downtown fresno blog

Posted by Kim Leonard

Okay, I’m gonna start this out by laughing a little at my title of this blog.  The whole when you can/can’t use the term “Super Bowl” thing is funny to me. Second, when people say “Big Game”, I think of like, poachers going after lions and stuff, not football.

No matter how hard I try, I still have a hard time fully understanding football. I keep my husband close and ask him a million questions all game long, which probably drives him nuts. My thinking is that if it’s gonna be on our TV any anyway, I probably should know what the heck I’m watching. I have failed every Sunday, Monday, and Thursday all season so far.

We toyed around with the idea of hosting a Super Bowl party this year, but with our daughter’s birthday party the day before and two out of four kids at basketball camp it just didn’t seem feasible. So i started looking around at what might be happening downtown on the day of the game.

Club One Casino has all kinds of screens and they’ll have the game playing all evening. Pros: this is your opportunity to have pad thai while watching the game. Oh, and if it gets boring or your team is losing you can always sneak over to a blackjack table. Cons: Not somewhere to go if you have kids.

Club Brazil is Downtown Fresno’s secret superstar. Nestled behind Chukchansi Park it sometimes gets an unfair shake because the entrance is almost secret- except for the big sign with an arrow pointing to it. Pros: In their words when I called to see if they were running any specials they responded with “No ma’am, our prices are low enough.” Cons: again, not family friendly.

Peeve’s Public House is participating in game day festivities with a twist that makes sense considering their namesake. They’ll be showing the game on one screen and the Puppy Bowl on another! Pros: Family friendly, and perfect if your group of friends is split between sportsfans and people who just wanna hang out and enjoy beer and pub food. Cons: There may be more people cheering for the dogs than the football. But really, puppies! How could you not?

If you’re throwing a party or don’t like to show up empty handed, the Downtown Fresno Grocery Outlet Bargain Market has specials this weekend to prep you for the game.

Tioga-Sequoia won’t have their beer garden open, but you don’t have to go the entire game without your hands on a cold General Sherman IPA- they’ll be selling growlers and six packs until 4pm.

And if you just don’t care much about the Super Bowl, you can pull the ultimate anti-football and take in some arts and culture. Arte Americas will have their gallery open until 5, but even more importantly, they’ll have an artist talk and reception with Jason Bonilla and Lylla Forero-Carr starting at 2:00pm. The Meux Home Museum has a tour at 3pm, or you can just take a stroll down Fulton and enjoy the public art.

As for me, I now have a list of options to present to my family (Puppy Bowl will probably win) and our Super Bowl conundrum will be solved!