RAM’s Riverside Art Make: The 52 Project
The Ransom-McKenzie Team is proud to be a sponsor of Riverside Art Museum’s “52 Project”. If you know us, you know that we are “Artists in Disguise as Realtors”. While the Realtor thing does take a lot of our time, we always enjoy making time for the arts.
As sponsors, we will be actively participating in the “52 Project” which is the brainchild of our good friend, Sue Mitchell. Sue’s journey as an artist through her extraordinary “52” Exhibit which took place at RAM October – December 2013, has inspired us to participate in the “52 Project”. The goal is to bring artists and artist “wanna’ bes” from across the city and beyond together in a “52 week, self directed journaling adventure”. The beauty of this project is that anyone with creative aspirations in any the creative arts can join in the fun. This means YOU! Don’t be scared to try it out, everyone will be working together to support one another and help to get the creative juices flowing. We believe that art is an important part of our existence, don’t let it go by the wayside.
“The 52 Project”, a part of RAM’s Riverside Art Make, is about getting a group of creative people together to find inspiration and motivation from one another while working on a 52-week, self-directed art journaling project. The goal is to help you develop the habit of capturing your ideas and being more artful on a regular basis.
The first meeting of the minds is Sunday, May 3rd, 2015 so you have plenty of time to sign up. We’re encouraging our friends to join us and have fun! As sponsors The Ransom-McKenzie Team is privileged to have the opportunity to invite some of our friends to join us as our guests. Let us know if you might be interested in this opportunity and joining us in the journaling adventures. Send us an e-mail and let us know you’re in!
How Does “The 52 Project” Work?
Option 1:
A 52-week, self-directed art journaling adventure. The journal you keep can be any style, size, and be kept daily, weekly, or monthly. What we ask is that you make this journal an “EVERYTHING BOOK” capturing all of your creative ideas as if it were a scrapbook, sketchbook, daily planner, diary, and journal.
Option 2:
For those of you that feel a creative idea developing along the way, e.g., a short story, dance piece, one-act play, art exhibit, etc., we will help you learn (at the October meeting) how to write an exhibit/project proposal to submit to the museum. The museum will jury the proposals and select a variety of projects for 4-day exhibitions/performances to be held during the Summer of 2016. (You do not need to decide if you want to participate in Option 2 until the October meeting. It has no additional cost.)
Enrollment in the “52 Project” is open to museum members and non members alike. There will be four general “meetings” or workshops where participants will gather to review ideas, offer support, present proposals, and generally discuss how your journaling adventure is going. The dates for these meetings are:
- Sunday, May 3, 2015, 1:00 p.m.: KICK-OFF MEETING | Q&A | View “52” Documentary | Journaling demos.
- Sunday, October 4, 2015, 1:00 p.m.: MID-YEAR MEETING | Journaling and proposal writing workshops.
- Sunday, March 5, 2016: NO MEETING | PROPOSALS DUE by 4:00 p.m. if you opted for Option 2.
- Sunday, May 1, 2016, 1:00 p.m.: FINAL MEETING | Share art journals | Announce projects selected.
For more information on this project and other RAM Riverside Art Make events taking place, visit the RAM website. You can sign up for the “52 Project” online.
CUC Breakfast Meeting Wednesday, April 25, 2015
Join us Wednesday, April 25th for another informative Citizens University Committee Breakfast at UCR. This month’s topic is “Out of the Lab: Brain & Eye Fitness Games”.
This month’s speaker, Professor Victor Zordan, will be presenting research regarding new methods of improving memory and vision through an app on your smartphone. Professor Zordan will be standing in for Dr. Aaron Seitz, UCR Professor of Psychology and is a member of Dr. Seitz’s team working to develop a series of “Brain Games” aimed at improving overall brain fitness.
Working with the newly founded UCR Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Well Being researchers have the mission to research, test, and disseminate game software instrumented with expert knowledge to optimize human brain processes with an aim to make scientifically principled brain games that translate to performance in real-life activities.
Also this month the CUC will be celebrating National Volunteer Month. We will be honoring top UCR organizations that are giving back and volunteering to make our community a better place.
The monthly CUC Breakfast Meetings take place on the fourth Wednesday of the month. Doors open at 7:15 am and the program starts at 7:30 am. Breakfast costs $18 for members and $22 for non members and includes a deluxe breakfast buffet and free parking. Join us at the UCR Alumni and Visitor’s Center this week! For more information regarding this month’s event, click here. Space is limited so make your reservations today!
Plant Sale at UCR Botanic Gardens
We’re hearing in the news every day about how severe our drought situation is in California. According to the drought monitor posted by the National Drought Mitigation Center our area of California is suffering extreme drought conditions.
Both Riverside Public Utilities and the Western Municipal Water District are encouraging customers to start to conserve water and have imposed water restrictions on residents. Considering that 65-75% of our water use comes form landscape watering, it might be a good time to start thinking about planting some water wise plants, with a drip irrigation system. Both utility companies also are offering great rebate programs for taking out thirsty grass and replacing it with drip irrigation. A win-win for everyone!
UCR Plant Sale This Weekend
If you need inspiration as to what you should plant, it is here! The UCR Botanic Gardens is having their spring plant sale this weekend! The sale dates are Saturday, March 28th from 11am – 4pm and Sunday, March 29th from 9am – 3pm. This sale features hundreds of plants to choose from, all laid out in and amongst the beautiful grounds of the gardens. An added bonus is that there are helpful master gardeners and volunteers to help you pick out plants that will save you money because they are native and water wise.
All of the proceeds from the sale go towards the wonderful programs that the UCR Botanic Gardens provides for the community. These events include bird walk breakfasts, children adventure series, and garden tours and classes. The plant sale is a great way to support this lovely green oasis in Riverside.
“Something Like a Sabbatical”
The Ransom-McKenzie Team is excited to be sponsoring the screening of Sue Mitchell’s “52” Exhibit Documentary film “Something Like A Sabbatical” at the Riverside Art Museum on Sunday afternoon. The screening event starts at 4:00pm and will also feature a discussion with Sue and the award-winning documentary filmmakers Pamela Breere Briggs and William McDonald. There still may be a few seats left for this exciting event. Click here to make your reservations.
Hopefully we’ll see you there.
CUC Breakfast: Alzheimer’s Disease and Your Immune System
It is common Knowledge that as baby boomers age, our population as a whole is getting older fast. Many of us have experienced first hand friends or family who have suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. As the nation’s population of aging Baby Boomers increases, the rates for neurodegen-erative diseases are skyrocketing.
More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease today. The medical world is working hard to come up with ways to better understand this disease and how it affects our brains and reduces our quality of life. The Alzheimer’s Association projects that the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S. may nearly triple by 2050, raising the nation’s annual cost of care from $203 billion to $1.2 trillion unless new findings pave the way for more effective medical treatments to prevent, slow or stop the disease.
At this month’s Citizens University Committee (CUC) breakfast we’ll have the privilege of hearing from a leading researcher doing exactly that. Dr. Monica Carson, UCR Professor and Chair of the Biomedical Sciences department will be our guest speaker on Wednesday, March 25th. Here is a sneak peek at what Dr. Carson and her team are working on at UCR.
Join us for this month’s event. The CUC breakfasts are always interesting and informative. Click here for an informational flier and information to reserve your spot. Space is limited so we encourage you to make your reservations today.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Get Fit Riverside!
We’re always boasting about how wonderful our quality of life in Riverside is. Another great example of the good things that are happening took place last August. Forbes Magazine named Riverside the 8th “Coolest City” in the nation in a survey based on the simple idea of how many options are there for you to enjoy spending a Saturday in your city. The metric they used included “quantifying the availability of professional and college sports events, zoos and aquariums, golf courses, ski areas, and National parks, among others. It also factors in art and cultural options, measuring the presence of theater and musical performances as well as local museums.” Riverside’s public spaces, unique eateries, fabulous theaters and museums and our proximity to great hiking and outdoor activities worked to our advantage. Click here for the full article.
This weekend is the start of a great opportunity to get out and enjoy the 8th Coolest City. As part of a kickoff event for the R.I.G.H.T program (Riverside is Getting Healthy Together), this month’s “Walk With the Mayor” will start at Ryan Bonamino Park and participants will walk from the park up Mount Rubidoux. This is the start of the 3 month challenge through the City of Riverside. The Start R.I.G.H.T. Challenge is a city-wide, healthy-living campaign and challenge that aims to increase health knowledge and access to fitness and educational opportunities for Riverside Residents. The Challenge is completely FREE for people who live and work in Riverside to take part in! Residents who participate in the challenge have a chance to win a grand prize of $500. This year those that complete the challenge, by having both an entry weigh-in and exit weigh-out, are entered in a drawing to win $300. We will be giving away two $300 prizes. Click here for more details regarding this program and for details on how to join the challenge.
Let’s get out and get fit Riverside!
Come Create an Urban Fruit Trail
If your looking for a fun community event this weekend, come join the Riverside Art Museum (RAM) at Lincoln Park in Eastside for a new Riverside ArtMake participatory project. RAM is bringing Los Angeles–based, internationally acclaimed art collaborative Fallen Fruit (David Allen Burns and Austin Young) back to Riverside!
On Saturday, February 21 from 12-3pm at Lincoln Park in Eastside, Fallen Fruit will work with RAM and residents to install Riverside’s first “Urban Fruit Trail.” Come help plant and grow an “Urban Fruit Trail” and make it our own public artwork in Riverside! Fallen Fruit will plant 12 trees in Lincoln Park and extend the trail throughout the neighborhood with your participation and help. Sound like fun? Just think, you’ll be able to come back and visit your work any time, and in the future you’ll be able to enjoy the “fruits” of your labor.
“The Future of Publishing” at CUC Breakfast
One of the groups that we have enjoyed being involved with is the Citizens University Committee. (CUC) Their monthly breakfast meetings are always very insightful, interesting, and fun. The CUC strives to find connections between the community of Riverside and happenings and research at UCR.
You can join us next week for a great panel discussion featuring two faculty members from UCR’s Creative Writing department. Jane Smiley, UCR Professor of Creative Writing & Pulitzer Prize Winning Author and Tom Lutz, UCR Professor of Creative Writing & Founder and Editor, L.A. Review of Books will be discussing the many changes happening in the publishing world in recent years and beyond. The discussion will be moderated by Cati Porter, Executive Director of the Inlandia Institute. Here is a link to the informational flier for this month’s event.
Space is limited so RSVP today to join in the discussion by calling 951-827-5184. We look forward to seeing you there!
The City of Arts & Innovation
Riverside, the City of Arts & Innovation. Since the selection of this tagline, the city of Riverside has strived to live up to their mission: to “champion and advance Riverside as The City of Arts & Innovation in the broadest economic and social context possible”
Studies have shown that a vibrant Arts & Culture base provide strong economic benefits for cities. Riverside has depended on this as the Mayor and City Council continue to support more Culture and Arts related projects throughout Downtown.
The Box is located on the upper level of the Fox Entertainment Plaza.
One notable recent project which supports this mission, has been the Fox Performing Arts Center and the adjoining Fox Entertainment Plaza. Upon completion of the historic Fox Theater’s rehabilitation, the City worked to complete the Entertainment Plaza. This space includes a Showcase Venue for large public events and gatherings, The Box, a black box theater, The Promenade at the Box and a parking garage.
While controversial prior to completion, Riverside’s Arts community has eagerly embraced and is using this performance venue extensively. The Box venue is a location for producing and promoting local performing arts groups, as well as presenting traveling professional performances. The box is available for local theater groups such as Riverside Repertory Theater, Gestalt Theater Project and even local Schools that need theater space. With seating up to approximately 200 patrons, this venue is a great size, and the black box format means that shows can be presented in a multitude of configurations- proscenium, thrust, round, and more- The Box brings state of the art technology to the local theater community.
The Promenade is also available for events.
Right now is a great time to go check out the box for yourself. RiversideREP’s performance of West Side Story opens tonight, Friday, January 30th. You’ll see a fabulous production which uses the black box space in creative and exciting ways. Tickets are available at www.riversiderep.org. We’ll see you at The Box!
Celebration at Coldwell Banker Armstrong
Today we celebrate 50 Years in Riverside! Coldwell Banker Armstrong Properties has been serving Riverside residents’ real estate needs for 50 years! Even more impressive is the fact that we have been in the same building for all 50 years. Today we celebrate with an open house at our Googie Style building from 4 – 8pm.
Coldwell Banker Armstrong’s Googie Building
Stop by for a visit if you’re in the neighborhood!
If you would like more information on what “Googie Style” architecture is, “like” the Ransom-McKenzie Team on Facebook and we’ll give you the history of the Brockton Arcade’s predominant architectural style! If you’ve already liked the team, share our page with your friends and leave us a message. We’ll give you the scoop too!
Happy Birthday Coldwell Banker Armstrong Properties!!!!
The Ransom-McKenzie Team 