Budweiser Clydesdales galloping to Fairfield

(originally published in the 1/29/16 edition)

   Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium is well underway, as the nearly undefeated Carolina Panthers plan to take on Peyton Manning and his Denver Broncos. 

   In addition to the action on the field, there will be advertisements. Due to the NFL’s longtime relationship with Budweiser, even the most casual football fans have likely seen ads featuring the company’s majestic Clydesdale horses. And now, you do not even have to turn on your TV to see these magnificent steeds. You can see them in person at the Budweiser Brewery in Fairfield.

   The Clydesdales will be coming to Northern California for the Super Bowl and will be staying through Valentine’s Day, and they have chosen the Anheuser-Busch Fairfield Brewery and Tour Center as their temporary home. 

  “We’ve been hosting (the Clydesdales) for quite a few years now,” Jennivive Soriano, the tour center manager at the Fairfield brewery, said. “We try to get them at least once a year to come for a visit.” 

   The Clydesdales are an iconic symbol for the world-famous brewing company, dating back to 1933 when they toured America to celebrate the repeal of prohibition. They delivered beers across the company’s headquarters in St. Louis and ventured across the country, even stopping by the White House to deliver a case of Budweiser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

   Many of the Clydesdales are raised in farms by three of Budweiser’s U.S. breweries in St. Louis; Fort Collins, Colo; and Merrimack, N.H. 

   “The hitch that is coming to visit us is a traveling hitch out of Fort Collins,” Soriano said.

   There will also be two Clydesdale Camera Days on Feb. 9 and 10 from 2 to 4 p.m. where guests will be able to pose with the horses. There will also be a daily hitch parade with eight horses and a red wagon daily from 1 to 3 p.m., Feb. 11 to 14. The horses will be paraded around the visitors’ parking lot. 

   “They’ll stop, and guests will have an opportunity to talk to the handlers and take photos with the full hitch,” Soriano said.

   Soriano says the events will allow people to see the beautiful horses.

   “They are a symbol of Budweiser’s heritage, tradition and commitment to quality,” she said. 

   The Clydesdales can be viewed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Feb. 3 to 14 at the Fairfield Budweiser Brewery, located at 3101 Busch Drive. The events are open to all ages. For more information, visit BudweiserTours.com. 

Super Fright Night showcases Bay Area championship teams, local artistry

(Originally published in the 10/20/15 edition)

   Ever wanted to see a Vince Lombardi trophy in person? Solano County football fans can now rejoice.

   In honor of Super Bowl 50 being held at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 7, Chevron is currently touring the Bay Area with its mobile exhibition “The 50 Tour: Champions of the Bay,” which will present the history of the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders alongside the combined eight Lombardi trophies won by both teams- five by the 49ers and three by the Raiders, including one from when the team played in Los Angeles. 

   The exhibit has had stops at Mountain View’s Art and Wine Festival, San Jose State University and Sonoma’s Harvest Fair. The tour will stop in Vallejo on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31.

   Given those dates, don’t expect just an exhibit.

   To coincide with the exhibit, the city of Vallejo will be hosting Super Fright Night on the Waterfront. In addition to displaying the trophies, Vallejo will be celebrating its multicultural and artistic community with a six-hour gala featuring rides, music, dancing, arts and crafts and a whole lot more. 

   The event will be produced by Frank Malifrando, the producer of the city’s Mad Hatter Holiday Festival and annual tree lighting. According to him, the city was approached by Chevron to showcase the Super 50 exhibit in Vallejo.

   “The dates available that they selected were Oct. 30 and 31,” Malifrando said. “At that time, we had a plan to have the exhibit on the Waterfront on those two dates.”

   After meeting with committee officials, it was determined that Vallejo would have to put on something big.

  “I had suggested that since it’s going to be aired on all the NFL channels, we need to showcase what our city is all about,” Malifrando said. 

   And thus, Super Fright Night was born, giving Vallejo citizens the opportunity to see the Lombardi trophies up close and have a fun time.

   “We manufactured the entire event around this exhibit,” Malifrando said. 

   The majority of funding for the event came from Malifrando, but funds have also come in from sponsors like Team Chevrolet and Vallejo’s fire department union. 

   “Businesses are coming forward to help offset the cost of putting it on,” Malifrando said. “The city is doing what they can to help as well, so this is a collaborative effort.”

   From 2:30 to 5:30, the event will be primarily cultural, to represent Day of the Dead as well as Vallejo’s diverse community. Attractions will include an interactive exhibit honoring Frida Kahlo, Mexican folk dancing and food trucks representing Vallejo’s diverse population, with offerings ranging from Mexican food to Filipino food to American hot dog stands. 

   Starting at 5:30, there will be a flash mob dance set to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” From there, the event will take a turn for the artistic. West African drummers and dancers as well as Cuban salsa dancers will perform at 6 alongside fire dancers. There will also be flame-shooting metallic sculptures set up by the Flaming Lotus Girls, an art collective whose works have been featured at Burning Man and the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival. The event will culminate with a laser light show at 7 that lasts for the rest of the evening. There will also be pony and train rides throughout the day as well as basketball courts.

   Malifrando says he expects attendance to be huge, especially with the trophies as well as Trunk or Treat happening in the area on Saturday. 

   “I think we’re going to get a turnout of 1,000, if not up to 10,000,” he said. “Vallejo is a very strong, supporting community. When we had the Giants’ World Series trophy, we had over 2,500 lined up without an event just to be photographed with the trophy. This is the eight Lombardi trophies, so we expect a big turnout.”

   Super Fright Night will take place from 2:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 30 and 31 at the Vallejo Waterfront, located on 289 Mare Island Way. For more information, visit HatterVallejo.com.