Out & About – 10/06/2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007 – This past Saturday, if one ventured down to the weekly Farmers Market held on the pedestrian mall in downtown Riverside, they couldn’t help but hear the sounds from a multicultural festival just two blocks away.
The 9th Annual “Multicultural Family Village Festival” took place in front of the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, located on Mission Inn Avenue at Orange Street. Sponsored by the city-run museum, the modest festival included music, dance, arts & crafts and food from a number of local community groups.
The event gave us an excuse to revisit a special exhibit inside the Metropolitan Museum itself. The exhibit is the first of a two-part exhibit, “The Mission Inn: Celebrating 30 Years as a National Historic Landmark,” which is being shared with the nearby Mission Inn Museum.
Part one — “Creating a Legacy (1875 – 1955)” — showcases personal artifacts from the Miller family during the Inn’s early days, including paintings, photographs and a few pieces of furniture. Also on display is the original sketch (and U.S. Patent) for the Raincross symbol. The exhibit ends its 3-month run on October 14.
Part two — “Saving the Community’s Heritage (1955 – present)” — documents the Inn during rough times following the end of the Miller family stewardship, the subsequent ownership changes and selling off of some of the Inn’s treasures, the eventual multimillion dollar refurbishment and recent revival. This second exhibit opened last month at the Mission Inn Museum and runs through January 5, 2008.
Admission to both museums is free (though a nominal donation of $2 is gladly accepted).
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