The Green Pig Goes to Gerrards, Art for Heaven's Sake, and Frozen Lands in San Bernardino

After school, the phone rang, and a nine-year-old in Redlands picked it up.

Her mom answered from work with that night's instructions. Get the pot. Wash the chicken. Water until it covers the chicken, then onion, garlic, salt. Put it on low. I'll be home soon.

That girl grew up to co-found The Green Pig, and her family's salsa is about to land on a shelf in the town where she learned to cook.

Her story leads this week. Right behind it: more than 70 artists filling a church garden on Bellevue for free, the Redlands police grilling for families Saturday morning, a horror book fair at Ritual, and Freddy Krueger back on the big screen at Mountain Grove.

As for me, I'm taking my own advice this week. Liz and I are heading over to San Bernardino this weekend to see Frozen, and next Tuesday night you'll find me at Mountain Grove for The Lost Boys. A movie guy does not pass up that one on the big screen.

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

🍊 Grove Street Headlines

🍽️ FOOD & DINING

From a Stool by the Stove to a Shelf at Gerrards

Rose Nunez Guzman was born in San Bernardino and raised in Redlands. She grew up on Lugonia, then Clay Street, while her mom worked at the orange packing house near Redlands High. By nine, she was starting dinner from phone instructions. By her teens, she was cooking most nights because, as her mom tells it, Rose listened to everything and it always tasted good.

The Green Pig started with a pot of chile verde she brought to work. Coworkers asked for more, then burritos, then whole parties. Her husband, Joe Guzman, finally told her to make it real and promised to help. They got the permits and the trailer, and in 2023 they opened The Green Pig together, catering out of a food tent and trailer. They have never paid for an ad. Every job has come by word of mouth.

Now comes the jar. Rose's salsa is her mother's recipe with her own twist, in Mild, Medium, and Hot, and the team at Gerrards Market tasted it and wanted it in the store. She is finishing the labels and barcodes now, so watch for it soon. Her rule is simple: fresh ingredients, no shortcuts, the same way every time. And cook with love. When a hometown grocer that has been feeding Redlands since 1930 makes room for a hometown cook, that is this town working exactly the way it should.

Source: RedlandsNow.com, the full story

Follow along: @the_greenpig_est.23

🎭 ARTS & CULTURE

Art, for Heaven's Sake! Turns 47 This Weekend, and It's Free

It started in a private home with five local artists. This weekend, Art, for Heaven's Sake! fills the grounds and gardens of Redlands United Church of Christ, 168 Bellevue Ave, with more than 70 juried fine artists for its 47th year. Oils, watercolor, photography, stained glass, pottery, jewelry, metal sculpture. Admission is free.

Hours are Friday 6 to 9 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 7 PM, and Sunday 11:30 AM to 5 PM. This year's featured artist is W. Jason Situ, a plein air painter trained at the Guangzhou Fine Arts Institute who has painted the California landscape full time since 1997. Jazz musicians come in from Los Angeles to play alongside local players all weekend, with a craft boutique in Mosaic Hall and food trucks outside.

Here is what makes it more than a shopping trip. A portion of the proceeds goes to the Redlands Community Scholarship Foundation, which connects local students with scholarships funded by local donors. Buy a painting, help a kid get to college. Hard to beat that trade.

Source: artforheavenssake.org

🌳 Around the Groves

Debbie Mount at the Redlands Art Association, through Oct. 30. Thirty-five years teaching art, she donated most of these paintings in the last three months, including Prospect Park, the ocean, and a portrait of Jackie, the Big Bear bald eagle, painted the day after she died. Browse for free at 215 E. State St., Monday through Saturday, 11 AM to 5 PM. Read more.

Plane-or-Treat takes the runway, Oct. 25. The city's Halloween celebration lands at Redlands Municipal Airport, 1755 Sessums Dr., from 2 to 5 PM with trick-or-treating, aircraft displays, an inflatable maze and a petting zoo. Admission is $5 per person this year, so pre-register here and park at the Redlands Sports Park.

Leadership Redlands wants you. The Redlands Chamber is taking applications for the Leadership Redlands Class of 2027, a 10-month program that brings 20 people together to dig into local issues and finish a service project. Applications are due Oct. 31. Details.

🍊 Live Music Events

THURSDAY 10/15

Hangar 24 Craft Brewery — Hawthorne Heights (ticketed concert, opener TBA)

📍 1710 Sessums Dr, Redlands, CA | 🕐 5 to 10 PM

A rare national act on the brewery stage, so grab a ticket before you head over.

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

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

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

FRIDAY 10/16

Hangar 24 Craft Brewery — Coleslaw (dinner set), then Boots on the Runway line dancing

📍 1710 Sessums Dr, Redlands, CA | 🕐 5 to 8 PM, line dancing 8:30 to 11:30 PM

Dinner with live music by the runway, then the floor fills up and the boots come out.

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.

September's 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 room with plenty of heart.

SATURDAY 10/17

Hangar 24 Craft Brewery — The Spirit Shop (dinner set), then Boots on the Runway line dancing

📍 1710 Sessums Dr, Redlands, CA | 🕐 5 to 8 PM, line dancing 8:30 to 11:30 PM

A full Saturday night in one stop, from dinner set to last dance.

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

Your landing spot after an afternoon at the art festival.

SUNDAY 10/18

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 set to close out a big weekend.

🎯 Your Redlands Weekend

🎃 Halloween Fright Nights

I'm a big movie fan, and October is the best month of the year at Harkins Mountain Grove. Their Fright Nights series puts classic scares and family favorites back on the big screen for $6 a ticket. Here is what's playing over the next two weeks.

📍 Harkins Mountain Grove 16 | 27481 San Bernardino Ave, Redlands, CA

THIS WEEKEND

Casper (PG)

🕐 Fri 10/16, 5 PM, also listed Sat 10/17

The friendliest ghost in town, and the right first scary movie for the little ones.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, R)

🕐 Fri 10/16, 7:30 PM, also listed Sat 10/17

Freddy on a screen that big is a whole different animal. Try sleeping after that one.

The Lost Boys (1987, R)

🕐 Tue 10/20, 7 PM, Tuesday Night Classics

Vampires on the boardwalk and the best soundtrack of the decade. Bring the kid who has only seen it on a phone.

NEXT WEEKEND, FRI 10/23 AND SAT 10/24

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG)

🕐 Fri 10/23 and Sat 10/24, times post closer to the date

Halloween and Christmas on one ticket, and still the best family pick of the month.

The Exorcist (1973, R)

🕐 Fri 10/23 and Sat 10/24, times post closer to the date

Fifty-plus years later, it still sends grown adults home checking under the bed.

Tickets and showtimes at harkins.com. Halloween weekend titles have not posted for Mountain Grove yet, and I'll have them for you next week.

🚗 Worth the Drive

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

Yaamava' Theater — Harry Connick Jr.

📍 777 San Manuel Blvd, Highland, CA | 🕐 Fri 10/16, 8 PM (doors 7 PM)

Jazz standards, New Orleans classics and the hits with his full band. 21+, tickets through AXS.

California Theatre of the Performing Arts — Disney's Frozen the Musical

📍 562 W 4th St, San Bernardino, CA | 🕐 Fri 10/16, 8 PM; Sat 10/17, 2 and 8 PM; Sun 10/18, 2 PM

The Broadway tour sets up in a historic downtown movie palace, and it is a whole-family night out. Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Gratitude & Community

Rose's story is like so many of ours: a kitchen, a parent's voice on the other end of the line, and someone who finally said, "You should do this."

When her salsa shows up at Gerrards, buy a jar.

Liz and I will be in our seats for Frozen this weekend, and I won't miss The Lost Boys on Tuesday.

If you do one thing this week, grab a ticket for Tuesday night at Mountain Grove, because a movie like that belongs in a full, dark room.

See you around town,
Carlos Samaniego
 RedlandsNow.com