ORF_Events.html

Events

Old Riverside Foundation maintains a busy schedule of dinners, tours, and meetings throughout the year. Check the main page for the latest information on upcoming events. For general information on ORF’s signature events, select from the list below:

Twelfth Night — An elegant progressive dinner served in some of Riverside's most stylish vintage homes. Click the link for more information.

Vintage Home Tour and Restoration Faire — An all-day open house of delightfully decorated, beautifully intact historic homes, plus an open-air bazaar surrounding the Peter J. Weber House. Click the link for more information.

Awards Ceremony — An afternoon event that showcases some of the year’s best public, commercial and private historic preservation projects in Riverside County. Every year, the Old Riverside Foundation honors painstaking restoration, diligent maintenance, and good adaptive reuse through its Annual Awards Presentation. Anyone can nominate a preservation project for an ORF Award. Click the link for more information.

Annual Meeting — Open only to ORF members, this important afternoon meeting is where members hear a report on the Foundation’s activities, hear a featured speaker, and vote on the Board of Directors. Click the link for more information.

Other Events — From time to time, ORF holds special events related to current preservation issues and special occasions. These will be listed on the main page as they are planned.

Twelfth Night

PHOTO GALLERY: View photos from 2013 Twelfth Night event
(Note: To save images from the gallery, click an image for full size window, then right-click image and "Save image as ..." to your local computer.)

Twelfth Night is a traditional Christmas celebration, steeped in history and tradition in many European countries. The early European settlers of the United States naturally brought many of the traditions of their home countries with them, including all the celebrations of the winter and Christmas season. In the same manner, early residents of Riverside (incorporated in 1883) established the traditions of their day, so a Victorian Twelfth Night became one of Riverside's early celebrations. Ironically, back in the 1870's era Victorian England, Queen Victoria had banned Twelfth Night as a feast day because it had become a time of mischief and over indulgence rather than a religious celebration.

The Old Riverside Foundation has brought back the tradition with some of the old feel and some newer ideas. Traditionally, Twelfth Night is on January 5th (the 12th day after Christmas), and has for centuries been the culmination of the 12-day Christmas season (thus the Twelve Days of Christmas holiday song). Guests are encouraged to join in the spirit of Riverside's original Twelfth Night Celebrations by wearing period dress or semi-formal attire.

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PDF: Download the flyer

Vintage Home Tour and Restoration Faire

Each year, Old Riverside Foundation features fine examples of the many styles of architecture prevalent in Riverside at the height of its prosperity. Different homes are open each year to give visitors a glimpse into the lives of Riversiders from different eras. The annual event is held in May on the Saturday following Mother's Day.

In addition to the opportunity to tour some of Riverside's beautiful vintage homes, the Restoration Faire features a tour of the Old Riverside Foundation's freshly restored headquarters — the Peter J. Weber House — and a host of booths featuring antiques, crafts, restoration services, and salvage items for your home and garden.

The 22nd Annual Vintage Home Tour and Restoration Faire
Date: Saturday, May 18, 2013 | Time: 10 a.m - 5 p.m. | Tickets: $15 (pre-sale); ($20 day of tour)
Download the flyer for more info.

Enjoy the photographs from the 2012 event below from Michael Mazgai Photography. Click on any of the pictures for a 26 image slide show.

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Awards Presentation and Reception

An afternoon event that showcases some of the year’s best public, commercial and private historic preservation projects in Riverside County. Every year, the Old Riverside Foundation honors painstaking restoration, diligent maintenance, and good adaptive reuse through its Annual Awards Presentation. Anyone can nominate a preservation project for an ORF Award. Click here for an Award Nomination Form. Complete and send to Laura Densmore via email at ldensmore1175@aol.com (subject: Award Nomination) or via regular mail to:

Old Riverside Foundation,
Attn: Laura Densmore
P.O. Box 601
Riverside, CA 92502

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Annual Meeting

Open to ORF members, this important afternoon lunch meeting is where members hear a report of the Foundation's activities, hear a featured speaker, and vote on the Board of Directors.

The highlight of our 2012 meeting was guest speaker, Ted Wells, an author, guest lecturer, designer and preservationist, to name a few. Ted talked about the 50-year mark (for historic designation) of buildings from the 1960s. Ted said that “Most people likely don't consider the buildings of the 1960s as "historic," when … many of them are, and were really the fruition of the post-war stampede toward modern design. By the 70s, much of the purity and dynamic qualities of modern architecture had petered out, so the 60s is an era waiting to be re-evaluated, re-defined, and re-discovered.” Ted also had some of his recently-published books available for sale and signing. Click here for a link to some of Ted's podcasts.

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