One of the defining qualities of our community is its boundless compassion, filling a need and then some. And so it should be no surprise really that here in Bakersfield, where the national “random acts of kindness” movement was born 27 years ago, locals are living up to our reputation of ki…

I started Locale Farm to Table Eatery in 2015 with high hopes of utilizing the business as a creative platform. When our doors opened, I was eager to share my entrepreneurial spirit and artistic abilities with our little corner of the world. I had dreams of blending my existing business, Chi…

Some may see it as misfortune. The Kern County Library sees it as opportunity.

As a senior graduating from Stockdale High School in 2019, Isaac Kim was faced with a tough choice deciding where to go to college. Ultimately, it was Brown University’s Open Curriculum, which lets students develop a personalized course of study, giving them greater freedom and flexibility, …

As the stay-at-home order continues, many clubs, weddings, concerts and events everywhere have been canceled or postponed, leaving performers and entertainers left questioning what will happen next for their industry after the coronavirus outbreak.

The saying “not all heroes wear capes” is something being used frequently these days, as people come together in an effort to support each other during the COVID-19 pandemic. The phrase is mostly used to applaud health care workers who have stepped up and are enduring the brunt of the “new normal.”

Julie Fleming hung up her classroom chalkboard a decade ago to begin a retirement career as a video-online teacher. Her goal was to restore the elementary school art education she saw disappearing from public schools.

“A national mother’s day — why not a day for fathers, too?” proclaimed Ross C. Miller, city editor for The Bakersfield Californian, on May 11, 1914.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, grocery shopping isn’t an easy task anymore, especially for senior citizens and people with underlying health issues. Bakersfield local and University of California, Los Angeles, alumnus Ulysis Baal created Relief Shoppers to help those most vulnerable …

As if teachers didn’t already set the bar high, they’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty since schools closed in mid-March. Along with trying to continue to teach in a brave new world, via Zoom and Google Classroom, they are also finding new and inventive ways to encourage their studen…

Supplements: Knowing when and why to use them can be the key to reaching your goals. So let’s chat about preworkout, L-carnitine and creatine.

In these times of challenges and uncertainty, we need to remember that we have great control over our health and well-being. I wanted to take some time to discuss some different herbs that have been shown to have antiviral properties and help with immunity and cellular function.

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.”

It’s been said that adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it — unearthing something lying dormant within us. Will we be among those who push through the struggle or crumble under the pressure?

Alex Garzaro leads a seven-day at-home workout program consisting of 20-minute workouts utilizing a combination of dumbbell, bodyweight and cardio exercises.

The votes are in and the community has spoken! The annual Best Of Readers’ Choice Poll showcases the best of the best — from food to shopping, services and more — as decided by those who call Bakersfield home, totaling 98 winners and 196 favorites. This is your guide to the Best Of Bakersfield.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, schools have been forced to take education online. The goal is making sure students and teachers work together, but recreating a classroom setting through an online portal is no easy task.

When you’ve been a part of the community as long as the Lemucchi family, you become ingrained in its very fabric. Joe Lemucchi immigrated to California from Lucca, Italy, and opened his original cafe in 1906 on Sumner Street. He later married fellow Italian Emilia Degiuli and they moved to t…

In 1910, four young women, who were members of the Sisters of Mercy in Los Angeles, came to Bakersfield to care for the patients in what was then St. Clair Hospital. After determining the facility wasn’t adequate to meet the needs of the growing community, they were able to build a new hospi…

If you’ve lived in Bakersfield for any length of time, you know that Dewar’s is a household name around here.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Since this article is being written during the most dreadful event in our lifetime, let’s focus on what the Bakersfield’s Downtown Business Association has been doing to help its loyal members, the fantastic businesses across the 300-square-block section at the heart of its downtown area.

During these trying times our stress meter tends to tick up, but did you know increased stress levels will decrease your immune system? So what is one to do? Not only is it important to take care of our physical health (eat healthy, move your body, get rest and drink lots of water) but one m…

While most people on the street don’t have the option to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic, they can turn to one of the few places in Bakersfield still working to aid their needs.

When things don’t make sense to Kelsey Sill, she turns to music. Singing has always been a constant in her life and something that helped pull her out of a deep depression after she participated in her first open mic a couple of years ago at The Mark.

To have a Netflix account is to have experienced the relentless rabbit hole that pulls you in, tumbling down, down, amid hundreds of titles that pique your interest as you aimlessly scroll on by. Even as you continuously search for something it’s as if you’ve been faced with a real “Sophie’s…

When California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a stay-at-home order in mid-March to help slow the spread of COVID-19, also known as the new coronavirus, he also ordered “nonessential” businesses to close, which included dine-in restaurants (which can still operate through curbside pickup and deliv…

Whether it is man’s best friend or the cat that you must constantly win over, for many people pets offer a source of comfort and companionship. No other time is this more important than in times of crisis and uncertainty. During these particularly difficult times, pets keep us grounded and s…

Protein shakes, amino acids, creatine, L-carnitine, preworkouts — what are these? Should I be taking them? When do I take them? All valid questions. Fitness supplements can be extremely beneficial to helping you optimize your progress.

Leave it to beloved Garces High School coach and art teacher Mark Brown to saunter into retirement unconventionally.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise and many cities under stay-at-home orders, it can be easy for people to feel discouraged about what the future holds. Moments of kindness around Bakersfield have been spreading since the virus outbreak. In the face of crisis, residents have come …

It’s there. You just have to look for it.

With many people now working from home or in isolation due to the spread of the coronavirus, there will be a time where your family will be bored senseless. These times of social distancing are perfect for exploring one’s creative side.

Outside the sun shines bright high atop a cloudless sky. The weather may be on the warm side, but there’s no denying that it’s a beautiful day — one of many yet to come. But the beginning of the 2020 travel season comes as many remain under stay-at-home orders, a little stir-crazy after two …

Teachers at Downtown School lined the sidewalks around the campus, waving to students and parents as they drove by during the Dragon Community Family and Staff Parade. The parade gave teachers and students to see and hear one another, albeit at a distance, while schools remain closed for the…

Fitness expert and Bakersfield Life Magazine columnist Alex Garzaro leads a seven-day bodyweight workout routine that can be done anywhere with no equipment needed while tackling health- and life-related questions and conversing with local business owners and community members. 

Latino Food Festival Menudo & Pozole Cook Off (May 24)

Editor's note: The restaurant is currently closed, as are many others, to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

There’s a literal buzz in the air on the corner of Highland Knolls Drive and Vineland Road, across from Dr. Douglas K. Fletcher Elementary School. In the distance, two small objects can be seen in the sky, ascending, descending, rocketing in straight lines, circling, looping and hovering — t…

“Beth Treviño’s Books Are Aid to International Understanding,” proclaimed the headline of an article in the May 21, 1966, Bakersfield Californian.

The relationship between sisters can be one of the strongest and longest-lasting connections in life, so when it comes to sister cities, the same influence of ties and partnerships are made through a cultural and international relationship.

“Gentefied,” co-created and directed by Bakersfield native Marvin Lemus, premiered on Netflix in February 2020. The 10-episode Spanglish series captures the ways gentrification and ongoing wealth inequality affects a Mexican-American family living in Los Angeles. Despite being centered in Bo…