Triple-Digit Heat, Foam Fight, and Frozen Comes to the Bowl

Free theater at the Bowl, a foam-soaked Saturday, and the lunch spot we can't stop talking about.

Redlands Now

Jul 22, 2026

Triple-Digit Heat, Foam Fight, and Frozen Comes to the Bowl

Free theater at the Bowl, a foam-soaked Saturday, and the lunch spot we can't stop talking about.

From the Groves

Why This Matters

Hello, Redlands neighbors!

By the time you read this, Redlands is closing in on triple digits for the fourth day running. I'll admit something up front: I'm not going to be here to feel it.

Liz and I are headed up to Monterey this week to see the family, and my son already gave me the packing list. Bring sweaters. While the rest of you are hunting for shade, I'll be up the coast pulling on a jacket in July, and I know exactly how lucky that makes me.

Being gone doesn't mean I'm checking out, though. There's a lot happening around town while the mercury climbs: a free Broadway musical under the stars at the Bowl, a foam-soaked afternoon for the kids, a market that beats the heat by opening at 7 AM, a Repair Café worth clearing your Saturday morning for, and a new lunch spot Liz and I found that's worth driving across town for.

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

Trending

🍊 GROVE STREET HEADLINES

Trending

🍊 Grove Street Headlines

🎭 Arts & Culture

Redlands Bowl Brings Frozen to Life Under the Stars, Free

Four nights, one animated classic turned Broadway spectacle, and not a ticket in sight. Disney's Frozen the Musical opens tonight at the Redlands Bowl and runs through Sunday, all four shows starting at 8 PM, and every single one of them is free.

This is the 103rd season of "Music Under the Stars," America's longest continuously running summer music festival, and the Bowl knows exactly what it's doing bringing Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf to Smiley Park in the middle of a heat wave. The show starts after sundown, the 5,000-seat bowl has bench seating plus grassy areas for blankets and lawn chairs, and there's something fitting about a story of eternal winter cooling down a Redlands night.

A couple of first-timer notes. Seating is first come, first served, no saved seats and no canopies, so arrive early if you want a good spot. Picnics are welcome, but your cooler has to fit under your seat. Bring water. Ushers pass a donation basket at intermission, entirely voluntary, and it's what keeps this festival free for all of us. The park is at 25 Grant St.

redlandsbowl.org/disney-frozen

🍽️ Local Business

The Redlands Spot You've Probably Never Driven Past

Every town needs a third place. Not home, not work, somewhere in between. Redlands has one, and there's a decent chance you've never driven past it.

Four Corners Eatery & Coffee Bar sits at 505 New Jersey St, tucked into a stretch of West Redlands most of us only pass on the way to somewhere else. Liz and I finally made the trip this week, and I watched why it works while we were there: a student camped out with a laptop, two realtors running a client meeting over coffee, a table of friends lingering long after breakfast was cleared. Nobody chasing a trend, just people using the space the way a third place is supposed to be used.

Serving Redlands since 2016 as Deli on the Corner before growing into today's full eatery and coffee bar, wine room included. We split a Sicilian sandwich that didn't survive long enough for either of us to admit we should have ordered our own, and the iced tea was some of the best I've had in Redlands. Full feature below.

fourcornerseatery.com

🌳 AROUND THE GROVES

🌳 Around the Groves

Beat the heat, Redlands. Highs push past 100 today through Saturday before easing into the low 90s Sunday. The city's standing cooling spots are the Joslyn Senior Center (21 Grant St) and the Gonzales Community Center (111 W Lugonia Ave); call ahead to confirm hours since they can shift with the forecast. Check on an elderly neighbor if you can.

Downtown's Morning Market opens at 7 AM Saturday, not 9, so early birds get first pick before the heat does. Twenty-five-plus vendors, fresh eggs, and more citrus varieties than you knew existed. What's your never-miss booth?

Foam Fiesta is just the first of three. After Saturday's splash at Brookside Park, the city brings the foam cannons back Aug. 1 at the Redlands Sports Complex and Aug. 8 at Martinez Park. Mark your calendars now.

The Repair Café returns Saturday morning, 9 to noon at the Flores Senior Center, with volunteers fixing bikes, lamps, clothing, and small appliances for free. What's sitting in your garage that you'd rather fix than replace?

Redlands' Best-Kept Secret: The Hidden Gem Locals Don't Want You to Find

Four Corners Eatery & Coffee Bar has been quietly serving West Redlands since 2016 — and it deserves far more attention than it gets.

Tucked away at 505 New Jersey St, this neighborhood gem started as a simple deli and juice bar before evolving into something harder to define — and harder to leave.

The menu covers espresso, fresh juice, sandwiches, and salads, with an unexpected wine room tucked in the back.

But the real draw is the atmosphere. Students, professionals, and friends fill the dining room without any pressure to move on — exactly what a great third place should feel like.

The Sicilian sandwich — mortadella, salami, pepperoni, and provolone on ciabatta — is a standout, and the iced tea ranks among the best in Redlands.

Open Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 7 PM, and Saturday until 5 PM. Closed Sunday.

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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