Riverside, Calif – The Mission Inn Foundation is staging a special fundraising event Thursday, February 11, 2016 at the Historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa.  Titled the Roaring 20’s Speakeasy, this gala evening celebrates the role the Mission Inn played during the 1920s as the City of Riverside rode a wave of economic prosperity. Thanks to the citrus industry, sometimes referred to as “California’s second gold rush,” Riverside was once the wealthiest city per capita in the United States. This prosperity continued through the 1920s, and nowhere was this more evident than at Frank Miller’s Mission Inn Hotel – a sprawling destination resort in the center of downtown Riverside that attracted guests from around the world.

Flash forward to the Historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa’s Grand Parisian Ballroom on the night of February 11, 2016 at 6:30p.m.…

• Dolls & gents get dolled up in your swankiest 1920’s glad rags
• Live music straight from Tin Pan Alley featuring The Los Angeles Muses and The Inland Swing Orchestra. Both are making a return appearance following their performances at the 2015 Mission Inn Foundation’s well-received Fling into Swing event.
• Dancing like a floorflusher
• Food stations full of scrumptious hors d’oeuvres and a variety of sweet morsels
• Trade a secret password for bootleg wine or beer
• Silent and live auction with must-have or want-to-have items

The price of this special event? Only $75 for a single ticket; $140 for two. Tickets can be purchased at the Mission Inn Museum at the southeast corner of the Main Street pedestrian mall and Mission Inn Avenue; online at www.missioninnmuseum.org; by telephone (951)788-9556 between the hours of 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday – Sunday, or send check to 3696 Main Street, Riverside, CA 92501.

“This event is one not to be missed,” said Steve Spiller, Executive Director of the Mission Inn Foundation, speaking of this annual opportunity to support the expansion and growth of the Foundation’s educational outreach program.  “We value the extraordinary commitment and sponsorship of the community, businesses, and individuals. In addition to our educational programs, their generosity helps our organization continue the efforts to preserve the legacy of the Mission Inn and its founder, Frank A. Miller.”

About the Mission Inn Foundation

The Mission Inn Foundation was incorporated in 1976 to assist in the preservation and restoration of the Mission Inn, and originally, to manage the hotel during ownership by the City of Riverside’s Redevelopment Agency. The Mission Inn Hotel and Spa is now privately owned by Duane and Kelly Roberts, and the Foundation has a unique role of operating a non-profit museum within a for-profit hotel. In addition to the museum, the Mission Inn Foundation interprets the history and significance of the Mission Inn through daily hotel tours, monthly public programs and special events, the Hands On History educational initiative, and the continued stewardship of the hotel’s expansive art, artifact, and archival collections.