logo
City of Bakersfield to unveil new Dignity Health Arena signage

City of Bakersfield to unveil new Dignity Health Arena signage

Yahoo07-04-2025

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The city of Bakersfield announced the official unveiling of the new Dignity Health Arena, Theater and Convention Center signage to be held next Wednesday.
The unveiling is scheduled for April 16 at 3 p.m. at 1001 Truxtun Avenue, according to a release by the city of Bakersfield. The city said it is working in partnership with Dignity Health, a California-based healthcare provider.
The newly named Dignity Health Arena, Theater and Convention Center, formerly known as Mechanics Bank Arena, will host major concerts, sporting events, conventions and local gatherings, according to the release.
Dignity Health acquires naming rights for downtown Bakersfield arena and convention center
The city landed its first naming rights sponsor in February of 2005 and was named Rabobank Arena, Theater and Convention Center. After Rabobank North America merged with Mechanics Bank, the venue became Mechanics Bank Arena in September 2019.
That naming right expired on Jan. 31. Dignity Health acquired the naming right in February.
The venue provides a 10,000-capacity arena, a 3,000-seat theater and a 17,840-square-foot center, city officials said. It has hosted several top artists such as Elton John, as well as major sporting events like the American Hockey League's Bakersfield Condors games.
The unveiling ceremony will include the official reveal of the sign and tours of the arena after the press conference. Community members and local businesses are welcome to attend the event, the release said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘People Are Going To See Something They've Never Seen Before': How Pixar's Next Hit Film Was Made
‘People Are Going To See Something They've Never Seen Before': How Pixar's Next Hit Film Was Made

Yahoo

time32 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

‘People Are Going To See Something They've Never Seen Before': How Pixar's Next Hit Film Was Made

Fans of laughing out loud one moment and crying into your popcorn bucket the next are in for a treat with Pixar's latest release. Elio is the newest offering from the award-winning animation studio, centring around a lonely boy who becomes obsessed with the idea of being abducted by aliens – and gets more than he bargained for when his dream comes true. As has come to be expected from the studio that gave us the likes of Inside Out, Coco and Toy Story 3, Elio dives into some pretty hefty themes, exploring everything from loneliness and grief to toxic masculinity, all with Pixar's signature sense of humour and adventure to keep younger viewers as gripped as everyone else in the cinema. In the lead-up to the film's release, we spoke to directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi about how sci-fi horror had a surprising influence on Elio, creating something people have 'never seen before' with their unique take on space and releasing an original film in the current sea of sequels and live-action remakes at Walt Disney Studios… Right at the beginning of the film, there's a key scene soundtracked by Talking Heads' Once In A Lifetime. Why was that song chosen, and how easy was it to get? Madeline Sharafian: That scene and that song were in the film from the beginning that Domee and I started. That montage of Elio going out to the beach every day, desperately trying to be abducted, was almost the way that we explored his character as we changed his motivations to wanting to be abducted by aliens. And I think the song was [Domee's] idea of just a way to showcase that he's stuck in this cycle, and he wants to get out. It was a great idea. Domee Shi: Yeah, I always loved that song, I always felt like David Byrne kind of gave off alien boy vibes as well. And the way that the song starts always sounded kind of synthy and celestial and spacey in some way. I felt like there was a connection between Byrne and Elio, and it felt like a cool needle drop choice to put in this montage where we're introduced to Elio's obsession with getting abducted, but being unable to, every single day that went by. MS: It helped a lot that Pete Docter and Jim Morris, our company leadership, really like that song. So I do think that kind of helped us hang onto it and get it for the final, and we're very grateful that we got to keep it. It adds so much to the scene. DS: There was one moment where we did try another song… MS: Oh god, yeah… DS: I was like, 'what about Beastie Boys' Intergalactic?'. And then we tried that for a minute and we were like, 'no, I think we miss Talking Heads', and we went back to that. And also I feel like I haven't really seen [Once In A Lifetime] used a lot in media, in like TV or movies, whereas Intergalactic is used quite a lot. I love that song, though! But yeah… Something else people are going to pick up on is Elio's eyepatch. It really works as a plot device later in the film, but was that always going to be there, or were other ideas explored? MS: It was always an eyepatch, I'm pretty sure. I mean, the eyepatch was there in Adrian Molina's original version [Coco writer and director Adrian Molina originally conceived the idea of Elio to helm the film himself, but left the project halfway through to focus on Coco 2, at which point Madeline and Domee took over as lead directors]. When we took the story, we loved [the eyepatch], just as a way that it supports Elio's feeling of otherness, when he's on Earth, he feels even more out of place. And when he goes to space, all of a sudden, he looks like a dashing space sci-fi captain with this cape and his eyepatch, and the aliens love it, it's like '[you have] one eye, [I have] one eye, this is amazing'. All of a sudden it's accepted and loved. DS: Yeah, it's been great seeing the response to Elio's eyepatch online and with audience members that have come up to us and thanked us for including a kid with an eyepatch – it is something that kids do deal with, and it makes them feel othered. And it sucks! To have a sci-fi hero in a Pixar movie sporting one and looking cool I think is very empowering. Let's talk about the look of the film – sci-fi is a huge genre and even within the Disney and Pixar canon, we've been to space a few times. How did you decide what your version of space was going to look like, and what was going to set the Elio universe apart? MS: Pixar has done two sci-fi movies already [2008's Wall-E and 2022's Lightyear] and Harley Jessup, our production designer, really wanted to shoot for a version that we've never seen. So, he knew that the Communiverse needed to be this sort of beautiful almost Utopia, that there would be aliens from all over the universe gathering there, and almost designed it, one of his very first pieces of production art that I saw that I fell in love with, it was kind of glittering in the sky, almost like a disco ball – the way the lights shimmer on it were like a disco ball. We ended up taking that and putting it in the [finished film], we were like, 'we need to hang onto that'. So, it's bright, it's colourful, it's also softer and round, which I do think is very different from other sci-fi movies. And everything – even the technology – feels very organic, and kind of squishy and alive, which I think gives it a very unique identity. DS: Yeah, all of it points to Elio just truly feeling like he belongs there, and that he doesn't want to leave when he first arrives. And I also love that Harley challenged our character designer to design non-humanoid-looking aliens, and kind of look at deep-sea, underwater creatures for reference. We went with designs that you couldn't possibly do with humans in a costume, right? MS: Yeah, because live-action, especially some of the classics are a little bit limited by that. Like, the alien in Alien is a guy. Really awesome, though, but we were like, 'we're in an animation, we can do whatever we want, so let's make sure that our aliens are taking advantage of what we can do'. Some parts of the film are quite intense and surprisingly quite scary – especially for a Disney film. Was there much pushback because of that? DS: I mean, we were excited to explore other aspects of the sci-fi genre that maybe you don't usually see in a Disney and Pixar movie. We're both sci-fi horror fans, and I think there's a good balance between scary and fun – like a fun scary. There's a sweet spot that you can hit, and we tried to do that with all the scenes with Elio's clone, really pushing the clone's friendliness, but also upping the weirdness and the horror surrounding him, from Olga's point of view where she's slowly realising, 'am I living with a clone?'... MS: …which is a pretty crazy realisation for her! Especially since she starts off the movie as a sceptic of aliens, she doesn't really believe that they're out there, so to take her to becoming a believer… we almost talked about her B-story as in, 'she's in a totally different kind of movie', she is in a pod person movie, and I thought it was fun that we treated her sections almost like a different genre, a little bit. DS: And you know… we'll fine-tune the execution of it, just to make sure that the music isn't too crazy and the sound effects don't give you too much of a heart attack and we release the tension immediately with a joke or a gag or something. But I don't know – I remember being a kid and loving movies like A Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, where there is like a fun scare. I feel like the original Monsters Inc. taps into that a little bit, too. Elio is coming out at an interesting time for Walt Disney Studios, where there area lot of films coming up that are either sequels, live-action remakes and other ideas based on existing IP, so it's great to see an original story coming from the studio, too. Is that something that's important to you both as filmmakers? MS: Yeah! DS: Definitely. MS: And it's important to Pixar, too, I think. Even though we release our own sequels [Inside Out 2 was the biggest film of 2024, with follow-ups to Toy Story, Coco and The Incredibles currently in the works at the studio], we do talk a lot about how important originality is to us, just as a filmmaking culture, we have a lot of originals coming [Pixar's next release, Hoppers, is slated for 2026, followed by Gatto in 2027] and I would say, whether they're sequels or originals, we hold ourselves to the same standard for both. And our main goal is just to make incredible movies, and amazing stories. I love originals – but Toy Story 3 is one of my favourite movies that Pixar has ever made! So, as long as we're holding that standard of storytelling, hopefully we can make any kind of movie great. But it is exciting to have an original coming out. I think we're the only original [Disney film] coming out this summer, which is so wild [the studio also has sequels to Freaky Friday and Tron coming later in 2025, with live-action remakes of Snow White and Lilo & Stitch having also been released earlier in the year, while Marvel projects have included Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* (which featured a main cast of existing characters) and the new reboot of The Fantastic Four]. I hope people enjoy [Elio] and they're going to see something they've never seen before – and that's really exciting, and worth seeing in a theatre. Elio is in cinemas now. Watch the trailer for yourself below: Lilo & Stitch Remake Director Addresses Backlash Over The New Film's Changed Ending 'Sobbing, Screaming, Traumatised': Frozen's Josh Gad Opens Up About Olaf's Axed Death Scene Snow White Remake Faces Yet More Criticism Over CGI Characters

Eric Christian Olsen and Sarah Wright Olsen welcome 4th baby
Eric Christian Olsen and Sarah Wright Olsen welcome 4th baby

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Eric Christian Olsen and Sarah Wright Olsen welcome 4th baby

Eric Christian Olsen and Sarah Wright Olsen have welcomed a new addition to their family. The NCIS: Los Angeles star and the Spinning Out actress announced in a joint Instagram post on Sunday that they had welcomed their fourth baby, a girl named Ocean Rain, on 17 June. "She's here! Ocean Rain Olsen," Sarah wrote in the caption. "Born 6/17 12:37am - 11 pounds 4 ounces. "Grateful beyond words for our amazing team that helped us get her here safely during an incredibly complex birth. Cannot wait to share all the details of this day." The couple, who tied the knot in 2012, are already parents to three kids: daughters Winter Story, four, and Esmé Olivia, eight, and son Wyatt Oliver, 11. The couple's pregnancy news came just a few weeks after they lost their home in the fires that ravaged Los Angeles. In January, Sarah shared an update on her Instagram, revealing that while her family was safe, their home had burned down. On 15 January, Sarah showed images of their home after it was destroyed in another Instagram post. She wrote a message sharing that their family is safe. "It's impossible to put into words these last few days. We are together and safe and surrounded by love," she wrote at the time.

Netflix previews The Sandman Season 2: ‘A showstopper everywhere you look'
Netflix previews The Sandman Season 2: ‘A showstopper everywhere you look'

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Netflix previews The Sandman Season 2: ‘A showstopper everywhere you look'

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. Fans of The Sandman have been eagerly awaiting the second season of Netflix's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's beloved comic series. And with the newly released trailer for Season 2 (which you can check out below) having been shared online today, it's clear that their excitement is well-founded. The upcoming season promises, among other things, to take everything fans loved about Season 1 and make it even bolder and more visually stunning. The first season of The Sandman, which is still holding on to a solid 88% Rotten Tomatoes critics score, captivated viewers with elements like its intricate storytelling and standout performances — particularly from Tom Sturridge as Morpheus, the Lord of Dream. Season 2 will continue Dream's journey, picking up just a few weeks after the events of the first season. The new season begins with Dream on the path to recovery, transforming his palace and vowing to leave the past behind. But, as always in The Sandman universe, the past has a way of catching up. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 'The Sandman series has always been focused exclusively on Dream's story,' showrunner Allan Heinberg said in a recent promotional interview with Netflix. 'When we looked at the remaining Dream material from the comics, we knew we only had enough story for one more season.' One of the key themes in the comments from fans and the team behind the show is the show's visual impact. The new trailer for Season 2, for example, has already sparked an outpouring of excitement, with viewers on YouTube calling it a 'visual masterpiece' — and many believe it looks set to be even more epic than Season 1. Indeed, while The Sandman has certainly always been known for its lavish, dreamlike aesthetic, the new season seems poised to take things to the next level. In the words of one YouTube commenter: 'Season 1 was a visual masterpiece, and this looks like it's raising the bar.' Heinberg, meanwhile, highlights the expansion of the team behind the show and the resources they had at their disposal. 'We are fortunate that nearly everyone who worked in front of or behind the camera for Season 1 is back for Season 2,' Heinberg continued in his interview. 'We all learned an enormous amount about the show in Season 1, so getting the same team back together a year or more later allowed us to build on everything we learned and to try to raise our game on every front.' The new season will also expand the story's universe even more, exploring different time periods, realms, and worlds that add complexity to Dream's narrative. The Sandman will take viewers to places like ancient Greece and Elizabethan England. In addition to settings like those, Season 2 will also introduce new faces, including the enigmatic Delirium (played by Esmé Creed-Miles), the youngest member of the Endless. Fans of the comics will recognize the Endless as anthropomorphic personifications of fundamental forces Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, and Delirium. As Heinberg explained, 'The Endless … are meant to go on in perpetuity. They're not supposed to change. But change is, of course, inevitable and essential to all life.' Heinberg goes on to note that there are many new characters, including Thor, Loki, and Odin, in a banquet scene with 'divine representatives' from different universes. 'It's a showstopper everywhere you look.' Also worth noting: This final season of the show will be split into two volumes, with the six-episode Volume 1 dropping on July 3 and five-episode Volume 2 coming on July 24. A special bonus episode is coming on July 31. Don't Miss: Today's deals: Nintendo Switch games, $5 smart plugs, $150 Vizio soundbar, $100 Beats Pill speaker, more More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store