If you have not heard about it yet, get ready to mark your calendar. Next Thursday, October 4th, is an inaugural event you won’t want to miss. The Long Night of Arts & Innovation is going to be an incredible opportunity to actively learn about, and experience first hand how the arts and innovative technology are strong economic drivers for the City of Riverside. This event was created based on a Long Night event that occurs in our sister city Erlangen, Germany. After a visit to Erlangen last year Mayor Ron Loveridge and a delegation from Riverside enjoyed their Long Night event they decided to bring the idea back to Riverside. We have so much to showcase in our community, The Long Night of Arts and Innovation will share all that happens in the art and innovation industries in the city.

From 6pm until midnight you’ll be able to enjoy live demonstrations, performances, exhibits, and hands on activities at over 130 venues throughout downtown Riverside. This will not be just your regular First Thursday event! The University of California at Riverside (UCR), California Baptist University (CBU), La Sierra University (LSU) and Riverside Community College (RCC), along with the Riverside Philharmonic, the Riverside Metropolitan and the Riverside Art Museums will “open their doors” in a centralized downtown location for all those interested in the arts and sciences.

It will be a challenge to not be enthralled for the full six hours of the event. (If you choose to arrive at the start.) You’ll be able to listen to lectures on everything from spiders to Avatar plants, experience the universe through UCR’s Keck telescope, visit the Riverside Philharmonic’s musical petting zoo, watch culinary demonstrations with RCC Culinary Institute and Phood on Main, experience magic shows, Tesla coils and more! For a detailed schedule of everything that will be taking place, here is a printable schedule of all the presentations. You will want to take a look at this schedule prior to going to the event so you can map out your plan for the evening. There is even a handy chart on the last page just for this purpose.

So, come Downtown next Thursday and get ready to experience a plethora of Art & Science.
In case we haven’t convinced you yet, here is a link to the City’s sneak peek video page, . We’ll see you on Main Street!