What do you yearn for?
It’s not quite over yet, but 2020 is coming to a close. I can almost hear our collective sigh of relief. So much of this year has felt foreign and forlorn. I find comfort speculating that just these 12 months have been cursed. Maybe in the future, 2020 will be considered an anomaly, a terrib…
I have been thinking a lot lately about perfection. It sounds misplaced to even utter the word in 2020, I know, but bear with me on this.
The last few months have revealed more to me than the three decades prior about our capacity to solitarily muscle our way through hard times — that we can’t go at it all alone.
I have a photo on my phone, taken right before the pandemic, of my toddler son laying on the floor in the middle of an aisle at the grocery store, playing with a toy car. Passersby chuckled as they scooted around him with their shopping carts. It feels like it was taken a lifetime ago. I ner…
I’d really like to know: How are you coping?
It is an exhausting time to be alive. There’s a pandemic, sure, but also civil unrest and so much political turmoil. Passionate disagreements fill our social media feeds and spill over into every crevice of our conscience, not to mention that many Americans’ livelihoods are on hold with the …
We upgraded our wheels and purchased a double stroller to enjoy more outdoor time with our two small boys. If you have been reading this column for very long, you know we like to walk, and now we’ve been out even more. Since the pandemic hit, the car traffic around our home has been quieter …
Remote work may be the future for many more employees, and this new reality presents an interesting opportunity for cities like ours. Given recent announcements from technology companies planning to permanently move to remote work, could Bakersfield be seen as a remote work capital?
Unless there’s lightning or hail, when given the option by the host at a restaurant, I almost always choose a table outdoors. Even in the heat of summer, I prefer the outdoor option. I have a favorite patio spot at a few treasured local establishments. And now that we have two sons, the al f…
About a month ago, local artist Yvonne Cavanagh foraged a bouquet of pink and yellow roses, Bird of Paradise blooms, lavender stems and clipped succulents, gathered them in a blue striped ceramic vase that she made and delivered the cheerful arrangement to a friend for her birthday.
With two young children, I often think of long-term strategies for improving our city and region, which will forever define our boys since it is now their hometown, too.
I recently came across “Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America,” a book published this year by Chris Arnade that shines a new light on those in forgotten or misinterpreted places where material wealth may be sparse but faith, honor, place and community are often strong. I first heard a…
Some true stories are so incredible they are almost unbelievable. Bakersfield’s past is filled with tales of colorful characters like Dick Fellows, a hapless outlaw. In his 14-year career as stagecoach robber and horse thief in the 1800s, Fellows displayed both tremendous daring and shocking…
The dominant narrative about Bakersfield is often inaccurate, and at the very least, incomplete. There’s a richer depth to the people that were born and nurtured here. Our history is full of fascinating and innovative individuals. Unfortunately, we don’t hear, repeat and internalize these st…
It’s pretty remarkable, really. In the last two years, the number of local coffeehouses downtown has almost tripled. (Of course, we only had two in 2016, so there was room for growth). But we’re now up to five: Dagny’s (the classic), Farmacy Cafe at The Padre (a more upscale option) and newb…
What if you could invest in a local cause that also had solid returns? What if you could grow your wealth while also helping to promote positive change in your own community?
The business owners I respect the most set out to solve a problem and work against prevailing winds to fashion a solution.
There is a quietly growing movement brewing in the interior of America. Pretty soon it will boil over. And it’s about time somebody covered it.
I am proud to know a strong female presence in the local marketing scene. One of Bakersfield’s biggest advocates, she’s not even from here. Hailing from Salt Lake City, Miranda Whitworth “could move back any time” (her words), but she chooses to stay in this place.
Imagine you are someone who’s never been to Bakersfield. You’re planning a trip for work or to visit friends in California, you’ve received job offers in multiple cities and are making a decision about where to live or you simply want to learn more about this place you’ve heard in the news. …
It’s fitting that Jon and Jennifer Sampson — a powerhouse couple — met in graduate school at a powerhouse in its own right, The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. The duo’s energy is infectious. They are passionate and engaged members of the Bakersfield community, and we’re lucky that they land…
Over the past few years, I’ve noticed a movement back to the basics, the simpler pleasures in life. This might explain the recent “hygge” obsession - a concept that’s been popular in Danish culture for decades but only recently caught on in America. When I visited Copenhagen 10 years ago and…
I recently visited my sister who lives in a small town in Pennsylvania. As my husband and I entered the downtown area, we were enchanted by the small boutiques, cafes and coffee shops. Exploring one afternoon, we spotted parking in an easy-to-access lot and enjoyed a delicious lunch of salad…
I went to the Hen’s Roost downtown farmers market recently and met a local author who wrote a darling children’s book called “Simone and Ruby Lou (How to) Make Pizza.” I ate Hen’s Roost Thai fries, which might be my favorite guilty pleasure. I watched residents play pickleball in the parking…
On a plot of land at the edge of town, near neat rows of nut trees, is a lush oasis of edible plants — crops like bright green romanesco cauliflower, rainbow chard, vibrant lavender, turnips, rutabaga, bok choy, cabbage and even egg-laying hens.
I recently attended the Downtown Business Association’s State of the Downtown breakfast at the Marriott. I actually ran in a little late, so I missed the breakfast portion entirely. (Can I blame every time I’m tardy on the baby now?)
Trees and greenspace provide environmental benefits to cities, for sure, but they also contribute to the economy of communities.
One recent morning, I sat at Farmacy Cafe in the Padre Hotel, while working on my laptop, and heard no fewer than four different languages spoken by guests staying over for a night or two and grabbing breakfast on their way in or out. It’s the most international experience I’ve had in our Ce…
In a studio space steps above a local coffee shop, creative small business owners gathered to attend a workshop. The light-filled space felt like a temporary clubhouse for women during the two-day workshop that took place Jan. 26-27. The hosts had laid out snacks perfectly: corner-dipped cho…
“There is in the soul of a child an impenetrable secret that is gradually revealed as it develops …. With a spirit of sacrifice and enthusiasm we must go in search, like those who travel to foreign lands and tear up mountains in their search for hidden gold.”
Creatives approach life differently. They’re participants, not just spectators. Innovative and drawing on the creative process to solve problems, they’re not wired to look at a place through the lens of status quo. And our city should attract and embrace more of them.
Meredith Bell and Nick Etcheverry, owners of a local organic farm, appeared on the Jan. 3 season-three premiere of "Billion Dollar Buyer," a reality television show.
At the start of a new year in Spain, to beckon prosperity and health, residents eat 12 grapes in sync with the chiming of the clock tower. They scramble to gulp down 12 Spanish grapes, one at a time, for good luck, on the countdown to midnight. And, as one might imagine, it can be a challeng…
Over the holidays, my husband and I spoke on multiple occasions around dinner tables with family members - mostly farmers. They spoke about downtown’s revitalization, expanding businesses, new product lines and growth industries like technology and healthcare. A common thread: their exciteme…
“Stop asking yourself what you want, what you desire, what interests you. Ask yourself instead: What has been given to me? Ask: What do I have to give back? Then give it.”
I regularly reference and profile local businesses and professionals who are doing innovative things in the community. And these stories are not often told in a way that, altogether, celebrates their ingenuity and unique histories, the perseverance and creativity behind what they do.
Shannon LaBare left her corporate job of seven years, and work that spanned the country, to focus on her community. She should have left earlier, she said, but, as a graphic designer and marketing professional, she believed the lie that her talents wouldn’t be needed here because “there aren…
The “Bakersfield island” effect can be destructive to our growth potential.
For 26.2 miles, through leafy streets, up Panorama Drive, along the parkway next to a water-filled Kern River and finally to the Cal State Bakersfield campus, runners made their way through the course of the Bakersfield Marathon last month. Around 1,800 people participated in a variety of ru…
Despite all the negative vibes swirling around the Internet about Bakersfield, the web could be turned into an ally.
What gives a city its personality and character? Where does its soul reside?
“Art is a lie, so don’t ask me what great art means, ask me what great art does. Does it make you feel something surprising? Does it provoke you to action? Does it delight and seduce you? Does it shock you? Does it, through lying, reveal a greater truth?”
Jenifer Pitcher was having lunch at Luigi’s with friends, and they were walking over to (what was then) Narducci’s and onto Pyrenee’s Cafe for live music.
House of Flowers, a floral shop in downtown Bakersfield, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. Currently putting finishing touches on a renovation of their space at 19th Street to commemorate the occasion, the owners are busier than ever.
Kids are big business in America. Marketers often target families with children because they are a large segment of the consumer economy. Raising a child could cost parents nearly a quarter of a million dollars over the life of the child.
As the story starts, 1992 was not a good year for Oklahoma City. The cash-strapped city lost a big bid to house a new United Airlines maintenance facility; Indianapolis took the prize.
If you scroll through the Instagram accounts of Gary and Cortnie Enns, you’ll see snapshots of a sweet family exploring their neighborhood and surrounding areas sans car.
I was in San Francisco a few years ago, and after walking up a few steep hilly streets with a friend, we sat down on a small bench, surrounded by potted plants in a tiny, meticulously designed miniature park.
