Banning, CA: “Pay It Forward” Pays Off

In early January, I listed my Highland home of 13 years for sale. It sold quickly, allowing me to downsize into another place I’d spotted that would meet my purposes perfectly in the Sun Lakes Country Club community in Banning.

Since we couldn’t coordinate the respective escrows with great precision, I opted to spend a week in a local hotel. I figured the time would allow me to get acquainted with Banning, nearby Beaumont and the rest of the Pass area.

One afternoon during my self-imposed period of homelessness, I wandered into the Banning Art Gallery (BAG) to find they were moving from the space behind the The Haven Cafe to a new storefront beside it, with superior visibility and exposure to traffic on Ramsey Street, the main east-west thoroughfare through the community.

With time on my hands, I volunteered to help with the move; painting, cleaning and moving artwork and furniture from the old to the new space over several days.

The effort paid off, as I was accepted as a new Artist Co-Op Member (ACM) during their recent selection process.

The image above from my files, showing wind turbines in nearby Whitewater, Calif., at sunrise in 2015, will be my first submission for display consideration. I’m waiting for a print on metal to arrive any day now from Bay Photo Lab.

BAG is planning a “Knight at the New Banning Art Gallery,” featuring works by Tysen Knight, on Saturday, March 21, from 3-7pm. The gallery is located at 42 W. Ramsey, Suite C, between the Haven Cafe and the downtown Fox Cineplex.

UPDATE: As of March 12, the gallery event has been cancelled/postponed, and the gallery is closed through March 27, due to the current Coronavirus scare. A little short-term pain for some long-term gain, perhaps. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)  has some excellent guidance for preventing the spread of the disease on its website.