A weekly program focusing on the arts and entertainment

Riverside's Fox Theatre. It's been the site for major Hollywood previews, a weekend home for World War II servicemen, a venue for the Festival of Animation and a movie house for Spanish language films.

But now, Arts and Entertainment Editor Bob Sokolsky notes, it has a new role, one that makes it a major player in Riverside's renaissance.

In January it will have Cheryl Crow heading a list of entertainers being booked for concert engagements. And on Feb. 2 the Nederlander Organization brings in "Annie," the first of three musicals booked for 2010.

Sokolsky lists a number of pros and cons attached to the situation, pointing out that a successful Fox could do much to make Riverside "more than a stopover on the ride from Los Angeles to the desert.

And if nothing else, he says, Riverside has some intriguing months coming up.