Butte County After Dark

There are plen­ty of options through­out the coun­ty to make sure your night starts off right with a great meal and a glass of some­thing spe­cial to go with it. Butte Coun­ty has plen­ty of fan­tas­tic restau­rants with bev­er­age-for­ward menus, but a per­fect pair­ing is more than just food and drink. Many of our favorite estab­lish­ments offer a lit­tle some­thing extra, like the Park­side Tap House, which fea­tures a large (and dog friend­ly!) out­door patio with games and a glass rollup door that opens to its indoor bar. It’s also home to silent dis­co nights, 21-and-old­er only nights, and DJ’d patio par­ties, mak­ing it a great spot to unwind any time of the year.

But if you’re look­ing to dive into the region’s exten­sive musi­cal cul­ture, plen­ty of restau­rants and bars fea­ture reg­u­lar live music acts, includ­ing the beloved local hang­out Duffy’s Tav­ern, Jen’s Place in Par­adise (where you can also get in a few rounds of 8‑ball pool and karaōke), alter­na­tive cof­fee shop Naked Lounge, Eng­lish-inspired The Allies Pub, and Union Restau­rant in Oroville. Fans of hav­ing all the right answers will find reg­u­lar triv­ia nights at a vari­ety of bars and restau­rants, includ­ing Secret Trail Brew­ing Co., leg­endary pizze­ria Woodstock’s, Sto­ble Cof­fee, Ram­ble West Brew­ing, and Oroville favorite, Pro­vi­sions. All of these places offer fan­tas­tic food and drink with a lit­tle some­thing extra to make the expe­ri­ence even better.

No great night would be com­plete with­out a show, and there are a num­ber of out­stand­ing venues to choose from in Butte Coun­ty. Chico’s music scene is a deep part of its cul­ture, and there are far more places to catch a band than can be men­tioned here. But stand­outs include Lost on Main (one of the city’s most active venues), The Barn at Meri­am Park, and two icon­ic Chico land­marks, the El Rey and the Sen­a­tor The­atre. Sier­ra Neva­da Brew­ing Co. hosts its own hotspot, the Big Room, right on its Chico cam­pus, with both world-famous beer and top-class acts. And in Oroville, tour­ing musi­cians, come­di­ans, magi­cians, and more per­form at Feath­er Falls Casino and Gold Coun­try Casino.

For musi­cals, plays, and oth­er per­form­ing arts, Chico is also home to the inti­mate First Street The­ater down­town, which show­cas­es off-Broad­way pro­duc­tions, and the Blue Room The­atre, anoth­er favorite the­ater that rounds out Chico’s robust thes­pi­an cul­ture. Cal­i­for­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty, Chico, also hosts per­for­mances at Lax­son Audi­to­ri­um, which has been in oper­a­tion for near­ly a cen­tu­ry. Musi­cians like Yo-Yo Ma and B.B. King, as well as the San Fran­cis­co Sym­pho­ny, have appeared there over the years, and it reg­u­lar­ly offers inter­est­ing new pro­gram­ming, with more than 100 per­for­mances every year.

Else­where in the coun­ty, Paradise’s The­atre on the Ridge and Par­adise Per­form­ing Arts Cen­ter have served the­ater­go­ers for decades. Oroville, too, has a rich the­ater cul­ture. It’s home to the Bird­cage Theatre, with local shows run­ning for more than 40 sea­sons, and the ren­o­vat­ed Oroville State The­atre, orig­i­nal­ly designed in the 1920s with a vaude­vil­lian charm. The lat­ter is even home to an authen­tic, restored Wurl­itzer pipe organ, and hosts reg­u­lar live per­for­mances and the­atri­cal spe­cial events.

But your night’s not over yet! Butte Coun­ty has even more fun in store for your whole crew, whether it’s a fam­i­ly affair, a friends’ night out, or a hang­out with your kids at Chico State. Karaōke is avail­able at Chico’s Karaōke Tele­vi­sion, where you and your crew can sing your hearts out in pri­vate, sound­proofed rooms, each with dif­fer­ent fun themes. For more pub­lic karaōke expe­ri­ences in Chico, check out Madi­son Bear Gar­den​’s ​“Beareoke” as well as its infa­mous week­ly indoor trike races.

If you’re not up for putting on your own per­for­mance, you can let off some steam with axe throw­ing (and sim­u­lat­ed golf) at Hatch­et House, or head to Fun­Land for an 18-hole mini-golf course, bat­ting cages, and Cal Skate roller-skat­ing.

You can also opt for a night of unfor­get­table expe­ri­ences with four themed puz­zle rooms at Chico Escape Rooms, all designed for two-to-eight play­ers, or head to Vang’s Plants and Suc­cu­lents Hub to build your own ter­rar­i­ums, cre­ate moss wall art, or even make your own stained glass! And at Chico Cat Café, you can vis­it with feline friends dur­ing the day and then enjoy events of all kinds in the evening, from draw­ing, paint­ing, and craft class­es, to author book sign­ings, Fri­day night ​“mewvies,” and triv­ia nights.

Because of Butte County’s nat­ur­al splen­dor, it’s often easy to for­get that there’s so much art, cul­ture, and nightlife to be had here. But no mat­ter who you’re trav­el­ing with or what time of year you come to vis­it, there’s always some­thing to do — indoors or out — and Butte Coun­ty is here to make sure that once the sun goes down, your adven­ture is only get­ting started.