Is that the right question? Perhaps it should be who wouldn’t like to win a free car? Our current sponsor, Mile High Car Company, is celebrating their 10th anniversary and, yep, giving away a free car!

Here’s the commercial:

And here’s pics of the free car from their Facebook page!

They’ll be celebrating their 10th anniversary next weekend, August 6-7, with free bbq, pizza, prizes, games, and more. Head to 1480 Ainsworth Street to get in on the fun! That’s just south of Palmer Park on Powers.

I want a Springs Bargains reader to win!!!!

Sharon emailed with a tip about our local YMCA’s Summer Series – they’re offering several free events for families, and they’re open to the public!  Here’s the ones that are remaining for this summer:

Saturday, July 31 from 1 to 3 PM: Summer Carnival at the Briargate YMCA (4025 Family Place).  “Bring the family out to celebrate back to school with the Briargate YMCA’s Summer Carnival!  Enjoy old fashioned carnival games, popcorn and more.”

Friday, August 6 from 6 to 8 PM: Back-to-school BBQ at the Tri-Lakes Family Center YMCA (17250 Jackson Creek Parkway in Monument). “Celebrate the new school year by bringing the entire family for one last outdoor BBQ bash on the Tri-Lakes YMCA soccer fields. We’ll have music to dance or sing-a-long to, games and sports to play, yummy food, plus a jump castle. It’s a great way to say good-bye to summer with your community.”

Friday, August 13 from 6 to 8 PM: Back-to-school Bash at the Garden Ranch Family YMCA (2380 Montebello Dr. W). “School is getting ready to start…come celebrate the end of summer at the Garden Ranch Family YMCA. Join us at the Garden Ranch Park for crafts, games, and a light dinner. School supplies giveaways and raffles.”

Friday, August 13 from 6 to 8 PM: Family Sock Hop at the Southeast Family Center/Armed Services YMCA (2190 Jet Wing Dr.). “Dust-off those leather jackets and poodle skirts and join the rockin’ and rollin’ at the Southeast YMCA Sock Hop. A fun-filled evening with great music and dance contests that everyone will enjoy.”

And, even better – their site says that Chick-fil-A is providing free sandwiches at these events, while supplies last! More info here. You can find these and more free events on the local calendar!

Just a reminder that tomorrow (Wednesday) is Dollar Day at the El Paso County Fair – everyone’s in for $1!

More info and the rest of the discount days here.

Celebrate our beautiful state on Monday, August 2, with free admission to Colorado state parks in honor of Colorado Day!  There are lots to choose from – you can search or browse here.

By the way, you can also get in free to our national parks soon, too!  The next fee-free weekend is August 14-15.  More info here.

The El Paso County Fair starts tomorrow and runs through July 31st!  They’ve got a whole lineup of discount days; here’s all the info:

• Saturday, July 24 – free admission for all active duty military
• Sunday, July 25 – $1 off general admission for anyone wearing a bandana
• Tuesday, July 27 – $1 off general admission for kids under 12
• Wednesday, July 28 – $1 general admission for everyone
• Friday, July 30 – $3 admission for ages 55+
• Saturday, July 31 – military, police, and firefighters get $1 off for each member of their party

You can read more about the El Paso County Fair on their website.  It’s held at the fairgrounds waaaay out east in Calhan!

Claim a coupon on AMC Theatres’ Facebook page to get any size drink and popcorn for $1 each on Sunday, July 25!

The closest AMC Theatre to Colorado Springs is in Castle Rock, but I’m figuring two things: one, I know a bunch of you are reading “undercover” from Denver and Castle Rock.

Two, with the price of movie concessions, those of us in the Springs would probably save enough money on concessions with this deal to make it well worth the extra gas to drive to Castle Rock!

Thanks to Mojo Savings for the tip.

Here’s a list of some of the cheap and free events you can attend this week:

Tuesday, July 20

Cinemark Tinseltown – watch Kung Fu Panda at 10 AM for $1.  More info.
Carmike Cinemas – watch Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium for $1 (drinks and popcorn are also $1).  More info.
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center – free admission.  More info.
Sky Sox – tickets and parking are $2 (every Tuesday!)

Wednesday, July 21

Hillside Gardens – free jazz concert by Flute Daddy.  More info.
Sky Sox – Military Appreciation Night, free admission for military (must pick up vouchers).  More info.

Thursday, July 22

Denver Botanic Gardens – free admission for Colorado residents.  More info.
Pictures on the Promenade (Shops at Briargate) – watch Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian outside for free

Friday, July 23

First and Main Town Center - free concert by Brickyard at 5 PM in front of the theatre.

Saturday, July 24

Air Force Academy – free MLB baseball clinic for ages 6 to 16.  Registration required, more info here.

Don’t forget that you can also bowl free by signing up for Brunswick’s Bonus Zone.  They’ll email you coupons for a free game every day this summer for kids 12 and under.  They’ve also been putting coupons in the Sunday coupon inserts lately, too.

All these events and more are listed on the local calendar!

This Wednesday, July 21 is Military Appreciation Night at Sky Sox Stadium. Military can pick up free vouchers on military bases at, well, the normal places you’d pick up things like that, I was told!  The Sky Sox told me they encourage you to get there early with your vouchers just in case they sell out.

And even if you’re not miliary, the Sky Sox offer several discount offers each week.  They’re all on the local calendar, but here’s a list of the discounts available:

• Sundays – 50¢ hotdogs
• Mondays – kids 12 and under eat free
• Tuesdays – tickets and parking are $2, plus bring in a Kraft Singles wrapper and you’ll get a free admission when you buy one!  More info here.
• Fridays – fireworks after the game

Here’s the full schedule of Sky Sox games.  And there’s more military discounts here!

“Let’s go to the rodeo.”

You know how you’ve been married for awhile and your spouse says something you never thought you’d hear come out of their mouth?

Ah, yes.  I’m still wondering what got into Jeremy‘s head that made him decide we should take the kids to a rodeo.  I halfway expected there to be some sort of big surprise or something, because it was just so unexpected.

Anyway.

So we went to the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo on Thursday night and had a great time, though we’re pretty far-removed from anything cowboy-related!  (Last weekend we were at a blogging conference, if that tells you anything!)

Jeremy started to order tickets online from Tickets West, but was shocked at the amount of fees we’d need to pay.  An extra $2.50 for each adult ticket, another $2.25 for the child’s ticket, plus a $3 “order charge”?

Plus, we weren’t sure what age needed a ticket.  Did both our 2-year-old and 5-year-old need a child’s ticket, or would they be free?  Jeremy called and was told yes, they would both need a ticket.

We couldn’t imagine that they would really charge us all of those fees if we bought them in person, so we decided to take a chance and just purchase tickets at the event, knowing they definitely wouldn’t charge us any more, at least.

At the ticket window, we were told that no, our 2-year-old didn’t need a ticket as long as they were OK sitting on our lap.

Saved: $7.50

There was no fee for each ticket.

Saved: $9.50

There was no order charge.

Saved: $3.00

Plus, we got better seats than we were going to be able to get online, for the same price.

By not ordering online, we saved $20.00!  Now, of course, we did run the risk of not getting seats at all, but on Thursday night there were plenty of seats available.  I’m all for online shopping, but paying $23 for the convenience of not having to wait at the ticket window?  Not worth it!

This post is linked to Money Saving Mom’s Super Savings Saturday.

Just a reminder that First and Main Town Center’s free concert series is tonight at 5 PM in front of the Cinemark Theatre. Tonight’s artist is George Whitesell & His All Stars featuring Jill Watkins. More info on the free concert series on their website!

Tomorrow is the third Saturday of the month, which means free admission to the Money Museum! The museum is located on the campus of Colorado College, and you can read more about it here.

One last plug for Grocery University – TODAY is the last day of the sale! Get it for $15, plus the Grocery University Rock Bottom Price Database. Go here to read more and order!

Have a fun-filled weekend!

Mamapedia is only “in” Denver, but today’s Sweet Deal is for tickets to the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo!  You can pay $16 for four weekend admissions to the Colorado State Fair, a $32 value.  The Sweet Deal will be valid for Friday, Saturday, or Sundays only during August 27 to September 5.

You have three days to get in on this deal.  Read more about the Colorado State Fair on their website.

If you’re military, this may or may not be a good deal for you.  Active and retired military and families get in free on Military Appreciation Day, which is Sunday, August 29th.  So, if you don’t mind fighting the crowds, that’s definitely a better deal; but, I’m sure it will be crowded then!

I was thinking about buying this deal, but that’s right around the time that I should be having Baby, so I’m not sure we’d be able to use it.  Maybe if I need something to distract myself since I always go “overdue”…

Don’t forget that there’s a free baseball clinic coming up at the Air Force Academy on July 24th!  It’s the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Legends for Youth clinic series, and is free for ages six to sixteen.

Looks like the only catch is that it’s limited to 250 participants, so I would sign up ASAP.  If you try to sign up and find out they’re full, it would be awesome if you left a comment to let me know!  I have no idea how quickly it will fill up.

Go here for more information and online registration.

It’s on the list of Cheap Things To Do In The Springs, but until last weekend, we’d never been to Arcade Amusements in Manitou.  That’s the official name, but I’ve never heard it referred to as anything other than the penny arcade!

The penny arcade is located in the 900 block of Manitou Avenue, hidden behind Patsy’s Candies (no wonder I’d never seen it before).  You’ll need to park on the street, which could mean several blocks away if it’s a busy weekend.

I was a little surprised to find out the the arcade is really only partially indoors – it’s really kind of an odd setup, and looks like the arcade is basically uses what used to be a bunch of different storefronts.  Skeeball is in the “main” building, along with the prize counter.  The grocery store kiddie rides are all outside in a covered area, and there’s several other “rooms” or buildings with all sorts of arcade games, from pinball to who-knows-what.  And, some of the arcade games are outside on the sidewalks, too (covered).

We spent about an hour at the arcade and mainly did the kiddie rides and skeeball.  Both of those activities were 25¢ each, and we played for about an hour and spent $5 total.  The games cost whatever they did originally – if it’s a 50-year-old game and cost 25¢ to play when it was “new”, it costs 25¢ to play today!

We couldn’t find any games that were less than a quarter, though I’m sure there were some in the rooms we didn’t go in.  It was a pretty cheap hour of entertainment for our little kiddos, especially since they rode the kiddie rides together!  I would imagine it could get expensive pretty quickly with some of the games for bigger kids, so set your budget, get your change from the change machine (there are several there), and stop playing when the money runs out!

A tip on skeeball – for little kids, try the “newer” skeeball machines, just left of the old ones.  If they don’t get the ball in the hole, the new machines let it roll back, while the old ones swallow your ball.  For a 2 and 5 year old that have trouble getting it up the ramp much less in the hole, that was a big money-saving tip!

All in all, it was a fun, cheap activity – much cheaper than going to a place like Chuck E Cheese’s!  You can see a few more pictures on the Springs Bargains Flickr stream.  The arcade doesn’t have a website, but their phone number is 719.685.9815 and the exact address is 930 Manitou Avenue (right behind Patsy’s Candies).

Don’t forget to check out all the Cheap Things To Do In Colorado Springs!

Have you been to the “penny arcade” in Manitou Springs?  What did you think?

One of the Top 5 Annual Free Food Events is finally here!  Today is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick Fil A, where thousands will dress up like the adorable mascots and get a free meal.  For more info, you can go to Chick Fil A’s site and click on Cow Appreciation Day.

Here’s how we looked last year:

Ack, my babies have grown a lot in a year!  We won’t be able to attend this year, but I’d love to see your pics if you do!  You can upload them to the Springs Bargains Facebook page.

I’m always impressed at how the Chick Fil A staff handles these crazy events – it’s always crowded, but you’ll still get your food quickly and with a smile!

Lowe’s has a Build and Grow Workshop this Saturday.  Your kid(s) will be able to build a Ball and Cup Game at the workshop, plus they get a free apron and other fun stuff!  Registration is required for Lowe’s kids’ workshops; go here to find out more.

The next free kids’ workshop at Home Depot is Saturday, August 7th.  More info is available here.  Both of these events are listed on the local calendar!