A Legacy of Art and Philanthropy
by josh jordan
Bidwell mansion: The city of chico
Chico, California offers a delightful lifestyle and a wealth of reasons to visit. Home to a lively University of California campus, Chico attracts brain-iacs like biologist Jeff Price, one of the climate change experts sharing in Al Gore’s Nobel Prize. The influence of the intelligentsia also manifests in a thriving arts scene that is unusual for a community of 80,000. In turn, local artists draw ample inspiration from the surrounding landscape.
Spring comes early to Chico, 90 miles north of Sacramento. Each February area farmland puts on a special exhibition as thousands of almond trees explode into bloom. Butte County has almost 40,000 acres in almond production. The miles of orchards create runways of flowering trees, sweetly scenting the air and sprinkling the ground in broad white blossoms with pastel-pink centers.
“It’s just literally thousands and thousands of acres; you see this sea of big, lightly-colored pink blossoms,” said Natalie Birk, executive director of the Far West Heritage Association. “They make the cherry blossoms in [Washington] D.C. look like chump change. It’s really quite spectacular.”
Chico embraces the annual bloom with the California Nut Festival, taking place February 16-23 this year. Hosted by Birk’s organization, it includes Almond Blossom Tours where visitors and locals can explore the area’s beautiful natural displays, as well as several fun-runs through the beautiful, sweet-smelling orchards. Downtown Chico pays special tribute to the event. Restaurants, family-friendly amusements and unique shops offer a boggling variety of nut products, nut gadgets and nut foods. But the true mission of the Nut Festival is to educate people about California’s biggest cash crop.
“What’s different about this festival is, certainly it is lots of fun, but it’s also set on a foundation of substance for visitors and residents alike to really fully appreciate the role that this crop plays in our community and our state and indeed our country,” Birk said.
Many festival events take place on the Patrick Ranch, built in 1851. Just two families—the Comptons and Patricks — related by marriage lived on the ranch from 1891 to 2001. Their legacy includes a wealth of historic memorabilia. “They were pack rats,” Birk said. “They saved literally every receipt and every letter that came through there, so we have this archive that basically tells everything about the social and economic aspects of our area in the 20th century.”
The ranch matriarch, Hester Patrick, was a founder of the Chico Museum. She deeded the house and 28 acres to the Heritage Association in 2001 with the idea that it would become an agriculture museum, highlighting California’s history in farming and ranching during the 19th and 20th centuries. The Heritage Association plans on fulfilling Hester’s dream for the Patrick Ranch, and the Nut Festival is part of the plan to make it a reality.
“We developed a very comprehensive master plan to develop this property,” Birk said, “but it’s going to take a number of years. One of the ways we can go ahead and start fulfilling our mission of agricultural literacy is through the nut festival.”
Philanthropy has long been a hallmark of Chico citizens. In 1848, General John Bidwell was among several miners to discover gold on the Feather River. Bidwell founded the City of Chico in 1860 and saw it incorporated in 1872. He and his wife, Annie, were diligent in their efforts to beautify their hometown, planting trees and preserving land for future generations to enjoy. In 1887, the couple donated land to help entice California to build a new state teachers college. Chico Normal School is now California State University, Chico, one of the top public universities in the western United States.
John Bidwell died in 1900, but perhaps his greatest legacy was created five years later when Annie donated 1,900 acres along Big Chico Creek to the City of Chico. Bidwell Park is now 3,670 acres. The couple’s 26-room Victorian mansion, once the center of the Valley’s social scene, is now a museum in south Chico. Its grounds are also a state historic park bearing the Bidwell name.
“One of the things that’s really neat about living here is you see the level of acknowledgement and recognition that John Bidwell has,” Birk said. “[It’s perceptible] in every bicyclist and jogger on a trail and it certainly does serve as a beacon for the rest of us to fulfill our civic responsibilities.”
Chico’s wonders aren’t limited to parks and almond blossoms. Visitors to the comfortable community find a thriving arts scene throughout the year.
“You can’t ignore art in Chico,” said Catherine Sullivan, curator at the Janet Turner Print Museum on the California State University, Chico (Chico State) campus. “We have it all over—indoors, outdoors, wherever we can get it we put it.”
The Janet Turner Print Museum—often referred to as “The Turner”—is one of several institutions on the Chico State campus. Turner was a professor of fine art and art education at the school from 1959 to 1981 and donated more than 2,000 prints to the school upon retirement. Since then the collection has grown to more than 3,000 prints from more than 40 countries. They span six centuries. The Turner is one of five galleries on the campus alone.
Many more museums and galleries can be found throughout town, including the Chico Museum, located downtown in what was once the Carnegie Library. The museum’s mission is to “preserve, exhibit and interpret the history and culture of Chico, Butte County and Northern California.” It celebrates the area’s heritage with two large galleries focusing on the city’s past and present in ever-changing exhibits. Two smaller galleries house a permanent Chico timeline from 1830 to 2000.
The city’s art scene extends well beyond formal displays. No fewer than 40 murals adorn various walls. Artistically designed benches line the streets. Performing arts groups entertain on campus at the Laxson Auditorium. Six theater companies and a world-class glass studio also contribute to an extraordinary array of artistic outlets for a small city. The large collection of museums, galleries and live music and theater led author John Villani to rank Chico 10th in his 2002 book Top 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America.
“We are a relatively small valley town but it does have a university here,” Sullivan noted. “That probably has a great deal to do with the cultural offerings in performing arts as well as visual arts.”
Whether you’re in town to visit world-class museums, soak up the performing arts or tour the area’s beautiful natural landscape, Chico’s treasures will not disappoint.
Visit www.thecalifornianutfestival.org for more information on the California Nut Festival and www.chicoshiddengems.com for things to see and do in Chico.