Chico Kids

Christmas in Chico wouldn’t be the same without a tree all lit up in the plaza. The annual lighting of the community tree on Chico’s City Plaza will be held Dec. 5 beginning at 5 p.m. The event includes a short address by the Mayor Andy Holcombe, and the lights go on around 6 p.m. If your kids are not big fans of mayoral speeches, I’m sure Mr. Holcombe won’t mind if you show up just for the tree lighting. But older kids should enjoy performances by the Children’s Choir of Chico, Sound of the Foothills and the Yule Logs.

You wait for it all year and it’s here! Christmas Preview! Kids love it and it’s somehow, magically, more exciting than claustrophobic seeing so many people enjoying Chico’s downtown. The Downtown Chico Business Association event will be held Sunday, Nov. 23 from 4 to 8-ish, and the weather is supposed to be great. Shops open their doors and show off their holiday wares while giving out free treats, samples and coupons. There’s also great live entertainment: Watch for the Yule Logs and Sounds of the Foothills on the streets, and don’t miss the live music at Chico Paper Co. at 345 Broadway. Santa will be hearing kids’ wish lists and posing for pictures at Third and Broadway. My tips: Get in the Santa line early, and plan on a later bedtime because your kid should be all hopped up on cookies and cocoa. The Nutcracker dance is always a favorite, and it’s almost as fun watching the little kids’ eyes light up as they watch the performers in the shop window.

Get down there! Buy some fresh, local produce. Sample regional food products. See if there are kittens to adopt. Stock up on ChicoBags. Run into that person you haven’t seen for a few months. Then, sit on the curb and chomp on a tasty tamale.

There’s some good, old-fashioned (literally) family fun coming up. Go back in time Nov. 2 with the 4th Annual Harvest Festival at Bidwell Mansion State Historical Park. It takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Low-cost activities include: gold panning, rag doll making, “pie walks,” weaving and local vendors. For free are: 1800s games and crafts, butter churning, live animals (pet them; not keep them), rope making, an art station and more. The mansion is at 525 Esplanade. Call 895-6144 for more information.

Every year the Downtown Chico Business Association sponsors Treat Street, where children can stroll the downtown collecting candy from friendly merchants. It’s free and fun, and so cute to see the kids in costume. Kids 12 and under check in at the Plaza and get a sticker before visiting as many as 80 participating merchants. It all takes place between 2 and 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 31.

You could also head out to the Chico Mall for its Safe and Sane Halloween (as opposed to an unsafe and insane Halloween.) It’s from 5 to 7, with a costume contest starting at 5:30 in four age categories. While you’re there, if check out the Halloween store, be advised some of the displays might be too scary for little kids.

Also on Oct. 31 1078 Gallery is showing the movie Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Show up for the “Spooky Cinema” at 4:30, in costume!

This Saturday, Oct. 18, is the first ever Monster Dash, a 5K Halloween-themed fun run/walk and costume contest sponsored by nonprofit Chico Nursery School. It’s going to be epic. It takes place in Bidwell Park near One-Mile and participants can still register today at Fleet Feet or even tomorrow before 9, when the race starts. The costume contest–with prizes–will be after the race, around 10:30. More info is on the Monster Dash web page.

There’s a lot going on for families this weekend in Chico. On Saturday, starting at 11 a.m., is the Chico Library Fall Festival, held on the lawn and in the conference room. There will be games, music, art, a book swap and sale, emergency vehicle tours, food and the chance to meet local authors and illustrators. You could also head out to the University Farm for family day. Save some energy for the Rancho Chico Parade of Lights, which starts around 7:30 p.m. We’ll be there! It’s Alec’s fourth birthday, and his preschool, Chico Nursery School, will have a float (not for his birthday, though I think he deserves one) and will promote the Monster Dash Fun Run/Walk set for October 18th.

The National Yo-Yo Contest is today, Saturday, Oct. 4, starting at 10 a.m. and running all day on the main stage in the City Plaza. First held in 1993, it’s the longest-running contest of its time. (I’m sure you know Chico is home to the National Yo-Yo Museum.) There will be prizes in various divisions, demonstrations and all kinds of cool stuff. The National Spin Top Content will be held, too. The full schedule is online. The awards dinner will also be also be held in the plaza. I’m not sure if the rain will mess with anything.