Cathedral City, Riverside County, California Names First Poet Laureate: Curator Clare Chu Appointed as City Council Adopts First Full Development Code Update Since 1981
In Cathedral City, in Riverside County, California, author and art curator Clare Chu has been appointed the city's first Poet Laureate. The City announced the appointment in Issue 573 of its Discover Digest on October 29, in an introduction signed by Assistant City Manager Anne Ambrose, who called it a milestone moment for the city.
Chu has long been part of the local arts scene in the Perez Art District and has shared her poetry at community events. Raised in Malta and England, she made Southern California her home, has authored twelve books on Asian art, curated exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum, and lectured at museums and universities around the world. Her poetry collections include The Sand Dune Teacher and Objects Heavy in This Life, and she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. On October 25 she joined the city's 10th Annual Halloween Spooktacular in her new role.
Over her two-year term, Chu will lead free community poetry workshops for residents of all ages, a Youth Poetry Project with local schools, poetry placed in parks, bus shelters and other public spaces, an annual Cathedral City Poetry Anthology celebrating local voices, and seasonal readings at city celebrations and cultural events.
The same digest reported that at its October 28 meeting, the Cathedral City City Council adopted a new Development Code, the first comprehensive update to the city's zoning and subdivision regulations since 1981, following more than a year and a half of community input.
The digest also previewed two community events at the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater: on Tuesday, November 3, the Tastes and Sounds of Cathedral City series presents Pulp Vixen, with doors at 5 p.m. and music from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., free admission with food vendors on site; and on Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Cathedral City Evening Rotary Club presents Fields of Valor, a Veterans Day celebration with live music, food vendors and a flag display on the Festival Lawn.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：河滨县政府大楼（GSM 固定图库，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA）。Photo: Riverside County government building (GSM fixed library, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA).
