manuel Blvd, Highland, CA | 🕐 Sunday 8:00 PM | 21+ | Tickets from about $93 via AXS
One of country music's biggest voices, fifteen minutes up the hill, in a theater small enough that there is not a bad seat in the house. This is the regional ticket of the weekend.

Hangar 24 Craft Brewery — Karaoke Night
📍 1710 Sessums Dr, Redlands, CA | 🕐 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Grab an Orange Wheat and a microphone. Judgment-free, mostly.

Hangar 24 Craft Brewery — Taylor Gray, then Last First Kiss (Country/Rock)
📍 1710 Sessums Dr, Redlands, CA | 🕐 Dinner set 6:00 PM, main set 8:30 PM to 11:30 PM
A full evening on the patio, from dinner music to a band that keeps the dance floor busy.

Septembers Taproom & Eatery — Live Music Friday, check @septemberstaproom for this week's performer
📍 515 Orange St, Ste B, Redlands, CA | 🕐 8:30 PM
Great stage, generous patio, and a kitchen that stays open late.

Hangar 24 Craft Brewery — Dave Sanchez, then Chris Lozano (Country/Rock)
📍 1710 Sessums Dr, Redlands, CA | 🕐 Dinner set 6:00 PM, main set 8:30 PM to 11:30 PM
Planes overhead, music on the patio, and the best people-watching in town.

Ritual Brewing Co. — Live Music Saturday, check @ritualbrewingco for this week's performer
📍 1315 Research Dr, Redlands, CA | 🕐 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Kid and dog friendly, 25 rotating taps, and a food truck out front.

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If you only do one thing this weekend, make it the Citrus Sisters on Saturday at 4 PM. Free folk music from a family that shaped American songwriting, in a historic Redlands clubhouse, five minutes from your door.

That is not a show; that is a Redlands story you get to sit inside of.

Thank you for reading, for forwarding this to a neighbor, and for showing up for this town the way you always do.

See you around town,
— Carlos Samaniego, EA
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