Tag Archives: Silverdale

Dancing Man in Silverdale

Posted on February 20, 2012 | 3 comments

Just in time for President’s Day


First Silverdale took much of Bremerton’s retail business away. Now they are copying our advertising ideas. Today I noticed a new dancing man (see photo) boogying for business in front of Mattress Depot on Silverdale Way across from Arby’s. Judging by the dancing man’s enthusiastic moves and the like-new condition of his svelte balloon body, I don’t think he’s been on the job for long.

Silverdale is by far the biggest retail center in Kitsap County. And it’s growing. But a business needs to do more than just open its doors there to make money. With at least three other mattress stores in Silverdale—one of which advertises itself with a giant cow—Mattress Depot has plenty of competition. Plus it’s in a retail sector where success is based almost entirely on marketing. The dancing man is going to attract the attention of some passing motorists. Whether they will return later for a mattress upgrade is another question.

For the record I bought my last new mattress at Arnold’s Home Furnishings in Bremerton. A dancing man was not involved. You would probably see the pope in a tank top before you saw a dancing man at Arnold’s.

3 Comments

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged ,

Hunting Big Game in Silverdale

Posted on September 20, 2011 | 1 comment

Clear Creek elephant


You can hunt big game along Silverdale’s Clear Creek Trail. Of course any shooting needs to be done with a camera as there’s no way to get a Washington hunting license for the animals I bagged yesterday (see photos). Constructed of several sheets of ¾-inch plywood, the animals tower over a field of tall grass in the Clear Creek Valley just north of town. A series of crop circle-like paths through the grass allow for close-up photos.

A passing hiker told me that the animals were put up by a private party who wanted to create a memory of his trips to Africa. It worked for me. With just a bit of imagination I was transported to the Serengeti Plain. The best part was the total surprise. I had no idea that there are life-sized animal-shaped billboards along the Clear Creek Trail. Having my camera with me wasn’t luck. As I have said in other posts, a small digital camera should always be included as standard equipment when you go to Silverdale.

There’s one more photo after the jump.
Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Other Local Places

Tagged ,

Silverdale Needs a Tower

Posted on June 28, 2011 | 2 comments

View of Silverdale from the east


Silverdale added a Trader Joe’s this month and recently dedicated the new Haselwood Family YMCA. If the Citizens United for Silverdale gathers enough signatures, there will be a vote on cityhood next year. But even with all the progress there’s something the undisputed retail center of Kitsap County lacks that would really put it on the map. Silverdale needs a tower.
Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Other Local Places

Tagged

Duck Season

Posted on June 15, 2011 | 1 comment

Only a month and a half until the big race


Always take your camera with you when you go to Silverdale. That’s my motto and my advice to Kitsap bloggers whose backlog is getting a bit thin. Although I posted an entry titled Duck Time in 2009, a sighting of Big Yellow this morning in Silverdale was worth a new photo. Looking cool and rested, the mascot for the Great Kitsap Duck Race was securely tethered outside Kitsap Bank on Silverdale Way. Even if we have a repeat of Monday’s high winds, the cement blocks should keep the giant duck from getting airborne.

The Great Kitsap Duck Race is scheduled for Sunday, July 31, 2011, the final event in the Whaling Days Festival. Sponsored by the Silverdale Rotary Club and about 30 other businesses and organizations, the race raises money for civic groups in the community. “Duck Season” kicked off on June 2nd this year to allow plenty of time for the thousands of available duck tickets to be sold. I have never seen the race live, but I always get a “quack pack”—a flock of five ducks—to represent me in the race. Maybe this will be the year one of my ducks splashes into the money.

1 Comment

Posted in Other Local Places

Tagged ,

Halloween Stores

Posted on September 29, 2010 | 2 comments

One of two ghostly stores in Silverdale


Americans are expected to spend $5.8 billion on Halloween this year. That’s a lot of retail. Until yesterday, however, I wasn’t aware that there are seasonal stores (see photo) dedicated solely to supplying us with the perfect costumes, accessories, and decorations for Halloween.
Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged

Duck Time

Posted on July 25, 2009 | 1 comment

Great Kitsap Duck Race Mascot

Great Kitsap Duck Race Mascot


The giant inflatable yellow mascot that advertises the Great Kitsap Duck Race and has come to symbolize Whaling Days was looking pretty good when I snapped its photo in Silverdale yesterday. Apparently there’s been a complete recovery from a humiliating incident five years ago (or the Rotary Club, the race promoters, simply bought a new duck). Unlike many recent posts this one has a connection to Mud Bay—tenuous but still a connection.
Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Other Local Places

Tagged