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Community Corner

Alameda Frugal Family Planner

Your guide to thrifty tips, tricks and tools in Alameda and beyond.

Check out the local bargains on home improvement supplies, hotels and paint-it-yourself pottery, plus a chance to build cool stuff in nature with your kids.

DIY Alert: Habitat For Humanity's East Bay ReStore, a warehouse filled to the brim with new and used building and home improvement materials, will be holding its on April 2 and 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Goods to be sold include cabinets, lighting, assorted hardware and, for the person-who- has-everything, two 30' truck trailers. (You can see a more complete inventory here. ) 

A Vintage View of the former Adelphian Clubhouse (corner of Central and Walnut) is available in postcard form on Ebay.  "Buy it now" for $7.99. That building, by the way, is for sale for $1,950,000, marked down from the original $2.1 million, which I guess is a deal — in certain circles at least.

Find out what's happening in Alamedawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hotels California (and beyond) — Those of you who  left the island during last week's spring break may already be dreaming of  leaving again. If so, you should know that Expedia is holding a spring sale on hotel stays across the country, with savings up to 44 percent.

Get Wild in Nature: Here's something cool I had never heard of before: Up on Skyline Boulevard, there's a "Wild in Nature" spot at the Police Activity League's camp. This Saturday, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., they're holding a "Family Play Day," designed to let kids, teens, and adults "play creatively together in nature" in ways not many families can do these days — including by building forts, making sculptures, playing in a mudpit (yeehaw!), balancing rocks and inventing games. It's all in a beautiful nature area and it's all free.  You can learn more (and get directions) here.

Find out what's happening in Alamedawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Paint in Your PJs: Every Friday night is "Pajama Night" at in , which means that, if you wear your pajamas, your studio fee is only $1 (as opposed to $10 for adults and $7 for children 12 and under.) 5 to 9 p.m. Ongoing.

Alameda Frugal Family Planner appears every Wednesday on Alameda Patch. Got good tips on good deals? Contact eve@patch.com.

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