31 Days of Fresno

Day 29

If I had to choose an official spokesperson for the city of Fresno. It would not be our current mayor Ashley Swearingen, not our previous mayor Alan Autry, nor would it be D-List celebrity Kevin Federline. It would be KMPH’s own Kopi Sotiropulos! Kopi has a personality no other TV news anchor can capture. Friendly, energetic, and busy is his bag.

When I mean busy, I mean busy. I swear I have been on Kopi’s “Five Day Forecast” feature about four times. Yes, I said “Five Day…”; in the present day I’ve been on his “Ten Day Forecast” about three times. It’s not like I come looking for him or vice-versa, we just happen to cross paths so many times coincidentally and he’s happened to have brought his camera to film people. I even manned a telephone as he hosted the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon pledge drive. He’s just all over Fresno.

For those that don’t know, Kopi used to be just a weather man for our Fox affiliate in Fresno. He still does the weather, but he also leads our four (maybe five… I’m not up that early) hour morning show called Great Day! with Kim Stephens and Liz Gonzalez (formerly held by now CBS47 anchor Evy Ramos). He stopped doing weather on the nightly news which, after him, was done by Heidi Watney (who is now the official on-field reporter for the Boston Red Sox) and thus succeeding her is Kevan Ramer.

That was not researched. I’m just full of trivial knowledge like that.

Anyway, this is a big, huge OPA! to my favorite Fresno Grecian. I’ll probably run into him at the Greek Festival and treat him to a Souvlakia.

OPA!

=ryne=

Day 28

Alright, so I have never been to the Forestiere Underground Gardens, but I do intend to. I did try to go earlier in the month, but nobody was there. I remember my ex-girlfriend years ago tried to urge me to go with her and I thought it would be sort of dumb. But now that I see it’s sort of like an underground labyrinth of a secret garden, count me in!! I want to get lost with a date or even just by myself; maybe if I lose myself hard enough I’ll end up in Narnia or even better, Hyrule. Yeah…

Anyway, this is a landmark of Fresno that’s utilized a complicated way of burrowing tunnels. I can’t wait to check this out now. I wonder how the draining system is like seeing as they were probably inundated with water all last week. I bet they keep a nice reservoir to water their lovely trees and plants. I’m glad there’s something this secret, this neat hiding out in Fresno.

If you want to know where it is, it’s located on Shaw right across the street from the In-N-Out burger. You never would have guessed it, but that’s where the elusive Forestiere Underground Gardens is located.

This is why I love Fresno.

=ryne=

Day 27

Fresno is a good location to film parts of movies. Our most recent claim to fame on the silver screen is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. “Really?” you ask? Really, I say. That opening scene of the film inside the warehouse is actually an airplane hangar at Chandler Airport in Fresno. That was a pretty good scene if I recall after seeing the movie only once.

There was a second, much more obscure movie that was filmed in Fresno. The Puppet Masters used the Civic Building in downtown Fresno to be used as an alien spaceship. According to imdb.com that movie was rated 5.7 stars out of 10. Not too good.

Alright, so neither of these two movies beat out American Graffiti rated on imdb.com at 7.6 stars which was filmed in the north valley city Modesto. But, we had a major motion picture with Harrison Ford filmed here, so suck on that Modesto.

This is why I love Fresno.

=ryne=

Day 26

Critical Mass may not have started in Fresno, but we do have a group of riders that love to ride in groups. If you recall on the post on Day 21 five days ago, there was Art Hop and a tie-in to that with Bike Hop; this happens every first Thursday of the month. Well, at the last Friday of the month is Critical Mass where a massive group of cyclists pedal around Fresno as one. It looks almost like China where thousands of people are riding around on their bikes everyday, except much more miniscule.

So, within two weeks bike riding enthusiasts are spoiled one week by riding with a group to go wherever and the next week riding again to go studio to studio to check out new pieces of art. Their mantra: Ride daily, celebrate monthly. I like that and I wished more people would take their two-wheeled transports out more often than their cars: it’s good exercise and it’s good for the air we breath.

I challenge you to hit up craigslist for a quality bike on the cheap and taking it out this Friday to Fresno High School on Echo. Unfortunately, I have to be at work at 5pm, so I can’t be there.

This is why I love Fresno.

=ryne=

Day 25

The Rogue Festival - An annual celebration of art in venues all throughout the Tower District. It’s an eclectic mix of music performance, dance recitals, short plays, and other various performances that boast different arrays of talent throughout Fresno.

The idea is to hop around from show to show in different venues from noon to night on the cheap. In one show you’ll be treated to a comedy troupe based solely on improvisation, the next venue will feature a jazz combo, and the final will be a flamenco group throwing down some fiery licks and provocative dancing. It’s like any other festival such as the Vans Warped Tour or Coachella except you aren’t suffering in the sweltering heat; mostly because it takes place in the spring and the performances are indoors.

I’ve gone to several shows, mostly to support my peers, but I’ve also gone to shows where I have no idea what I’m going to expect or who is going to be on the stage. I enjoy that Fresno has this yearly festival to display the expertise of these entertainers as they meticulously practice their bits.

This is why I love Fresno

=ryne=

Day 24

Since this influx of rain this week, I’ve sort of been yearning for a little more warmth of the summer time.

We all know how hot it gets in the valley come July or August, but with the way this week has gone, it’s hard to think it ever gets that way here! My post is about the glorious morning of summer time. If you’re a night owl and sleep in until past brunch, well you are seriously missing out! There’s nothing like waking up in Fresno at 7am and being greeted by the friendly morning sun who wants to scorch the Earth in a few hours: it’s cool at that time, the grass is dewy, and you’ll even get a little shiver now and again.

You probably won’t find other people that will pick that out as their favorite part of the summer time because they sleep through it; you know by having no school or something to those lines that don’t require them to wake up early. It’s really a wonderful time to brew something warm like a coffee or tea and take it all to the back patio and drink it slowly with a record on and listen to the world awaken. I’ve now revealed my innermost summer secret.

This is why I love Fresno.

=ryne=

Day 23

I am quite the snob for beer, especially microbrews. To show that Fresno can hang with the big boys, there is an authentic brewery in town that has beer with some Fresno flair at Sequoia Brewing Company. They have a beer to suit every flavor for the beer connoisseur: stouts, lagers, pale ales, amber ales, hefeweizen; practically the whole gamut of beer! So, the beer is good, but what about the food you ask? The food is amazing. I remember watching the Fresno State vs. Illinois game and having the biggest breakfast burrito I ever had. It was glorious.

Not only does Sequoia Brewing Company cater to the adult demographic, but also to the minors by selling their own specialized root beer. I know my root beer, and they sell a really spectacular batch of the stuff!

I’m sure there are other cities that can boast a menu of beers that they home-brew and sell to their customers en mass, but there’s nothing like drinking in a place that looks like you’re high up in the sequoias drinking with some good friends in a log cabin.

It’s a true godsend that there are two locations that lovers of beer can go and hang out with a different variety of crowds. As much as I love the Tower District, I think the SBC in the north part of Fresno inches itself forward as my favorite of the two. I’m a little baffled that other local bars around Fresno don’t carry Sequoia Brews to support this local business and its fine brewmaster.

If you’ve never gone, I’d gladly treat you to a fine brew at either location!

This is why I love Fresno.

=ryne=

Day 22

I can’t believe I’ve gone 22 days without ever mentioning the amazing agriculture that makes this central valley thrive. Farming, farm markets, and distribution of their crops is the number one commerce the valley has. A good portion of our produce goes out everywhere! Don’t believe me? I’m sure you’ve definitely heard of Sun Maid raisins with your mom packing a box in your lunchbox everyday as a child. You know, the raisin brand with the lady wearing the red bonnet and the basket of grapes? Yep, that’s distributed globally and is found in one of our neighboring cities in Kingsburg.

Farm markets are one of my favorite things that happens weekly in the fall season. It’s like a mini Fresno Fair every week: live music, people selling kettle corn and cinnamon buns, and stands upon stands of fresh fruits and vegetables to buy! My favorite farm market, though, lies in Hanford. They close down an entire street in downtown Hanford and line up booths to sell food, produce, fire up the carousel, and even sell and play Magic: The Gathering cards! But, my favorite booth in Hanford always has been the farmers that squeeze and bottle unpasteurized orange juice. It tastes so sweet and delectable! We’re always told to “buy local” and I don’t think anything gets as close to buying various sundries from the farmers themselves.

Alumni and nearby residents of the university love to shop for their products too! It’s a small little shop on Barstow and Chestnut, but it sure packs a punch! They have their own sweet corn, persimmons, olive oil, wines, bacon, sausages, but the biggest seller and Fresno State’s best-seller next to athletic attire is ICE CREAM! Baskin Robbins 31 flavors can go cry itself in a corner when pitted against Fresno State’s vast array of ice cream.

This is why I love Fresno.

=ryne=

Day 21

Every first Thursday of the month brings up moments where artists display their work and discuss with Art Hoppers. This is the time studios throughout Fresno display brand new pieces for all to view until the first Thursday of the next month.

I’ve only been to a handful of art hops in my time here. Mostly because I was like other Fresnans in being too naive and ignorant to journey south of Shaw Avenue. Now that I know better, I’m not able to go because of time constraints due to work. Sometimes, though, Teazer is a place where we get new pieces of art and we always get a nice turn-up for drinks. Anyway, this is not about Teazer.

There is a second phenomenon that occurs between 5pm and 8pm as Art Hop is taking place: Bike Hop! It’s sort of like a critical mass where a mini mass of cycle enthusiasts will take their bi-pedaled vehicles and hop from studio to studio to check out art. I’m always taken aback to seeing strong numbers of cyclists riding together in Fresno; it looks like a scaled-down version of the Tour de France with art aficionados.

There are about 18 regularly participating studios in Fresno and that’s extra cool to me. The more places to visit, the better I and other residents of Fresno are able to be even more well-acquainted with our fine, fair city.

This is why I love Fresno.

=ryne=

(Photo courtesy of Joe Osejo)

Day 20

I am so thankful the highways and bi-ways of Fresno do not look like this everyday for every second of the day. I’m very glad that the traffic in Fresno is quite decent aside from some schmuck that will decide to blast his music so loud that the ground shakes from time to time at the red light.

Fresno traffic is an art, really. The lights are usually pretty good at changing at the detection of one car in the dead of night, albeit very slowly changing, it’s good at it. Some of the streets are meticulously programmed to be able to drive through one side of town to the next without hitting a single red light. However, if you run into one, the chance you run into every consecutive red light is the punishment. When in a rush, people never realize, do not use the streets that connect to a freeway if you’re using surface streets or you’re asking for trouble.

Anyway, I am so happy that Fresno’s highways look nothing like that of Los Angeles where you’ll sit in traffic for hours.

This is why I love Fresno.

=ryne=