Trends come and go so often in the food industry that authentic experiences are hard to come by. But when it comes to the current “farm to table” restaurant trend, a new restaurant in downtown Bakersfield is giving us the real deal.

To hear his music, you wouldn’t know that he was different than any other up-and-comers posting tracks to YouTube and SoundCloud. But Jeff Metz, who goes by the stage name Grimstyles, is not your average artist.

September typically marks the end of summer and as temperatures start to drop, outdoor events begin to rise. There are many outdoor events that take place during the month and below are our picks.

Strata Credit Union is celebrating 70 years of locals helping other locals with 70 gifts of love, granting the wishes of 70 deserving Kern County residents and organizations for each year of Strata’s service to Kern County.

When it comes to pastimes, roller-skating is one of the few that has lasted the test of time.

A busy life can get the best of us, but not for the few good men and women behind the Kern County Sheriff’s Activities League, a free program dedicated to at-risk youth in the community.

As Bakersfield gears up for a new school year, the Kern High School District’s Regional Occupational Center is pulling out all the stops to provide amazing opportunities to local high school students. Whether they want to learn a trade or gain valuable skills and training in preparation for …

The Kern County Fair. It’s not just a rite of passage for families to attend. It’s an annual tradition for thousands of Kern County residents.

Given that this month’s theme is kids and family, the accompanying photo may not make much sense.

For over 40 years, the children of Bakersfield have looked forward to the activities afforded to them at the Lori Brock Children’s Discovery Center located at the Kern County Museum.

It’s that time of year again. Time for the new school year to start and the beginning of the fall sports season.

At 23, I’m at an odd place in life. One day, I just woke up to baby shower invitations, gender reveal parties and four friends at a time sporting the “baby bump.” As a young married woman without kids, I have felt pressure from family and friends and been asked the question: “So when are you…

I left San Luis Obispo for Bakersfield.

Comedian John Mulaney describes his English degree as a “certificate for reading books that I didn’t read” and points out that he agreed to spend $120,000 on tuition at age 17 “with no attorney present.”

My love of art and creative writing have been part of my soul since I was a very young girl. In those early years, my calling was to help other people’s artistic dreams come to life. If they could imagine it, I could build, paint it and bring it to life.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then happiness is surely the parent of reinvention, as evidenced by the second-fastest-growing industry in the country worth upward of $2 billion annually – life coaching.

It’s a glorious September day in the Golden Empire. The sacchariferous smell of cotton candy fills the air in perfect harmony with joyous laughter from children on the classic Tilt-a-Whirl ride. Nearby, a spunky toddler with a high ponytail pours gilded kernels of corn into a Tonka truck on …

In the hot summer days that grace Kern County every summer, ice cream is definitely my go-to indulgence. In my LA days, going to grab some ice cream with friends always meant hitting up Salt and Straw.

The Sierra Arts & Crafts Festival is rounding out Labor Day weekend at Circle Park in Kernville, Aug. 31 through Sept. 2, featuring handcrafted and antique merchandise mere steps away from the Kern River. When Kernville comes to mind, whitewater rafting and mountain biking usually are fi…

Baseball is a sport that has deep roots in Kern County.

One of the many things that distinguish life in Kern County is the unbounded support we give one another and the causes we believe in. Perhaps no greater example of that is the Thumbs Up cancer awareness campaign that began five years ago with a single photograph.

As the saying goes, “Home is where the heart is.” That is, love and home go hand-in-hand.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a common condition that many people suffer from unknowingly. In fact, the American Heart Association reports that 1 in 3 Americans suffers from hypertension. There are several easy steps you can take to prevent hypertension and live a healthy lifestyle.

Millennials have a few things they obsess over, while other generations stand back and watch. If you’re a millennial reading this, raise your hand if you’re guilty of any of these trends:

Don’t wait for the fair to come to town and end summer on a good note.

During the school year, Christine Cruz-Boone drives throughout Kern County to help eliminate the distance barriers that may keep people in rural areas from educational opportunities. As a professor of communication at Bakersfield College, she primarily teaches at the school’s Delano campus a…

On July 17, 1969, one day, eight hours, 50 minutes and 29 seconds into Apollo 11’s mission, Buzz Aldrin reported to Houston from 125,200 miles, at the speed of 4486 feet per second: “It looks like there’s some clouds just to the west of the Sierras, northeast of Bakersfield a little bit, and…

Mortgage refinancing is trending right now, but how do you know if it’s right for you? Thanks to low interest rates, refinancing your mortgage can save you money but not in every situation. Before you join the race to refinance, there are a number of factors to consider. Let’s look at a few.

Shafter used to seem so far away. Until I started working there.

It’s dark and I’m flying through space armed with nothing but my mind and my birthday suit. All I can hear is the distant rhythmic thumping of my heartbeat echoing through the salt water enveloping me.

I’m not too sure about the guy in line in front of me at Rite Aid.

Although Ryan Alsop is a recent transplant to Bakersfield, he grew up here, attended Highland High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from CSU Bakersfield.

“Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.”

Creating a relationship with local law enforcement can bring the community together, bringing a sense of comfort by providing an opportunity to see law enforcement in a different way.

If you are looking for ways to save money and amplify the nutritive value of your diet, listen up! While healthy food can be expensive, there are several tips to stretch that budget and shrink that waistline.

“Don’t go east beyond the 99” is a phrase I frequently heard as the new kid on the block in Bakersfield.

“Plant-based” is a term loosely thrown around these days and there appears to be no unanimously agreed-upon definition.

Three years ago, I received a magnet from Olivia Garcia.

I wanted to start my own business well before I moved to Bakersfield in 2010.

When you hear the word retired, it tends to evoke images of someone who spends their days fishing, playing golf or taking naps. However, the members of Kern Retired Teachers Association are doing anything but resting on their laurels.

At 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, 1938, Bill Lee’s Bamboo Chopsticks celebrated its grand opening by giving away free sets of bamboo chopsticks.

Let’s be honest: Ice cream is good any time of the year.

The 2018-19 school year is over, making it the perfect time to hand out some end-of-the-year recognition to some of the top local sports performers. For the first time ever, I have selected an athlete of the year for each of six different categories. These are my choices, and mine alone. The…

In this day and age, everyone is a photographer to a varying degree.

Every month, Bike Bakersfield hosts a full-moon ride that starts at Beach Park in downtown Bakersfield and ends at Lengthwise at The Marketplace in southwest Bakersfield. It’s an opportunity to sample the entire menu – after all, you did burn a few calories along the way. The subject this mo…

Two out of the last four rides organized by the Kern Wheelmen Recreational Group have taken riders to and through the Caliente-Twin Oaks area with a stop at the Twin Oaks General Store for a bite to eat. The Twin Oaks General Store – or TOGS as it’s commonly known – is truly special. Located…