ARTS + CULTURE
UNDER THE BIG TOP CIRCUS VARGAS: MASQUERADE AND AMERICA'S RINGMASTER JOHNATHAN LEE IVERSON CAME TO TEMECULA AND LEFT US BREATHLESS! JULY 2026
From the Publishers
There is a particular kind of courage in exploration.
Not the kind that requires a passport or a packed bag. The kind that asks you to walk into a room you’ve never been in before — a studio, a gallery, a blank canvas — and trust that something will meet you there.
That is what this issue is about.
Exploration, by its nature, asks us to move from the familiar into the unknown. Sometimes that feels like excitement. Sometimes it arrives as quiet anxiety — the hesitation before you try something new, step somewhere unfamiliar, or say yes to an experience you can’t fully predict. But that movement is exactly where growth lives. When we open ourselves to new places, new people, new ways of seeing, our minds expand. Experience doesn’t just add to who we are — it changes the shape of us.
This month, we explore.
Sometimes exploration looks like Leslie Brown walking into her studio in Old Town Temecula, picking up a brush, and trusting the painting to tell her where it wants to go. Sometimes it looks like stepping under a Big Top in a parking lot and watching history walk into the room — because that is exactly what happened this spring when Circus Vargas: Masquerade came to Temecula. Johnathan Lee Iverson, the first African American ringmaster in history, took that stage. And every person in that tent felt something shift. The phone went away. The to-do list disappeared. And for a few suspended seconds, Temecula was somewhere else entirely.
That is what exploration does. It finds you wherever you are and takes you further than you planned to go.
Both of us came to Temecula City Lifestyle through our own versions of exploration — following instincts we couldn’t fully explain, building something in a community we believed in before we had proof it would work. What we’ve found, month after month, is that this valley is full of people who explore inward and outward at the same time. Who make things because the work itself is the reward. This issue is an invitation. Look a little closer at the place you call home. Ask a question you’ve never asked. Go in.
With curiosity and gratitude,
July 2026
PUBLISHER
Sean Arnett | sean.arnett@citylifestyle.com
EDITOR
Desiree Allen | desiree.allen@citylifestyle.com
SALES DIRECTOR
Sean Arnett
PUBLICATION DIRECTOR
Desiree Allen
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Hannah Cole
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Alex Tapia
Corporate Team
CEO Steven Schowengerdt
President Matthew Perry
COO David Stetler
CRO Jamie Pentz
CoS Janeane Thompson
AD DESIGNER Matthew Endersbe
LAYOUT DESIGNER Amanda Schilling
QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Hannah Leimkuhler
SEAN ARNETT DESIREE ALLEN @TEMECULACITYLIFESTYLE
28544 Old Town Front Street
Temecula, CA 92591
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TEMECULA, CA
NO MATTER WHAT NO MATTER WHAT NO MATTER WHAT YOUR MOOD, WE YOUR MOOD, WE YOUR MOOD, WE HAVE WHAT HAVE WHAT HAVE WHAT YOU’RE CRAVING. YOU’RE CRAVING. YOU’RE CRAVING.
Port Villa Hospitality
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COME ON IN, WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED, FOOD, DRINKS AND ENTERTAINMENT ALL IN ONE SPOT!
Archive open Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday 11- 10pm Sunday 9 - 8pm Crush and Brew open Sunday - Thursday 11 - 10pm Fri/Sat 11-close Thompson and Twain open Sunday 2 - 8pm Monday - Wednesday 5 - close Thursday 2pm - close Friday & Saturday 2 - close
nter tainment at
BRUNCH BRUNCH BRUNCH
STEAK STEAK STEAK
SEAFOOD SEAFOOD SEAFOOD
ub Qu day 6pm
@openmicbybellapopa: ever y Tuesday 6-9pm
ay: Summer Reggae Series 6-10pm
Hairlarious Comedy ever y other Thursday 8pm
Saint Presents: Karaoke ever y Friday 8pm - close
Live Music ever y Saturday 7 - 10pm p & Shop: Girl’s Day Out monthly pop-up
There’s something There’s something for everyone for everyone
LOCAL BEER & WINE
LOCAL BEER & WINE
LOCAL BEER & WINE
CRAF T COCKTAILS
CRAF T COCKTAILS
CRAF T COCKTAILS
GASTROPUB EATS GASTROPUB EATS GASTROPUB EATS
GOOD VIBES GOOD VIBES GOOD VIBES
city scene
WHERE NEIGHBORS CAN SEE AND BE SEEN
1: The Third Annual Live Fire Food & Wine Festival raised the bar — and the fire. 2: Twenty chefs. Open flame. An afternoon no one who was there will forget. 3: From flame to plate in seconds — the artistry of live fire cooking on full display at The Stone House at Temecula Creek Inn. 4: Fire is the oldest cooking method in the world. These chefs proved why. 5: Eighteen beverage partners kept the afternoon flowing beautifully — the perfect complement to twenty chefs cooking at the height of their craft. 6: Live music drifted through the oak trees all afternoon, weaving together the flavors, the fire, and the feeling of a Temecula spring at its most beautiful. 7: Executive Chef Jonathan Alcala made his signature event debut — and it was extraordinary!
Photography by Pechanga Creative Studios
8: Guests tasted, sipped, and savored — and gave back through the Habitat for Humanity auction. 11: Music, fire, wine, and community. Temecula Creek Inn delivered all four. 12: Cooking over fire is a conversation between chef and flame. We just listened. 13: Live Fire Food & Wine Festival 2026 brought together incredible chefs, wineries, breweries, partners and guests for an unforgettable afternoon at Temecula Creek Inn. 14: Every detail was intentional. Every bite was worth it. Every moment — unforgettable.
Photography by Pechanga Creative Studios
city scene CONTINUED
15: The kind of event that makes you want to tell everyone you know. 16: Every pour told a story. Every bite started a new one. 17: We are already counting down — Live Fire returns to Temecula Creek Inn in Spring 2027!
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Photography by Pechanga Creative Studios
South Coast Winery Wins Best of Show
This spring, South Coast Winery took the top honor at the 2026 San Diego County Fair Wine Competition — Best of Show and Double Gold for their 20 Year Tawny Port, plus the Toast of Riverside for their estate-grown Sparkling Pinot Grigio. Combined with sister property Carter Estate Winery, the two labels earned 19 total awards, further cementing Temecula Valley’s reputation as one of California’s premier wine destinations. southcoastwinery.com
4th of July Extravaganza Parade & Fireworks
This July 4th, Temecula celebrates 250 years of independence in style. Start your morning at the annual Old Town parade at 10am — keep an eye out for Temecula City Lifestyle in the lineup! Then head to Ronald Reagan Sports Park for family fun, food, and entertainment from 2–10pm, capped off with a spectacular fireworks show at 9pm sharp. Don’t miss it!
Scantolearnmore
INSIDE ARTLAB, THE GALLERY
There is a painting in Leslie Brown’s gallery that started with a photograph of herself at twenty-two years old. She printed it on gel — a thin, translucent medium made from acrylic, almost delicate — and then added wings. Cut from the same gel print. Collaged onto a background she built herself. Two griffins flank the image, pulled from a reference she fell in love with at a gallery in New York City. The griffin, she’ll tell you, represents feminine power. A woman. A lion. Something that refuses to be tamed.
This is how Leslie Brown makes art. Layer by layer. Material by material. Meaning by meaning. And if something isn’t working — if the hand is wrong, if the weight is off, if the painting is fighting her — she picks up her brush, says thank you, and keeps going.
“When I was doing giant paintings, I would paint on wood,” she says. “When something bothered me, I’d take an electric sander and just — gone. Then I’d paint it again.” She laughs. “If you get overly involved, if your ego gets in the way, it ruins the painting. You have to let it breathe.”
with Leslie A. Brown
ARTICLE
BY HANNAH COLE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX TAPIA
Temecula City Lifestyle first featured Leslie as part of our Art in Abundance series, celebrating the women artists quietly building something extraordinary in this valley. Returning to her gallery — now rooted in Old Town Temecula, where her ArtLAB fine art classes have become a destination for students — we wanted to know where the journey had taken her since. The answer, it turns out, is deeper in.
“My inspiration as a child was my grandfather,” she says. “He used to say, you can do anything you want. And I’m like — okay. Let me think about that.”
He took her to every museum, every gallery he could find. When she was not yet ten years old, he brought her to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. She found herself sitting in front of Salvador Dalí’s crucifixion — that charged, vertiginous perspective — and couldn’t move.
“He came over and said, ‘Boy, babe, you’re gonna look at that one for a long time.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, Grandpa — I think I could do this.’ He said, ‘Do what?’ And I said, ‘I think I could paint.’ He said, ‘Let’s get you some paints, then.’”
She was ten years old. He took her out of school in sixth grade and they toured the entire East Coast — every museum, every gallery, up and down the coast. Homeschooling before it had a name. He was still there through college, still writing letters, still asking questions. He died while she was in graduate school.
She has been painting ever since.
Forty years later, Leslie’s work lives in the collections of Marriott International, Kaiser Permanente, Wells Fargo, and the Riverside Art Museum. She is a professor and Gallery Director at Riverside City College, where she has spent decades shaping artists and growing one of the most respected college galleries in Southern California. She has shown in Los Angeles, New York, Santa Fe, and Joshua Tree. She has been published, awarded, and collected.
CONTINUED >
And yet the work she is most drawn to right now is deeply personal — rooted in memory, in girlhood, in the ache of a generation that dreamed big and watched some of those dreams dissolve.
Her current pieces carry that weight — and somehow also its opposite. There is a series built around Jean Shrimpton, the British model who embodied the mod ideal of the 1960s, printed on transparent paper and laid over preprinted backgrounds, sometimes a mono print she’s made herself, sometimes a paper she found that was simply perfect. The transparency is intentional. Through the scale, through the layers, you can still see the flowers underneath.
Her most recent paintings are three-dimensional — clouds scraped off the palette with a flat blade and glued onto canvas, mirrors embedded in the surface, gold and mica pressed into the layers. She is building paintings you can feel, paintings that catch light differently depending on where you stand.
“I just love putting a lot of things together and seeing what happens,” she says. “Usually, it works. Or I’ll beat it until it works.”
In Old Town Temecula, tucked into a space that feels both like a studio and a sanctuary, Leslie’s ArtLAB offers six-week fine art classes to students who come seeking something they often can’t quite name. What they find, most of the time, is permission.
Permission to make something imperfect. Permission to sand it down and start again. Permission to say thank you to a brushstroke that didn’t work and move forward anyway. This is what forty years of making art — and four decades of teaching it — looks like when it becomes a place. Not a classroom. Not a gallery. A home for the work, and for the people brave enough to begin.
And Leslie will be the first to tell you that beginning is not always gentle.
“I rarely ever approach a canvas sweetly or kindly,” she says. “Most of my art is intuitive. I don’t go with any preplan. I just start painting.”
She talks about going into the studio angry — really angry — and just painting it out. Slapping the paint around. Throwing it at the canvas. “If it ends up in the painting, it’s there. If it’s not, it’s not.” She laughs.
The going in is the whole thing. Showing up, even angry, even uncertain, even with no plan and no guarantee. That’s what makes an artist.
Her grandfather knew it when she was ten years old, standing in front of a painting she couldn’t walk away from.
She knows it now. And she’s still going in.
Leslie A. Brown is a fine artist, printmaker, and educator based in Temecula, CA. She is a Professor and the Gallery Director of The Quad Art Gallery at Riverside City College and the founder of ArtLAB Fine Art Classes in Old Town Temecula. Visit her work at www.leslieabrown.com | Instagram: @artlabtemecula
CAPTURING LIFE’S GREATEST ADVENTURES
Lifestyle photography for the Temecula Valley and Beyond! Let us capture the special moments in your family’s life! The big game, that special performance or a day at the beach. We’ll capture your Star’s Big Moment!
ARTICLE BY KALI KASPRZYK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIE JONES
MAKEUP BY MIKAYLA CRANE
The 10% Target Mindset
Jen Cohen ON THE PRACTICE OF ASKING FOR WHAT YOU WANT
Winnipeg in the winter, and a 17-year-old waits 45 minutes in the cold for Keanu Reeves. Her fingers are numb. She is not there for an autograph. She is there to ask him to appear in her audition tape for MuchMusic, Canada’s MTV. When he finally agrees, she writes her number on a gum wrapper with a borrowed lip liner.
He calls days later.
That 17-year-old was Jen Cohen — fitness expert, host of the Habits & Hustle podcast, and best-selling author. She has built a career on the premise her frostbitten afternoon proved. She calls the practice the 10% Target: 10 attempts at whatever you want most in life.
The premise is simple. Most people never make one attempt. Almost nobody makes two. The math works in favor of the person who keeps going.
The top-rated Habits & Hustle podcast has logged hundreds of conversations with high performers and the people who study what the body does to the mind. Her TEDx talk, The Secret to Getting Anything You Want in Life, has traveled widely inside Fortune 500 sales-training rooms. On the Share the Lifestyle podcast, Cohen sits down to share the working rules that are the foundation of her latest book, Bigger, Better, Bolder.
“You have to be the CEO of your own life.”
FEATURING JEN COHEN
Discover the full 10% Target Mindset framework.
1 2
MAKE TEN ATTEMPTS
The door opens, or another door does. The unmade attempt and the refused one leave you in the same place — except one of them teaches you something.
STACK THE DECK
Cohen frames her habits as a wager: How do I stack the deck so I win more than I lose? The workout happens first, and the food decisions follow. The email follow-up gets sent, and the answer arrives. The choices compound in a single direction.
3
DISCIPLINE IS A PRACTICED SKILL, NOT AN INHERITANCE
No one is born with it. The people who look disciplined are running a routine they have rehearsed long enough that it no longer feels like effort. The reps are the skill. Miss them, and the skill fades, the same as any other.
4
SELF-TALK ONLY WORKS WHEN THE BODY BACKS IT UP
Confidence does not arrive by repeating the word. It arrives after the body has done the thing — the workout finished, the cold walk endured, the email sent. The mind takes its cues from what the body proves it can do. Talk follows action, not the other way around.
5
NEVER MISS A MONDAY
The first decision sets the slope of the rest. Skip the Monday workout, and the rest of the week tends to follow. Hold the line on Monday, and the slope tilts the other way.
CIRCUS VARGAS: MASCARADE! BROUGHT ITS MOST DAZZLING PRODUCTION YET TO TEMECULA!
UNDER THE BIG TOP
There is a moment, somewhere between the aerialist and the Globe of Death, when something shifts. The phone goes away. The to-do list evaporates. Your child next to you grabs your arm. And for a few suspended seconds, everyone under the Big Top is experiencing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time.
That is the particular magic of Circus Vargas — and in April 2026, Temecula got to feel it in full.
Running April 10 through 27 at Promenade Temecula, Circus Vargas: Masquerade brought its all-new 2026 production to Southern California wine country for an extended stay that drew audiences from across the region. By any measure, it was an extraordinary event. But this year, it was something even more — a homecoming, a competition, and a rare convergence of world-class circus talent that put Temecula on the map in ways that will be talked about for years.
Masquerade is precisely what its name promises. From the moment guests step under the climate-controlled blue, white and gold Big Top, they are transported somewhere else entirely — a world of vibrant costumes, sensational music, and light designed to make the impossible feel inevitable.
The 2026 production marks a new chapter for Circus Vargas, now owned and operated by seventh-generation circus performers Katya Arata Quiroga and Nelson Quiroga. Founded in California in 1969, the circus has spent more than five decades building a reputation as one of the world's biggest traveling circuses operating under a traditional big top tent — and Masquerade is its most ambitious production to date.
The cast is international, the talent undeniable. Aerialist Liina suspended the audience's breath with every pass. The Meza Troupe's high wire excellence drew gasps from every corner of the tent. Freedom of Art delivered internationally celebrated handbalancing that earned its description. The Faltyny Family's unicycle skills and juggling brought a playful precision that delighted every age in the room. Hula hoops by Vlastia. Archery thrills by Martii
and Liina. The jaw-dropping quick-change artistry of Emelin and Dasha. Each act distinct. Each performance complete.
And then there was the Globe of Death.
There are moments in live performance that remind you why no screen can replicate the experience of being present. The Globe of Death — motorcycles hurtling inside a steel sphere, defying physics and logic in equal measure — is one of those moments. The tent went silent. And then it erupted.
No element of Circus Vargas: Masquerade drew more attention — or more justified reverence — than its ringmaster.
Johnathan Lee Iverson is not simply a ringmaster. He is the ringmaster. The first African American ringmaster in the history of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Iverson has spent decades commanding the most legendary circus stages in the world with a voice, a presence, and a charisma that defies easy description. He has rightfully earned the title of America's Ringmaster — and under the Big Top at Promenade Temecula, he reminded an entire audience why.
Temecula has been talking about it ever since.
For many families in the audience, seeing Johnathan Lee Iverson was not simply entertainment. It was a moment. The kind that parents quietly note and children carry without fully understanding why — until years later, when they remember exactly where they were sitting and what it felt like to watch history walk into a room.
If Masquerade was the headline, the American CircusFest® was the extraordinary story running just beneath it.
On April 22 and 23, Temecula hosted the fifth annual American CircusFest® — America's premier international circus festival — right under the Circus Vargas Big Top at Promenade Temecula. It was the first time the festival had come to Southern California wine country, and what arrived was something the valley had never seen.
Professional circus artists from around the world descended on Temecula to compete across two consecutive performances before a panel of international judges vying for Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards. The judging panel alone was a masterclass in the breadth of the global circus world — representing more than three centuries of combined professional experience across France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Italy, Brazil, Hungary, and Russia.
Judges included Regina Bouglione of the fabled Cirque d’Hiver-Bouglione in Paris, Charlie Burrows of Cirque du Soleil, Sarah Davison of Ringling Bros., Renee Massie of America’s Got Talent, and six additional international luminaries — gathered in Temecula, California, for two days in April 2026.
Johnathan Lee Iverson served as The Voice of the Festival, donning his traditional Ringmaster’s Top Hat and Tails to preside over
both competition performances — bringing the full weight of his legendary career to a stage that felt, for two days, like the center of the circus world.
Fanny Kerwich, founder of American CircusFest® and an eighth-generation circus performer of French descent, captured it best: “The festival has grown over the past four years and performances have become more competitive. It is really a one-ofa-kind circus competition in the United States featuring some of the world’s best circus artists as well as emerging artists, and it will offer the people of Temecula, California, and beyond a unique opportunity to enjoy classical circus acts presented in new and innovative ways.”
She was right. And Temecula was ready.
In an age dominated by screens and streaming and the endless scroll, Circus Vargas offers something that cannot be replicated
“STEP INTO A WORLD OF WONDER AS MYSTERY MEETS MASTERY, UNDER THE BIG TOP WHERE EVERY ACT PUSHES THE LIMITS AND EVERY MOMENT CAPTIVATES AND IGNITES YOUR IMAGINATION.”
digitally — the shared experience of watching real human beings do extraordinary things, live, in the same room, right in front of you.
There is no algorithm for the moment the aerialist releases the trapeze. No notification for the instant the Globe of Death begins to spin. No caption that captures the particular feeling of sitting in a tent in a parking lot in Temecula, California, and being genuinely, completely, joyfully stunned.
Circus Vargas has been doing this since 1969. And in 2026, in its extended stay at Promenade Temecula, it reminded this community why live performance still matters — why families still load into the car and find their seats and put the phone away and look up.
Because some things have to be witnessed. Not scrolled past. Witnessed.
TAKE YOUR NEXT VACATION WITH EFFORTLESS FLAIR
YOU WORK HARD ALL YEAR—YOUR VACATION STYLE SHOULD FEEL CINEMATIC, EFFORTLESS, AND UNMISTAKABLY MAIN CHARACTER.
ARTICLE BY COURTNEY STONE SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED
Effortless vacation style isn’t about having the perfect outfit for every moment—it’s about having the right foundation to make every moment look intentional. When you know how to build a capsule travel wardrobe, you’ll avoid agonizing over what to wear and spend more time actually enjoying your getaway, all while looking like you have a personal stylist tucked in your carry-on.
Here’s your go-to list for this season’s travels:
1. THE EFFORTLESS STATEMENT SET
A coordinated two-piece (linen, silk, or cotton) that transitions from day to night. Sets are easy to wear, photograph, and offers effortless ways to look put together. Bonus: you can mix and match the pieces with other items that you pack. I would recommend packing multiple sets to make it even easier to mix and match. For both men and women, simply focus on neutrals and, if you want to add color, make sure it coordinates well with other items in your luggage.
2. THE MOOD-ALTERING PIECE
A sweeping dress in a bold print or luscious fabric that makes you feel sensual, grounded, and free. Find something that moves with you and captures light beautifully. This is your dreamy piece— flowy fabrics with movement that captures the eye and works for any kind of event.
3. THE LUXE FLAT OR SCULPTURAL SANDAL
Find footwear that balances style and comfort. Look for interesting shapes or materials (like leather with architectural cutouts or metallic finishes). More than shoes—they’re anchors for adventure, grounding your aesthetic wherever you land. This goes the same for men. Your footwear can also make an impact through the braided details of your sandals or the canvas of a casual slip-on loafer.
4. THE TRANSITIONAL THIRD PIECE
Think: kimono, over-sized linen blazer, a lightweight duster, or a gauzy button-down left open. This is your layering hero that adds polish without effort. It’s an aura amplifier that instantly makes your outfit feel styled and intentional.
5. INTERESTING AND IMPACTFUL SUNGLASSES
Sunglasses with personality is a must. They could be over-sized, cat-eye, or tinted lenses that feel more like “cinematic escape” than “just functional.” Because you’re not sightseeing—you’re starring in your own travel film.
6. A SCULPTURAL CARRYALL
A bag that holds your essentials but looks like art— think woven textures, unique shapes, or buttery leather. Practicality meets poetry. You deserve a vessel that carries your dreams...and your SPF.
7. SIGNATURE SCENT OR TRAVEL CANDLE
Pack travel-sized fragrance or a tiny candle that evokes your essence or complements the location. Scent is meant to ignite memories and set the tone— infuse your travels with an olfactory signature.
8. ACCESSORIES WITH A STORY
A few intentional pieces such as a ring from a market you found during your travels, a layered necklace that serves as an easy throw-on, or a straw hat to protect your face from the sun (even if it’s a cooler climate, because remember, safety first: don’t get burnt).
events
JULY 9TH, 16TH, 23RD, & 30TH
Summer
Concert Series - Select Thursdays
Temecula Civic Center Quad
July 9 - Swift Nation, July 16 - Cheez Whiz Band, July 23 - Classic Journey, July 30 - John Demps Full Effect. Spend your Thursday evenings at the Civic Center Quad, where live music fills the air! Concerts begin promptly at 7pm. Be sure to arrive early to secure a great seat and take the time to enjoy delicious treats from a variety of local food vendors.
JULY 25TH
Sister City Celebration
Sam Hicks Monument Park | 11:00 AM
Celebrate our Sister City - Daisen, Japan. Honor the continued union between our two cultures with your youth delegates from Japan.
JULY 25TH
Summer Family Cinema @ Vail HQ
Vail HQ | 6:30 PM
Free movies. Local food. Better memories. Summer Family Cinema comes to Vail Headquarters on July 25th, presented by Temecula City Lifestyle and Nora's Empanada Factory. Arrive at 6:30 PM for food and the best spots on the lawn. Movie begins at dusk. Bring your blanket and your people — this one is for the whole family!
