Oktoberfest Under the Oaks, a Redlands Author's Duchess, and Skynyrd Up the Hill

Hello Redlands,

Finally back from the East Coast. A nor'easter caught me in the Boston and Connecticut area and switched my plans around, and I heard the San Bernardino Mountains had some rough weather of their own while I was gone. 

Glad to be home.

And home is about to smell like brats. By Saturday morning, Sylvan Park trades its usual quiet for steins and polka under the oaks.

The 15th Annual Redlands Optimist Club Oktoberfest is here, and it is the easiest yes on the weekend calendar.

This issue is landing a little later than usual, so I kept it tight and useful.

Inside: a Redlands author whose books now share a downtown shelf with Virginia Woolf, 2,000 Angels tickets that turned into a lot of first ballgames for local families, a five-course dinner at Burrage Mansion that funds Redlands students, and Lynyrd Skynyrd just up the hill in Highland.

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

🍊 Grove Street Headlines

🎭 ARTS & CULTURE

A Redlands Author, a Duchess, and a Spot Next to Virginia Woolf

Tracy Wise writes university communications by day. Historical fiction is the thing she cannot put down. Her second book, Manufacturing a Duchess, launched September 22 at the Contemporary Club in an event hosted by the Friends of the A.K. Smiley Public Library, where she sits on the board and volunteers in the Friends bookstore.

The novel is set in 1820s Britain, and it does something most Regency stories skip. It lets the Industrial Revolution into the room. Wise dedicated the book to her late mother, a devoted reader of Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen, and she calls it “as much as anything an homage to Georgette Heyer.” Much of the writing came after she took early retirement to care for her mother.

Here is the part I love. The Frugal Frigate put her work on the shelf right next to Virginia Woolf, and Wise joked that a lifetime at the back of every alphabetical line finally paid off. Her first book, the novella Madame Sorel's Lodger, is a finalist for the Bridge Book Award, and the winner gets translated into Italian when it is announced in December. Manufacturing a Duchess is out now in print and audiobook from Type Eighteen Books. Buy it downtown and you are supporting a Redlands story twice.

Source: Community Forward Redlands

🎓 COMMUNITY

2,000 Tickets, Five Schools, and a Lot of First Ballgames

For some Redlands families, this fall was the first time they ever walked into a big-league ballpark. The Los Angeles Angels donated 2,000 game tickets to students and families at Crafton, Franklin, Kimberly, Lugonia, and Victoria elementary schools through the Angels Community Ticket Program.

The schools did not just hand them out. They tied the tickets to attendance incentives, family engagement activities, and drawings for games on August 16, August 30, and September 20. At Kimberly, the Angels Baseball Foundation ran a skills clinic on campus, every student went home with an Angels hat, and nine donated gloves became prizes for perfect attendance. Kimberly's attendance clerk, Norma De Leon, watched families go the extra mile to get kids to school on time. Then she went to the September 20 game with her own family. It was her first baseball game ever.

My favorite review came from a second grader named Kylo, who summed up his night with cotton candy and “popcorn with pickle seasoning.” That kid will remember the ballpark for the rest of his life. When a big organization shows up for our neighborhood schools like this, it is worth saying thank you out loud.

Source: Community Forward Redlands

🌳 Around the Groves

Dog Jog, October 25. The Redlands Chamber's ninth annual Dog Jog starts and finishes at Smiley Park on Eureka Street, with check-in at 9 AM and the jog at 10. Adults are $30, kids under 18 and dogs are free, and half of adult fees go to the Redlands Animal Shelter. Costume contest, K-9 demos, and adoptable shelter dogs you can walk on the course. Register here.

Your voice on local jobs. The Redlands Chamber of Commerce is surveying employers and job seekers for an October report on hiring challenges and what people looking for work actually want here. If you hire, or you are looking, your answers help shape it. Details here.

Jack and the Beanstalk climbs onto the LifeHouse stage. LifeHouse Theater premieres an all-new original musical take on the fairy tale starting October 10, with weekend performances into November. Check lifehousetheater.com for times and tickets.

🍊 Live Music Events

THURSDAY 10/1

The Three Stags Irish Pub — Live Music, check @thethreestags.irishpub for this week's performer

📍 328 Orange St, Redlands, CA | 🕐 8 PM

A pint, a booth, and live music on Orange Street is a fine way to start the weekend a day early.

FRIDAY 10/2

The Three Stags Irish Pub — Live Music, check @thethreestags.irishpub for this week's performer

📍 328 Orange St, Redlands, CA | 🕐 8 PM

Downtown's Irish pub keeps the Friday stage lit.

Septembers Taproom & Eatery — Live Music, check @septemberstaproom for this week's performer

📍 515 Orange St, Ste B, Redlands, CA | 🕐 8:30 PM

Big tap list, a stage, and a veteran-owned room with plenty of heart.

SATURDAY 10/3

Redlands Oktoberfest Main Stage — Traditional German music and polka from the SoCal Polka Band

📍 Sylvan Park, 601 N University St, Redlands, CA | 🕐 11 AM to 7 PM

Polka under the oaks with a stein in hand. Festival admission required.

Ritual Brewing Co. — Live Music, check @ritualbrewing for this week's performer

📍 1315 Research Dr, Redlands, CA | 🕐 7 PM

Saturday sets in one of the best brewery rooms in the Inland Empire.

The Three Stags Irish Pub — Live Music, check @thethreestags.irishpub for this week's performer

📍 328 Orange St, Redlands, CA | 🕐 8 PM

Saturday night on Orange Street, the way it should be.

SUNDAY 10/4

Redlands Oktoberfest Main Stage — Traditional German music and polka from the SoCal Polka Band

📍 Sylvan Park, 601 N University St, Redlands, CA | 🕐 11 AM to 5 PM

The family-friendly final day of the festival. Festival admission required.

The Three Stags Irish Pub — Live Music, check @thethreestags.irishpub for this week's performer

📍 328 Orange St, Redlands, CA | 🕐 4 PM

An easy Sunday afternoon session to close the weekend.

🎯 Your Redlands Weekend

🚗 Worth the Drive

Big nights just beyond the groves. These are not in Redlands, but they are close enough to matter.

Yucaipa Performing Arts Center (Yucaipa) — Bohemian Queen

📍 12062 California St, Yucaipa, CA | 🕐 Fri 10/2, 7:30 PM

Paulie Z steps into Freddie Mercury's shoes, and his costume changes for a sing-along trip through Queen's catalog from the early classics to the stadium anthems. Tickets via Ticketmaster or the YPAC box office at (909) 500-7714.

Yaamava' Theater (Highland) — The Offspring

📍 Yaamava' Resort & Casino, 777 San Manuel Blvd, Highland, CA | 🕐 Fri 10/2, 8 PM (doors 7)

The Garden Grove punk band that helped drag punk back onto the radio in the '90s, in a theater that holds about 3,000. 21+, tickets via AXS.

Yaamava' Theater (Highland) — Lynyrd Skynyrd

📍 Yaamava' Resort & Casino, 777 San Manuel Blvd, Highland, CA | 🕐 Sun 10/4, 8 PM (doors 7)

Southern rock royalty, just up the road from downtown. Bring your loudest request. 21+, tickets via AXS.

Gratitude & Community

Thank you for your patience with this week's late arrival.

If you do one thing this weekend, get to Sylvan Park for Oktoberfest, grab a brat, and let the kids loose in the kids zone. That is Redlands at its best: neighbors under the oaks, raising money for our own young people.

Enjoy the cooler evenings and make it great weekend!

See you around town,
— Carlos Samaniego
RedlandsNow.com