First SundaysFirst Sundays return in October 2023! All First Sunday events are from 1-4 p.m. and free of charge. Please take note of First Sundays that will occur at different locations.October 1, 2023 - Touch-a-Bug Zoo November 5, 2023 - Blossom Maciel presents Indigenous basketweaving December 3, 2023 - Make a traditional orange tree ornament! January 7, 2024 - National House Plant Day - celebrate with succulents February 4, 2024 - Joseph the Reptile Hunter brings his friends to visit with you March 3, 2024 - Hinamatsuri origami April 7, 2024 - National Handmade Day - celebrate with papermaking and other crafts May 5, 2024 - Captain Carl and His Mobile Tidepool (at the SSgt. Salvador J. Lara Casa Blanca Library, 2985 Madison Street) |
Attend fascinating discussions with people from our local community.
No previous expertise necessary!
First Fridays of the month | 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. FREE!
Located at the Main Library Community Room, 3900 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside.
Friday, October 6, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Jennifer Mermilliod, architectural historian, JM Research &
Consulting, and Restored TV show historian
“Evergreen Cemetery: Riverside's Pioneer Burial Grounds
Reflect Local History and National Trends”
Learn about the evolution of American cemetery design,
funerary architecture, and death and burial practices
embodied in Riverside's oldest cemetery and
the extraordinary citizens its grounds embrace.
Friday, November 3, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Christopher Tracy, Ph.D., Director, Philip L. Boyd Deep
Canyon Desert Research Center, University of California
Natural Reserve System, University of California, Riverside
“Sand Between Their Toes: How Coachella Fringe-toed
Lizards Helped Us Understand Desert Lizards in Africa”
The Coachella Valley is the only place in the world where
the Coachella fringe-toed lizard lives. Herpetologist Dr.
Chris Tracy will introduce us to his decades-long study of
this federally protected lizards species, how it has
affected development and natural conservation in the valley,
and how that project took the research team from the Deep
Canyon Research Center to Africa's Namibian Desert to
understand more about lizards that live on sand dunes. Click
here to reserve your free seat.
Friday, December 1, 2023 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Cathy Gudis, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History,
University of California, Riverside
“From King Citrus to the Empire of Logistics”
The inland region today is occupied by over a billion square
feet iof warehouses, and Amazon is the biggest employer. Yet
the region was once promoted through vistas of seemingly
endless orchards and was known as the Orange Empire, where
citrus was king. How did we get to this point, where
logistics has dominated the landscape, and with what
implications? Click
here to reserve your free seat.
Friday, January 5, 2024 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
H. Vincent Moses, Ph.D., Vincate & Associates History
Consultants - RESCHEDULED FROM MAY 2023
“Jekel, Spurgeon, Wilson: Riverside's Architects of the
Spanish Colonial Revival, 1914-1940”
By 1930, the Spanish Colonial Revival (SCR) dominated the
architecture of Southern California. Moses's presentation
will examine the primary works of Riverside's three best
known architects of the SCR 1903-1940 and place them within
the context of SCR in Southern California.
8193 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA 92504
Heritage House is closed for site work and will reopen in November on a date to be announced.
Regular tours of Heritage House are held Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (12:15-3:15 p.m.)
Please make a reservation to tour Heritage House via
Eventbrite link here.
Moon Festival, originally scheduled for September 29, 2023, is cancelled due to site work at Heritage House.