Museum to Celebrate Inland Culture in Word, Image and Sound

Celebrating the local region is the topic of conversation when the Colton Area Museum hosts a guest speaker from the Inlandia Institute. Cati Porter, Inlandia Institute executive director, will present "Inlandia Institute, Celebrating Our Region in Word, Image and Sound." Founded in 2007 with the goal of preserving and celebrating stories of Inland Southern California's diverse population, the Riverside-based nonprofit is a cultural and literary arts organization dedicated to preserving the local region in word, image and sound. In the eight years since it opened, the Institute has expanded and now hosts events and writing workshops in six Inland Empire cities, frequently partnering with museums, book stores and galleries. "Through public outreach," said Inlandia officials, "We hope to bring focus to the thriving arts and culture environment already present in this region." Porter is an award-winning poet, editor and community arts facilitator who has authored seven collections of poetry, including My Skies of Small Horses, which will release in February 2016. Porter is also the founder and editor of online literary journals Poemeleon: A Journey of Poetry, and Inlandia: A Literary Journey. The program will begin at the Colton Area Museum on Saturday, June 13, at 2:30 p.m. The museum is located at 380 N. La Cadena Drive in Colton.