Save Riverside Chinatown

05/10/2026

It was a lovely evening to celebrate Ching-In Chen's newest book SHINY CITY with special guests Dan Kuo and Chris Santiago! Thank you to the Museum of Riverside for providing the historic setting, just outside of the home where one of Riverside's Chinese pioneers lived and labored. Thanks also to Kundiman Southern California Chapter, UC Riverside Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts, and Inlandia Institute.

05/07/2026

*TOMORROW!* May 8 at 7PM - we hope to see you at Heritage House to hear Ching-In Chen read from their new book SHINY CITY inspired by work with the Save Our Chinatown Committee! With special guests Daniel Kuo and Chris Santiago. Event is free and open to the public!

SHINY CITY examines the “real” and imagined history of Riverside, California’s Chinatown, juxtaposed with a speculative shiny city of the global future. Word by word, syntax by syntax, Chen projects the essential and unrecorded voices of the Chinese immigrants who picked and packed fruit in Riverside’s citrus groves and worked as house servants in the late 1800’s through the 1930’s, as well as the travelers and inhabitants of “shiny city” as they navigate its accelerated process of growth and decay. Both experimental and narrative, these poems juxtapose found texts with a singular kind of imagining: through a wild love, and despite an incomplete and fragmented archive, SHINY CITY reconstructs its own kind of history with beauty that emerges from between the cracks.

Location: Heritage House, 8193 Magnolia Ave, Riverside, CA 92504

Thanks to our sponsors: Kundiman, Museum of Riverside, Inlandia Institute and UCR Writers Week

04/25/2026

Remembering Riverside's Chinese pioneers at Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery and Olivewood Memorial Park

07/24/2025

Join us for the opening of the Pachappa Camp exhibit at the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California today at 6:00-8:00 p.m.!

04/22/2025

Join us next Thursday May 1 at the Riverside Main Library for a conversation with Author and Councilmember Jocelyn Yow, Eastvale's first woman of color councilmember and first Malaysian American to hold a position in public office in the United States. Event and refreshments free and open to the public! Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

03/22/2025

Join us for our annual public remembrance ceremony to honor Riverside's Chinese pioneers on April 5th!

01/13/2025

Given all the loss and devastation in L.A. County this past week, it's wonderful to share this update from Philly and celebrate the efforts of Save Chinatown Philly!

The Philadelphia 76ers have decided not to build a $1.3 billion downtown arena. The surprising move comes just weeks after the team received approval for the contentious project from the city council.

10/04/2024

On Saturday Oct 26th at 5:00 p.m., Save Riverside Chinatown and Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California will host a free community screening of Karen Cho's award-winning documentary Big Fight in Little Chinatown! Light refreshments will be served. Join us as we reflect on the important role historic communities play in contemporary times.

09/15/2024

Join the Museum of Riverside's Moon Festival this Tuesday, Sept 17th! Storytelling by Barbara Wong, performances by Gió Nam Múa Lân (Southern Wind Lion Dance, 南風醒獅團), Chinese calligraphy demonstrations by Riverside’s Hua Xia Chinese School, mah-jongg games and a fun craft for all ages. EVENT IS FREE! Be sure to stop by our table and say hello! Moon cakes will be available for purchase. Parking is available across the street at the Family Service Association parking lot at 8172 Magnolia Avenue, and street parking is available. At Heritage House (8193 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside).

08/02/2024

Hi friends, hope you're staying cool out there! Join us in supporting the Harada House Foundation and Dosan Memorial Foundation, next Saturday at 5:00 p.m. at the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California for the second of a four-part series celebrating Pachappa Camp, the first Korean American Settlement in the United States!

The keynote for the program is From Harada House to Pachappa Camp: a Conversation with Meiko Inaba. Meiko is a long-time Riverside resident, community volunteer and activist, and Riverside JACL member. She will talk about the friendship and relationship over time with Violet Catherine Kim, the last link to the Pachappa Camp days. Catherine Kim’s father and grandfather were responsible for the daily governance and care of the Pachappa Camp community in Dosan Ahn Chang Ho’s absence. Meiko was the executor of Catherine’s estate and was responsible for directing items via the Young Oak Kim Center for Korean American Studies to the UCR Library Special Collections and University Archives, resulting in the Violet Catherine Kim Collection.

The keynote will be preceded by entertainment and other speakers. Light refreshments will be served and this event is free and open to the public.