19 minute read
CONNECTING THE COMMUNITY
STOCKTON
SAVINGS PASS
BRINGING LOCAL BUSINESSES AND CUSTOMERS TOGETHER
BY FAITH LEWIS
Local businesses are the beating heart of a community – but they wouldn’t make it far without their customers. Visit Stockton recognized this and, in 2018, was looking for ways to both offer local businesses a boost and benefit customers. They came up with a solution where everyone wins: the Stockton Savings Pass. Since it was created, more than 5000 people have downloaded this free discount pass to unlock savings at over 70 of their favorite local restaurants, attractions, and businesses.
“For the business it provides a new way to be discovered and build customer loyalty. It can also be used to reward their existing customers. Our goal is to get customers through the door and hope they become long time customers,” says Wes Rhea, the CEO of Visit Stockton. “For the consumer, we hope that they will explore new places or that the value compels them to continue going back to a favorite spot. This is all about providing value for both the business and the customer.”
The Stockton Savings Pass offers discounts at local restaurants, coffeeshops, hotels, day spas, museums, yoga and dance studios, and more.
“Our Subway deal is always at the top, but also Kings Card Club, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Empresso Coffee, and the Children’s Museum round out the top five,” Wes says.
The Stockton Savings Pass is completely free and can be downloaded and saved on any smartphone. Each business chooses the type of offer they want to make available to customers: monetary discounts, buy one get one free, or buy one get a discount. Some offers are good for a single use, others refresh on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
“Visit Stockton invests in this program for the benefit of the businesses and the locals and visitors,” Wes says, explaining that the Stockton Savings Pass is about more than saving money. It’s about creating connection in the community. “We greatly appreciate our local businesses and see this as a great way to show that appreciation.”
So, next time you find yourself looking for a new restaurant, planning a night out, or just searching for a fun way to spend the day, the Stockton Savings Pass might just offer some inspiration. And don’t forget to check back often: new businesses can join at any time and existing businesses have the opportunity to offer new deals as often as they want. To download the Stockton Savings Pass, simply go to StocktonSavingsPass.com, sign up, and start saving.
VISIT STOCKTON (209) 938-1555 StocktonSavingsPass. com
CALIFORNIA THEME PARKS are BACK
SEE WHAT'S NEW
BY NORA HESTON TARTE
For over a year California theme parks were closed to the public, adhering to strict shutdown guidelines enforced by the state government. But this spring, they began reopening again. Today, theme parks are looking more like they used to (with some new protocols in place) but several also unveiled brand-new changes after a year of being closed to the public. Read on to get inspired for your next exhilarating family vacation and learn how theme parks used their mandated closure time to enhance the guest experience.
GREAT WOLF LODGE – NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Close to home, the official opening of Great Wolf Lodge in Manteca is long-awaited. The indoor waterpark was originally supposed to open in summer of 2020, but pandemicrelated setbacks slowed progression. One year later, it’s officially open (as of June 29) and guests are flooding the family-friendly attraction’s newest location.
The entire facility features 500 guestrooms, a 95,000 square-foot heated indoor waterpark, a 45,000 square foot adventure park, and a number of restaurants serving up everything from fine dining to frozen treats.
Great Wolf Lodge is Northern California’s first indoor waterpark,
catering to families who want to have a waterpark experience regardless of weather. Set on 29 acres off of Highway 120, the resort is easily accessible for San Joaquin County residents. In addition to colorful and twisty waterslides fit for all ages, the resort also features a ropes course, miniature golf, arcade, and a high-tech, newly imagined version of the brand’s exclusive MagiQuest interactive adventure game.
During the wait to open, Great Wolf Lodge poured efforts into a Paw Pledge program that focuses on maintaining a safe and clean experience for guests in light of the recent pandemic. “The year-long delay of our grand opening due to the pandemic has further raised anticipation levels for our new Northern California resort,” says Murray Hennessy, chief executive officer for Great Wolf Resorts. “This resort brings a whole new level of immersive family entertainment to the region, and we’re excited to get families back to having fun.”
LEGOLAND CALIFORNIA
LEGOLAND California has long been the destination for families that can’t get enough of those brightly colored building blocks and the fun characters brought to life through a variety of kid-friendly TV shows and movies. In May, the theme park debuted a new land—The Lego Movie World—completely dedicated to the two LEGO movies, "The Lego Movie" and "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part." The new area matches the energy of the rest of the park, with bright colors and memorable characters from the popular films. In all, there are seven attractions within the new park, including three rides, a play tower inspired by spaceman Benny, a meet-and-greet area, a water feature, and a building area. There are also three places to eat, including a dessert crepe food truck and the reopening of Everything is Ramen! and a store that features products previously discontinued from other areas of the park.
The most notable attraction is Emmet's Flying Adventure Ride, similar to Soarin’ Around the World in Disneyland, the ride places families on Emmet’s newest invention—a triple-decker flying couch that soars through memorable lands from several Lego films, complete with smells and other inclusions that satiate all of the senses.
The other two rides are Unikitty's Disco Drop, an up-and-down mini Dropzone led by Unikitty, and Queen Watevra's Carousel, complete with Lego horses you can ride. When you get hungry, fuel up at Benny's Rocket Fuel, which sells small snacks and drinks next to the carousel.
Fans of the movies will be most excited to meet beloved characters including Benny, Emmet, Unikitty, and more, who rotate through visiting Emmet's Super Suite, a life-size version of Emmet’s apartment from the movie.
SUZANNE LEDBETTER D
DISNEY’S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARK
While Disneyworld and its adjacent parks were open for much of the pandemic, Disneyland and California Adventure shuttered doors for 13 months. On April 30, it finally reopened, and on June 4, a new area was unveiled—Avenger’s Campus.
Located inside of California Adventure, Avenger’s Campus added new attractions to an area of the park that has been slowly morphing into a super hero center. The fast-paced Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! is the centerpiece of the new land, but it’s no longer the only Avengers-themed ride. Spider-Man got his own attraction, an all-ages ride that challenges budding super heroes to help Spider-Man wrangle multiplying robots while aboard a WEB Slinger vehicle. As a new ride, this one is getting similar attention that the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge ride received, with a virtual queue available in the app (and the only way to secure a timeslot on the ride).
Running into your favorite characters has been a long-enjoyed pastime for Disney-going families. Lately, however, having a designated space to find specific costumed heroes is trending. Captain America and Spider-Man used to pop up near Mission: BREAKOUT! but now you can find Earth’s mightiest heroes at Avengers Headquarters, including Iron Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Thor, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, The Wasp, and members from Guardians of the Galaxy. But there’s more than a chance to meet your favorites—the attraction also comes with a show! Doctor Strange has his own area, too. At the Ancient Sanctum, he teaches young recruits the mysteries of the multi-verse.
True to Disney fashion, everything inside of Avengers Campus is appropriately themed. Restaurants include Pym Test Kitchen with drinks at the Pym Testing Lab, and other food options include Terran Treats boasting bright-green churro spirals and other snacks.
Outside of Avenger’s Campus, there are two other new rides worthy of our attention, both located on Pixar Pier. Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind offers a whimsical spin through Riley’s emotions on a spinning attraction made for guests of all heights and Jessie’s Critter Carousel offers a country take on the classic ride.
Avenger’s Campus
NEW HOTEL
If you’re not staying at one of the hotels inside of the Disney parks, the next best option is a Good Neighbor hotel, located close enough to all of the action with a more budget-friendly price tag. The newest neighbor in town is Hotel Lulu, which opened its doors to guests on May 14. Just two blocks from the Disney gates, this hotel offers Disneyfriendly programming, rooms with views of the fireworks, a pool with divein movies, an on-site restaurant, daily wine receptions, craft time, and more. There is also an onsite Disneyland® Insiders team to help enhance your experience in the park with recommendations for places to eat, tips on how to avoid the lines, and ways to make the day special for kids.
DISNEY D
Hotel Lulu
Pandemic PETS
Locals bring home new family members amid a global shutdown
BY NORA HESTON TARTE D DAN HOOD
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, our entire lives were turned upside down. Most suffered hardships may it be personal, professional, or health-related. The only true winners of the pandemic, however, may have been our pets. Typically left on their own for large chunks of the day while us humans work, go to school, and maintain social lives, suddenly most pets were met with humans that couldn’t leave the house. For some families there was enough extra love and attention to go around. And for some families who didn’t have a pet, this seemed like the perfect time to add one to the bunch. After all, we were home to train them, and kids could use an extra playmate while missing their friends.
Regardless of the reason families chose to adopt, 2020-2021 saw an unprecedented increase in pet adoptions. The frenzy for furry friends helped local shelters to secure more adoptions than ever before and keep inventory low, especially for dogs. And while some states have reported issues with pets getting returned now that restrictions have been lifted, Delta Humane Society says that’s not the case here. People brought home new family members to help ease the pain over the course of the pandemic, and the masses show no signs of remorse since life has started to shift back to normal.
Oso & Lobo
THE CUEVAS FAMILY, OSO, & LOBO
Family of four adds two new members to their pack
Owning a dog always sounded like a lot of work to Sabrina Cuevas, a Stockton mom of three boys— Anthony, 20, Rafael, 13, and Cristiano, 10—who knew she would spend most of her free time picking up the slack from her sons. However, when the pandemic hit, her thoughts started to change. Her sons were home with little to do and missing their friends. While sheltering at home, Sabrina was asked by a friend to foster a dog temporarily to help clear out the shelter in case it was forced to close.
Sabrina went down to the City of Stockton Animal Services Center to pick out a smaller dog with her family. Most of the small dogs that could be placed in homes with kids, however, were spoken for. Sabrina still wanted to help so they settled on a brown Labrador/Pitbull mix with honey golden eyes that her husband says, “looked nice.” Sabrina was assured Oso was a good family dog, so the family of four took him home. On the way home Sabrina cried tears of joy over saving Oso, while he seemingly thanked her two boys by licking them in the face.
A week later Sabrina got a phone call that someone was interested in adopting Oso. She, after all, was only fostering him until a forever home became available. Met with the thought of giving Oso away, Sabrina made the decision that he was no longer available for adoption—her family would be keeping Oso with them. Shortly after, the Cuevas family brought home a baby German Shepherd named
Lobo (gifted from a family friend) so Oso could have a brother. “The dogs are now my babies,” Sabrina says. “I never really considered myself a ‘dog person’—not anymore!”
Today, the entire family are enjoying Oso and Lobo. Oso is well-behaved and loves daily walks and family cuddles. Lobo has needed more work to get his energy under control but Guaranteed Dog Training in Stockton has been a good resource for the family. “Lobo loves going on bike rides and playing ball. He is also helpful and loves doing chores, such as yard work and taking out the trash,” Sabrina says. “These dogs are part of our family.”
CHRISSY & INDI
Love at first site for massage therapist and abused pup
Indi was four months old when she was found locked inside of a plastic container with plain hot dogs inside and nothing else at the park. That’s when Chrissy Davis, a local massage therapist, got the call from a friend working at the Animal Protection League in Stockton—after months of looking with no success, the friend was sure she had found the dog for Chrissy at the City of Stockton Animal Services Center. Indi had to be nursed back to health. She was throwing up, having seizures, and clearly in shock when found, but after being treated, she was ready for a forever home. Big and protective, the German Shepherd met all of Chrissy’s qualifications—must be adventurous and good with both cats and kids.
“I heard her story and saw the pic of her one time and after looking into those eyes, my heart dissolved into a melted pile of butter,” Chrissy says. “I knew she was what I had been waiting for.” For Chrissy, she would be
Chrissy & Indi
“I did a lot of this alone and knew it was time for me to start over and get a dog."
Chrissy & Indi the first dog she opened her whole heart to after losing her Weimaraner named Zen a few years prior to K9 Valley Fever. “I have fostered other dogs but never allowed my heart to become attached to that capacity, until now.”
Despite losing her best friend years before meeting Indi, Chrissy didn’t start actively searching out a new companion until the pandemic hit. Deemed “non-essential,” Chrissy was quarantining, not working, and admittedly falling into a bit of a depression. Without a lot of options left for how to fill her days, Chrissy began getting outside into nature, finding the fresh air healing as she hiked, kayaked, and camped. Several trips to the shelter didn’t turn up a perfect fit, but Chrissy knows her life with Indi was meant to be.
Today, Indi has become the companion Chrissy longed for, happy to paddle board at the lake or offer snuggles on the couch when given the magic words “best friend” from Chrissy.
Since Chrissy has returned to work, the hardest thing to do is leave Indi at home. “I feel like a mom leaving her kid all day,” she shares. But the goal is to train Indi well enough to become a shop dog, offering companionship and security while Chrissy works on clients. “The shop training is a little slower than I want because her energy is too high for that environment at only one year old, but in time she will be with me at work, too.”
Admitting puppies are a lot of work, Chrissy says she doesn’t regret her decision to adopt during a global pandemic. “If you are aware of the challenges and responsibilities, and you have the love and patience in your heart for a rescue dog, then it is rewarding and can add joy to your life,” she says. “I honestly am not sure if I have rescued her or if she has rescued me.”
Serial adopter rescues senior dog
Mowgli found himself at the Delta Humane Society SPCA of San Joaquin County, underweight and tattered from time on the streets, early on in the pandemic. It was clear Mowgli, 11, had been homeless for some time. Dogs like this often stay at the shelter for long stretches, sometimes never getting the opportunity to leave with a family. Mowgli, however, got lucky when Pat Moreno walked into the shelter the same day he arrived and fell in love with Mowgli on sight. “One look at him and I told [Director at DHS] Maria [Thompkins], I want him,” Pat says. “The adoption was fast and easy. I’ve been in love with him since.”
Walking in the yard with Mowgli at DHS, it was easy to see just how well behaved this stray was, according to Pat. “He is the type of dog that will walk by your side, stay with you, and he loves to play ball,” Pat says. While regular activities were curbed due to shutdowns and other restrictions related to COVID-19, it seemed like the perfect time to invest in yet another dog, helping Pat and her family stay busy and helping a pooch get off the streets. Pat says adopting Mowgli is the “best decision we made during these hard times.” “Mowgli, he is an absolute joy,” she says.
Pat is a serial adopter— she’s rescued three homeless dogs, two shelter dogs, and is currently fostering a puppy from DHS, as well. “I only get rescues,” she says. “They need homes and lots of love.”
While others may shy away from taking home an older pet, Pat hasn’t once regretted her decision to bring Mowgli home. Since going home with Pat, Mowgli has put on weight so he is much healthier and he enjoys going on walks and playing ball. “We are over the moon that we can give him a family and love till the end of his life.”
LOOKING TO ADOPT?
Consider kitten adoptions from local shelters While shelters experienced an increase in positive shelter activity over the past year, there has been one concerning downside for pets during the pandemic. Without the ability to spay and neuter cats to the capacity the SPCA was doing pre-pandemic, a lot more kittens were born over the past year and the ones born the year prior didn't have as much opportunity to get adopted. The result? Shelters are teeming with adorable kittens that need forever homes, or at least a foster for the time being. According to Maria Thompkins at Delta
Humane Society SPCA of San Joaquin County there simply isn’t any room left for more cats at the shelter and Stephen Curr, the general manager at PALS Haven, says they are experiencing the same problem..
If you can’t take a kitty or two home with you, consider donating to the cause.
CITY OF STOCKTON ANIMAL SERVICES CENTER
1575 S. Lincoln St., Stockton (209) 937-8274
DELTA HUMANE SOCIETY SPCA OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY
4590 Ca-99, Stockton (209) 466-0339 DeltaHumaneSociety.org
PALS HAVEN
5113 W. Sargent Rd.,Lodi (209) 333-9963 PALSLodi.org
RICK, BUBBA, & CLEO
Shelter volunteer adopts dog from homeless encampment
In 2017, Rick Eberhardt began volunteering with the City of Stockton Animal Services Center. He soon became a lead volunteer, assisting with weekend pet adoptions at Carter’s Pet Mart in Stockton. “I helped walk and show the dogs and just socialize them in general,” Rick says of his duties. “[On adoption event days] I picked up the dogs from shelter and met the other volunteers at Carter’s.”
At one point during his days as a volunteer, Rick fell in love with a three-year-old Pitbull named Bubba. “As a volunteer you see some of the same dogs that aren’t adopted week after week,” Rick explains. Three times Bubba was adopted and returned at no fault of his own. After that, Rick brought him home to join his nine-year-old Labrador, Bo. Eventually cancer took Bo’s life and Bubba became depressed and lethargic. Then, volunteer work with the shelter ceased due to the pandemic.
Through the Stockton shelter’s network, Rick ended up meeting another group of volunteers led by Jill Faso Antonini. Jill visits homeless encampments on a regular basis to help dogs living there. On one visit, she met Cleo, a new, very young mom with a mammarian tumor on one of her teets, caused by the conditions she was living in while nursing her puppies. For weeks she bargained with the owner to care for Cleo, first receiving permission to get her surgery and eventually rescuing Cleo from the poor living conditions completely. With 15 dogs already at her home, Jill called on Rick as an emergency foster to take care of Cleo until a forever home could be found for her.
“A volunteer dropped Cleo off that night. I kept her isolated from Bubba,” Rick recalls. “I got up the next day and introduced them. Bubba and Cleo both turned into puppies. It was at that point I became a foster failure….I adopted her.” Cleo’s presence revived a saddened Bubba and brought new energy to Rick’s life. “She has claimed both of us and all we have as hers,” he says.
Rick encourages anyone looking to bring a new pet into their home to check the local shelters and rescues first. As a volunteer, he knows firsthand what can happen to the pups that don’t find forever homes. “While euthanasia is a last resort to deal with overcrowding, it is the elephant in the room and is a very real danger,” he says. “The more that are adopted, the more are being taken out of harm’s way.”
