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Address: 1707 Eye St. Bakersfield, Ca 93301 Member Since: March 10, 2008 Last Signed In: July 20, 2009 Profile Views: 583 Blog Views: 20298 Card gets you 20% off some CPK items Free fish Tacos on Tuesday Free Slurpees on 7/11 Free food — if you dress like a cow Station offering 99 cent gas Free food at Wienerschnitzel Free family friendly movies! Free hot dogs at Hot Dog on a Stick Mother's (and Father's) Day deals at CALM Free pick-me-ups courtesy of McD's March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 February 09 March 09 April 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 August 09 September 09 October 09 November 09 What questions should we pose? Do you know a deal we should share? Tell us. Growth and Economy Team leader: Christine Peterson, cpeterson@bakersfield.com, 395-7418 Assistant team leader: John Cox, jcox@bakersfield.com, 395-7345 
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A Thursday-to-Thursday (and sometimes beyond) listing of free or inexpensive things to do, courtesy of the entertainment team.
Circle of Hope Community Event, celebrating the grand opening of the second Hope Christian Stores; with vendors collecting clothing, baby items, canned food to give back to those out in the community, bands, activities for all ages, raffle, prizes, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., East Hills Mall, parking lot, 3000 Mall View Road. hopechristianstores.com or 827-1727. For more, turn to E12. Mento Buru, 9 p.m., B Ryders, 7701 White Lane. Free. SATURDAY (Aug. 30) Kids Free Day, CALM, 10500 Alfred Harrell Highway. 872-2256. I've passed by the Oroweat Bakery Outlet at 222 Oak St. many times and not given it much thought. Saturday, I was curious. I ended up spending $7.27 and walked out with four items that would have cost at least $16.50 elsewhere, according to my price checks. (One item was the raspberry danish pictured to the left that I'm a little too fond of that costs $4.59 in several grocery stores.) The place is nuts — it seemed like the outlet was practically giving away Entenmann's, Oroweat, Francisco International, Thomas' and other brand-name foods. Items are priced depending on how close it is to the "best if used by" date. And before anyone says "it's all expired," none of what I picked out had even reached the "best if used by" date. Here's a paraphrase of my conversation with the clerk: Clerk: Have you been here before? Me: No. Clerk: Well, then I'm going to mark out a whole punch card for you. (The punch card gets you two free items on your next visit.) Clerk: And today you spent more than $7 so you get a free item from the $7 shelf. Me: Really? Anything? (I got a whole loaf of bread I'll freeze and use for sandwiches later. That was the item that was closest to the "best if used by" date, and thus free.) Then she handed me a bunch of coupons for next time. The outlet also has special days — Sunday is Double Punch Day and bargain day; Monday is Double Punch Day; Wednesday is bargain day; Friday is senior day with a 20 percent discount. — Christine Peterson A Thursday-to-Thursday listing of free or inexpensive things to do, with thanks to our entertainment team: Thursday, Aug. 14 Concerts by The Fountain, with Truce and Tony O’Brien, 7 to 9 p.m., The Marketplace, 9000 Ming Ave. Friday, Aug. 15 Movies in the Park, presents “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” starts at dusk, Deer Peak Park, Deer Peak Drive and Beckenham Parkway. 326-3866. Saturday, Aug. 16 Sunday, Aug. 17 Thursday, Aug. 21 When you're watching your dollars, you're probably also watching how many ounces or gallons you're getting in that yogurt container of milk jug. One friend of mine commented that cereal boxes were getting smaller while the price held steady. Another noticed a few brands of ice cream were shrinking their package size while holding the price. And I found my own example while grocery shopping this weekend. The 8-ounce fat-free store brand yogurt I've bought for years is now 6 ounces. I did a double-take, but quickly knew my eyes were not deceiving me when I spotted a few 8-ounce containers were still left. The price was the same, the size of the product was not. What incredible shrinking products have you found? — Christine Peterson Last night I bought three winter dresses for the grand total of $16.09 with tax. They were originally tagged for $89, $99 and $109, although I would have waited until they went on sale for about $45 each or done without. The occasion? The store closing sale at the Gottschalks (former Harris location at East Hills Mall). Last day: Aug. 23. The newly consolidated Gottschalks store at the east end of the mall is open and fully functioning, and operating as a regular store. (Read reporter John Cox's story about the store consolidations here.) I arrived at the location that's closing about 7:20 p.m. By 7:45 p.m., sales associates were walking the aisles, calling out to get in line as the store would close at 8 p.m. Bottom line: Just about everything in the store is $5. I spotted a few bins of items for $2 each, and store fixtures such as display tables were priced per piece, many at about $25. The store wasn't packed, but was definitely busy. The merchandise spanned all seasons — winter, spring, summer and fall. Bathing suits? Check. Cheesy Christmas sweaters with snowmen? Check, if that's what you really wanted! Here are the catches I observed: • No fitting rooms. That meant I saw a lot of people trying on clothes over their shirts and dresses. It also meant I did a double-take when I saw a woman pull off her shirt, revealing her bra, to try on a shirt she might buy. Not sure the Gottschalks folks would be pleased! • Cash or credit card only. No checks. • All sales final, no returns, no exchanges. (In other words, be careful to pick the dress with the sash attached, not the one where it was clearly missing.) • You of course need to go through the racks, but thankfully everything was pretty well organized by color. • Hours at the closing store: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday though Friday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. — Christine Peterson Reporter Courtenay Edelhart writes that Leather Town at Valley Plaza is going out of business as of Aug. 31. In the meantime, clothing and accessories are on clearance. The store's at the east end of the mall, near JC Penney. (Don't say we didn't tell you!) Our good friends on the entertainment team share this: A Thursday-to-Thursday listing of free or inexpensive things to do. THURSDAY (Aug. 7) FRIDAY (Aug. 8) SATURDAY (Aug. 9) SUNDAY (Aug. 10) NEXT THURSDAY (Aug. 14) Concerts by The Fountain, with Truce and Tony O'Brien, 7 to 9 p.m., The An iced grande drink from Starbucks for a paltry $2 has to come with conditions, right? Right. * Must be ordered after 2 p.m. ** Customer must present receipt from the same day's morning visit. According to the AP story, the promotion goes nationwide today (Tuesday) and lasts until Sept. 2. In these penny-pinching times, have you ever thought about buying a refurbished computer? Is it worth it? SmartMoney.com has a good story about what to look for and ask about if you're thinking about buying one from a manufacturer or third party. Me? I'm happy with my completely new laptop I bought earlier this year. Looking for an inexpensive activity for your family tonight? Head over to Tradewinds Park, 5510 Beach Rose Drive, for a free showing of "Ratatouille" at dusk. Now the question — what's dusk? There was some quick banter about that on a radio station this morning, and the thought seemed to be that meant 8:30 p.m. Hmm .... I called the parks department, and the nice lady who answered said the show will begin at 8 p.m.
Location:
4440 N. Ming Ave.,
Bakersfield, CA
PartyWorks, the stor at 4440 N. Ming Ave. that says it's "closing forever," is boasting sales of up to 90 percent off original prices. As we've previously reported, the store, next to Food Maxx, is closing after 15 years in business. Last day: Aug. 10. |
