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6 reasons you should go to a Grizzlies game

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It’s my favorite time of year again! Time for the crack of the bat, the smell of freshly grilled burgers, and the special feeling that comes from cheering along with a crowd of fellow fans.

I’m talking, of course, about the opening of baseball season. For us in the Fresno area, that means welcoming back the Fresno Grizzlies, complete with stadium renovations and new ownership that promise to make a trip to Chukchansi Park more fun than ever before.

Opening Day is just around the corner, so I want to highlight the top six reasons you should go to a Grizzlies game this month, and even give you a chance to win free tickets to the first game on April 10! 

1. It’s a Better Value Than Ever

The new ownership group that purchased the Grizzlies during the off-season is committed to keeping baseball in Fresno, and making it accessible for the whole community. That means lower ticket prices and, maybe more importantly, the cheapest beer in minor league baseball. The price for a 20 oz. draft beer is dropping from $8 to $5 for every game!

go to a Grizzlies game

Photo Courtesy of Fresno Grizzlies.

There are plenty of other great deals, too. Opening Day is a Taco Tuesday, which means the team will take the field as the Fresno Tacos, and there will be $2 specials for authentic tacos from local trucks, churros, and sodas (and free tacos for the first 1,000 fans through the gate!).

Monday Madness provides two reserved tickets, two hot dogs, two sodas, two Fresno Chaffee Zoo vouchers, and two Pieology pizza or salad voucher—all for $25.

But perhaps the best deal of all is the Friends and Family Membership. For $229, you will get six tickets to every Monday-Thursday game all season long, along with invites to exclusive events like player autograph sessions and stadium tours, as well as discounted $10 weekend tickets. Purchase a membership here.

2. Post-Game Entertainment

Entertainment at a Grizzlies game extends beyond baseball. On April 13, a ticket will get you into the game as well as post-game fireworks and a concert by Christian recording artist Ryan Stevenson as a part of Christian Fellowship Night.

As is Grizzlies tradition, there will also be fireworks after Opening Day, as well as every Friday home game. Who decided those are just for Fourth of July, anyway?! (Even though there will, of course, be fireworks at the July 4 game.)

If you’ve never experienced the spectacular show at Chukchansi Park, it’s a must. They’re set off just over the scoreboard, making it a very up-close fireworks display.

go to a Grizzlies game

Fireworks after a game last season. Super professional photography courtesy of me.

3. Stars and Barks

Saturday, April 14, is the perfect night to bring the whole family out to Chukchansi Park — and I do mean the whole family, four-legged members included. It’s the first Bark in the Park of the season, benefiting Valley Animal Center. Bring your dogs to the game and sit in a special designated section in right field. Tickets and canine waivers can be found here. Advance purchase is required. Five dollars from each canine ticket will be donated to the local no-kill shelter.

go to a Grizzlies game

Photo Courtesy of Fresno Grizzlies.

For the kids, Saturday is also a time to enjoy NASA Night. There will be live demos of Moon and Mars portals, an “Ask a Scientist” booth, rocks from Mars, telescopes, and more “edu-tainment” out on the concourse.

4. Honor Vietnam Veterans

Another special event is happening at the ballpark on April 28. Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans will be hosting an event to honor local Vietnam vets before the game. The organization is working with Amvets and the Grizzlies to give a proper “welcome home” ceremony to veterans who may have encountered protests and/or didn’t receive recognition when they returned from the Vietnam War because of the political climate at the time. Organizers are planning recognition on the field, a military salute, a formal flag ceremony, speeches by city and military officials, and a fly-over.

Vietnam veterans can get two free tickets to the game by entering the code “VETERANS” on the following website. If you or your company would like to sponsor the event, you can find details here.

5. Celebrate the World Champs

When you strip it down to the basics, Chukchansi Park is simply a place to watch really good baseball. Four of the last eight World Series-winning teams were affiliated with the Grizzlies, including last year’s Houston Astros. Several players who played with the Astros last year will begin the season in Fresno, as will five of the Astros’ top 30 prospects.

go to a Grizzlies game

Photo Courtesy of Fresno Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies will have giveaways to celebrate the Astros’ World Series triumph all season long, beginning with the Replica Championship Ring Giveaway for the first 5,000 fans through the gate on April 28. The Astros just unveiled the ring, and it’s a beauty!

6. Free tickets

[Ed. note: Contest has ended; congrats to our winner!] What better reason to go to a game than free tickets? If you’re our lucky winner, I’m sure this will become your number one reason.

We’re giving away four vouchers to Opening Day! Simply click here and fill out the form to enter to win all four vouchers, which you will exchange for tickets at the Fresno Grizzlies box office on Tuesday, April 10. One winner will be chosen at random and must be able to pick up vouchers from the FresYes Realty office during business hours on Monday, April 9, 2018.

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For a full list of this season’s events and promotions, visit the Fresno Grizzlies website or follow the team on Facebook. Tickets for games can be purchased online or at the Chukchansi Park box office.

Day Hike Destination: Lewis Creek Trail

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Natali Carrera

Natali Carrera is a devoted coffee addict who also loves her nine-year-old son, husband of 14 years and bargain hunting at Target. She works full time with ValleyPBS as their Director of Educational Services and is also a freelance writer and YouTube vlogger (as a hobby). She's been told "bubbly" is the best descriptor of her personality, though she wonders if what people really mean is that she talks too much. Natali is a lifelong Fresno resident and Fresno State grad.
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Sun through the trees at Lewis Creek Trail

Go figure. The girl who hates camping, windy mountain roads, prefers restrooms to trees always and is afraid of bears and snakes has caught the hiking bug. Yup, I’m totally hooked on hiking and now I’m pretty much dragging everyone who I can convince to come with me along for the journey!

Over the next several weeks, while the local weather is at its best,  I plan to visit multiple hiking trails that are within a short drive from Fresno and share with you my favorite trails so you can decide which you might like to explore as well. Keep in mind, I’m a complete rookie hiker – so if you like that perspective and thinking, “Hey, if she can do it, I’m sure we could” then you’ll probably enjoy these posts.

I should mention first, that the All Trails app (click here for iPhone, here for Android) has proven to be extremely helpful in researching trails in our area. The app will help you search for trails near you then sort them by length, difficulty, accessibility and more. The app can also provide you with driving directions, reviews from other hikers who’ve previously visited the trail, user submitted photos and even trails for other uses (mountain biking, off-roading, snowshoeing, etc.) I have found that the app is a bit more user-friendly than the web version of All Trails, which can tend to lag a bit.

Ok, so now onto our experience with Lewis Creek Trail…

Lewis Creek Trail is a little over 3 miles, and an “in and out” (meaning it does not make a loop, you hike the trail to the end, then turn around and hike back to where you started) that is very easy to find, located just above the Bass Lake turnoff, with parking right on the shoulder of 41. If you take 41 North from Fresno toward Bass Lake for about 50 minutes, the Lewis Creek Trailhead parking area will be easy to spot. This is an easy drive for those who tend toward carsickness, too. This trail is fairly popular, so expect to get a little creative if necessary if the parking area is full. Consider double parking cars within your own party to save space for others.

The parking area at Lewis Creek Trailhead

The parking area at Lewis Creek Trailhead

Once you head to the trail, you’ll see signs warning you about mountain lions and what to do if you encounter one. (Personal tip: Pretty sure if you bring with you a really excited group of children ages 3-8 you won’t see any! Ha!) As you begin your hike, you’ll wind downhill a bit toward the creek beneath the shade off mature evergreen trees. It was about ten degrees cooler when we hiked, than it was in Fresno, but certainly far from being cold even with the shade, so be sure to check the weather before you go to ensure you don’t end up lugging around a lot of extra clothing for no reason. I would say that a good 1/2 of the trail heading in is downhill, so though this is a relatively easy hike (children as young as 5 had no problems with this hike) those with previous knee injuries may not find it to be their favorite, so keep that in mind.

Here are some photos that will show you some of the highlights of Lewis Creek Trail:

The trail at Lewis Creek Trailhead

Shaded paths make for comfortable hiking

Lewis Creek Trail is both dog-friendly and well-maintained.

Lewis Creek Trail is both dog-friendly and well-maintained.

Shaded paths make for comfortable hiking

This wooden balcony lookout offers a beautiful view of Corlieu Falls

This wooden balcony lookout offers a beautiful view of Corlieu Falls

The creek

Though our drought has slowed the falls to a trickle, it was still lovely.

The creek makes for good exploring

And also offers sunning for hoards of beautiful butterflies!

IMG_2868

The end of the trail is a bit anti-climatic (obviously we were spoiled by our first hike, which ended with an awesome bridge over the San Joaquin River), as there wasn’t really much to see other than where the trail met a road and a sign stating we were in fact on the Lewis Creek Trail. However, we had a seat and enjoyed our picnic lunches and that gave us a nice recharge before we began our hike back.

Remember when I said it felt like 1/2 of the hike in was downhill? Well, if you’re following me, you’ve just figured out that I’m about to tell you that means half of the hike back up is uphill. Great cardio workout I tell ya! At the end, I really felt like I’d burned enough calories to indulge a little bit, which is good, because we all ended up capping off our great day hike with a stop at Robert’s Frosty Stand in Coarsegold. If you’re looking for old-fashioned sundaes, shakes, soft-serve, and dipped cones – you’ll want to make the same stop. Robert’s was super yummy and a great casual place to relax, eat and plan our next hike with our tired but happy friends.

Robert's Frosty StandI would definitely recommend Lewis Creek Trail to others for a great day hike experience. Though slightly more difficult than the San Joaquin River Gorge Bridge Trail, this trail is definitely family friendly and I’d say children ages 5 and over should do just fine. If you go, be sure to leave me a comment, I’d love to hear about your experience!