OUR UPCOMING EVENTS

PREVIOUS EVENTS

     SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: HAPPY CLAW ARCADE

By: Mariah Ring

     New to the community, Happy Claw Arcade is making themselves well known as a family friendly location with fun for all ages. They aim to “spread joy through the excitement of toy claw machines and gashapon,” delivering immersive and exciting experiences to all. Husband and wife, Leon and Jen, moved to Turlock after spending a few years in Las Vegas, where claw machine arcades were increasing in popularity. After seeing a lack of these businesses in the Central Valley and wanting to spend more time with their children, they made the decision to open Happy Claw.

     After missing early milestones with their eldest child, Leon and Jen decided that it was time to make a change. Originally, Leon wanted to follow in his family’s footsteps by opening a donut shop, however, Jen knew that this would still run the risk of long hours and missed time with their kids. Instead, they decided to open a claw machine arcade, inspired by the time they spent living in Las Vegas, desiring to bring the same amusement to the people of Stanislaus County. With the arcade, the family is able to prioritize spending time together and Jen states that she is able to know her kids better than ever. Truly a family affair, Happy Claw even received its name from one of their sons, as something easy for guests of all ages to say. 

     Happy Claw machines are state-of-the-art branded machines that play fun jingles and bring life into the arcade. Claw machines are filled with cute character plushies and snacks that rotate monthly. Stuffed animals won from machines can be traded up to larger prizes kept behind the counter, including popular LABUBU keychains and Sanrio characters. In addition to claw machines, there are several capsule toy machines to try your luck on and exotic snacks to purchase. For those looking for their next event or party location, Happy Claw offers a large event space along with token packages. Regardless of party size, guests get private access to the arcade and event room, as well as tokens to split amongst themselves and branded bags to hold all of their adorable prizes. In partnership with an event coordinator, they host themed monthly pop-ups to engage the community and bring awareness to their business. These pop-ups include vendors and other businesses in the plaza, drawing people from all over Stanislaus County and beyond to explore what the area has to offer. 

      Jen ensures that the arcade is as welcoming as possible, making it a priority to keep the facility safe, clean, and sanitized. When guests with sensory sensitivities are present, she also makes sure to turn music down or off completely, ensuring that Happy Claw is inclusive to the needs of all guests. Jen’s favorite part of running Happy Claw is seeing guests happy. Though she has witnessed guests become frustrated after multiple attempts, she states that the joy on their face when they are finally able to win a prize is very fulfilling. Her goal is to keep people happy and make sure that they have fun, even giving guests tips on how to win prizes more easily on their next trip. In the future, Jen would like to open a second location of Happy Claw and mentioned that she is very grateful for the support that the arcade has received from Turlock residents. 

     To learn more about party packages, upcoming events, or current prizes, visit Happy Claw on Instagram, @happyclaw_ca, or at their website linked below!

ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT: LITTLE MANILA RISING

By: Mariah Ring

     Committed to preserving local history and making Stockton a healthier place to live, Little Manila Rising (LMR), is continuously striving to best meet the city’s needs. In 1999, founders Dawn Mabalon and Dillon Delvo returned to their hometown of Stockton after graduating college and were met with a tragic sight, a historic Little Manila building being set up for demolition. They quickly started a counter proposal to save a piece of history and though their plan was not selected, neither was the plan to destroy the building. For many years, LMR has acted as a historical preservation organization, ensuring that Filipino culture is not forgotten in Stockton. In 2020, COVID-19 exposed gaps in Stockton’s availability of healthcare services, sparking the creation of several new LMR programs, ensuring that the past, present, and future are protected for generations to come. 

      Community issues exacerbated by COVID set a new era of LMR into motion. Their project ECHO, Equity in COVID and Health Outcomes, was created in 2020 to eliminate economic, language, and personal identity barriers to receive tests and vaccinations. This community based program also supplied Stockton residents with food, masks, and other essential supplies during a difficult time. ECHO now strives to achieve equity in healthcare systems by increasing health literacy, preventing disinformation, and helping shape local healthcare policies. Decreasing Asthma Within Neighborhoods (DAWN), was also initiated in 2020 as a tribute to founder Dawn Mabalon, to mitigate asthma triggers in Stockton homes. This program provides households with free physical and virtual homes visits with a Community Health Equity Specialist, assess homes for asthma triggers, and provides education and tools necessary to reduce asthma triggers in home. In addition to caring for the community’s physical health, LMR addresses mental wellness through Healing Puso, puso translating to “heart” in Tagalog. Healing Puso works to provide access to both mental health care from a licensed mental health specialist and holistic healing practices to Stockton residents, at no cost to them. In efforts to make Stockton greener and healthier, LMR provides free trees and hosts planting events through their Urban Forestry program. By planting more trees, LMR is able to help facilitate a stronger urban canopy and combat poor air quality in the area. Those interested in learning more about planting and tending to trees can receive hands-on experience via Urban Forestry’s Green Paths workforce training program. Trainees are recruited twice a year, for Spring and Fall cohorts, to take part in a fifteen week paid program where they become experts on Stockton’s urban canopy and how to best care for it.

     In the past few years, LMR has created several new initiatives to support the community, however, these are not their first attempts. For the past decade, LMR has facilitated the Little Manila After School Program (LMASP) to provide a safe space for high school students to engage in social and cultural learning. LMASP educates students on “history, culture, politics, art, community responsibility, and collegiate access,” in an effort to empower them and produce a better understanding of their identity. Students are encouraged to be confident and vulnerable while discussing gaps in health care, erasure of culture, historic preservation, and lived experiences. More than an afterschool program, LMASP inspires youth to be the change they want to see, and successfully advocated to bring Ethnic Studies to Stockton Unified School District’s curriculum. LMR is not only teaching the next generation how to advocate for change, but actively including youth in conversations and actions to create a better future.

      LMR is currently working on creating Stockton’s first Community Development Corporation to revitalize the community. They are working to develop a Climate Resiliency Center, as well as emergency preparedness plans for the city, due to its history of floods and extreme heat waves. LMR may have existed in the community for over twenty years, but they are only getting started and continue to show a deep dedication to Stockton. To learn more about LMR’s community projects and stay up to date with all of their events, follow them on Instagram, @littlemanilastockton, or at their website linked below.

CREATIVE NATIVE Q & A: DAVID ROGERS OF DRUM LOVE

Q: What is your name and hometown? 

A: My name is David Rogers and I grew up in West Modesto. Marshall, Mark Twain, MoHi.

Q: How were you first introduced to music? 

A: My Grandfather and my Father were both musicians and all my family are great lovers of music. It was the driving force behind our daily lives.

Q: What drew you to percussion over other instruments?

A: I remember the moment. I was watching MTV sometime in the 1980's and I saw a Sheila E. video. I remember her timbale solo and I grabbed a small 1960's Sears catalog conga (which I still have) and started playing along. My Dad happened to walk in at that moment and asked me if that was something I would be interested in. I said yes, and that began a love of drums and music that keeps getting stronger everyday.  

Q: Is creating music your full time career? If not, is that your goal?

A: I wouldn't say creating music is the only way I have a career in music. Like most full time musicians, our work looks many different ways. I perform and record music on a regular basis, I occasionally give lessons, and I run a non-profit called Drum Love. Drum Love does a couple things but mostly, we facilitate drum circles for all kinds of populations. 

Q: Where do you find inspiration? Are there artists/musicians that inspire you?

A: I have a great love for all types of music, but I am madly in love with group improvisation situations. I'm a fan of Jazz, and many of the improvisational rock bands like The Grateful Dead and Phish. I'm also a student of World Music and regularly study Indian Classical Music along with many culturally specific forms of percussion ensemble/bateria styles. My newest study is Japanese Taiko drumming. 

6. What is your mission with your non-profit, Drum Love?

A: My mission with Drum Love is to get as many people as possible to experience the joys of playing music. Drumming is such an easy way to immediately drop into music making. It's very low barrier. Anyone can do it. There's no scales to learn, no hours of practice, you simply start by tapping along to what you're hearing. Many people often tell me that "they have no rhythm," this is simply not true. If you're walking, talking, breathing, heart pumping, then you're already in rhythm. You just need to listen. Drum Love does drum circles for all ages and abilities, school based, team builders, ice breakers, birthday parties, we even have a Bar Mitzvah coming up. Lastly, one other way that Drum Love is supporting the drumming community is by helping young/beginning drummers with gear for their drum set. Drum sets are incredibly complex and have many parts so it can be intimidating and expensive to put it all together. We offer cymbals, stands, drum heads, and often complete drum sets at no cost. 

Q: What do you believe is the most prominent or most recurring theme in your music? What does this theme mean to you?

A: My most recurring theme in music is how magical it is. It has the power to bring people together, it has the power to heal, and most of all music always meets you where you are. To me, this means that everyone should play music. You don't have to be great at art to reap the benefits of doing the art.

Q: Do you have advice for youth that are interested in pursuing a career in the arts but may be anxious to start?

A: My advice for youth (or anyone) looking to pursue a career in the arts is to follow your passion. Whatever you're into, there's thousands of people that share your passion. Don't stop. Keep going, sometimes a path to a career isn't immediately obvious. Don't be afraid to follow your passion while working a job that is not your passion. As the great Joseph Campbell said, "follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls".

Q: Where can people go to listen to your music?

A: The best place to hear my music is by coming to a Drum Love drum circle. I do weekly circles on the MJC campuses, and every third Saturday in front of the Gallo Center for the Arts in the MoRo Music Garden. All the dates can be found on the Drum Love website at Drum-Love.Com

Q: Do you have any upcoming community events or collaborations coming up that you would like to promote? 

A: Yes!! We're super excited to be participating in a few of the DoMo First Fridays this year. Join us May 2nd on the corner of 10th and K street from 6pm-7:30. I'll bring all the drums and percussion, you bring your spirit :)

COMMUNITY EVENTS & RESOURCES