Riverside ArtsWalk Downtown First Thursday Night

Downtown Riverside is doing its usual first-Thursday trick again — turning a regular weeknight into an art crawl. On Thursday, May 7, Riverside ArtsWalk runs from 6 to 9 p.m., with free entry at both Riverside Art Museum and The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture. That matters because ArtsWalk is not one venue or one show. It is a stitched-together downtown night where museums, galleries, studios, pop-ups, and performances all light up at once. ### What is ArtsWalk, exactly? It is Riverside’s monthly First Thursday arts night. The Riverside Arts Council describes it as a community event built around downtown arts and culture, and the format is simple — you walk, stop in, look around, then keep moving. The event has been around since 2002, which is why it feels less like a one-off festival and more like a standing local ritual. ### What happens on May 7? The core hours are 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, 2026. During that window, Riverside Art Museum and The Cheech are both open free to the public as part of the night’s programming. No tickets are needed for that museum access, which lowers the barrier for people who just want to wander in for one stop or build a whole evening around several. ### Why do those two museums matter so much? Because they anchor the night. Riverside Art Museum gives ArtsWalk a central, familiar stop in the Julia Morgan building, and The Cheech gives it a major Chicano art destination a short walk away. When both are free on the same night, ArtsWalk becomes easier to treat like a real downtown loop instead of a single errand. ### Is it just museums? No — that is the useful thing to understand. ArtsWalk spreads across more than 22 downtown locations, including galleries and studios, and the city’s own event language points people toward the broader downtown mix of dining, shopping, and entertainment around it. Basically, the art is the reason to come out, but the format is designed to spill into the rest of downtown. ### What else is happening that night? One specific add-on is at UCR ARTS. The Culver Center is hosting a free ArtsWalk concert from 6 to 8 p.m., featuring the UCR Latin American Music ensemble performing folk music from the Andean regions. That gives the night a clear live-music stop, not just gallery browsing. Downtown’s May calendar shows the museum side of the night connecting to current exhibitions already on view at RAM and The Cheech. That includes shows like *Chicano Camera Culture* and other ongoing exhibitions listed for May, so ArtsWalk works partly as an after-hours doorway into exhibitions that otherwise sit inside normal museum scheduling. ### Where do you find the full route? Raincross Gazette’s May roundup points readers to the ArtsWalk and notes that participating venues and schedule details are listed there. The official museum and Arts Council pages confirm the recurring hours and free-admission setup, but the practical move is to check the venue list before heading out so you can map a route instead of improvising on the sidewalk. ### Bottom line This is a downtown art night with some real structure behind it — not just vague “open late” energy. If you go on May 7, the safest bet is to start with the free museum anchors, then branch out to the smaller stops and the UCR ARTS concert while everything is active.