9 October Events in Butte County

With a rich abun­dance of tree vari­eties in the area (espe­cial­ly in Chico, ​“the City of Trees”), Butte Coun­ty is spoiled for some breath­tak­ing views as foliage starts to turn col­ors. While the area starts to see some col­ors turn­ing in late Sep­tem­ber, when the oaks and sycamores begin to turn, the explo­sion of yel­lows, oranges and deep reds real­ly takes off in Octo­ber; a dri­ve down the Esplanade in Chico is prob­a­bly the most well-known local scene for tree-gazing.

Orchard coun­try, how­ev­er, is also beau­ti­ful in the fall. In Durham, the burst­ing pinks and greens of spring that pre­ced­ed har­vest sea­son will soon give way to a brief but gor­geous yel­low-and-orange rush of lined trees. Whether you’re cruis­ing the back roads of Butte Coun­ty or decide to take your bike out for a ride specif­i­cal­ly to catch these views, you might con­sid­er bring­ing a cam­era along.

What’s Octo­ber with­out a trip to the pump­kin patch?

From Chico to Big­gs to Durham, Butte Coun­ty has half a dozen unique pump­kin patch­es to vis­it, so you’re sure to find the per­fect pump­kin for carv­ing, paint­ing, or even bak­ing! And with cer­tain pump­kin patch­es offer­ing hay rides, cart rides, and oth­er chil­dren’s activ­i­ties, you can make it a whole after­noon activity! 

Octo­ber in Butte Coun­ty comes alive with Hal­loween spir­it, offer­ing a wide array of events for all tastes. From spine-chill­ing scares to fam­i­ly-friend­ly fun and adults-only gath­er­ings, there’s some­thing for every­one. Don your favorite cos­tume and join the fes­tiv­i­ties hap­pen­ing all month long. Check our events cal­en­dar for a com­plete list of Hal­loween happenings.

In Octo­ber, Down­town Chico trans­forms into a vibrant can­vas of art, music, and com­mu­ni­ty cel­e­bra­tion dur­ing ARTo­ber FEST. The month-long cel­e­bra­tion kicks off with the favorite Art & Wine Walk on Fri­day, Octo­ber 4, and cul­mi­nates with the ARTo­ber FEST Fall Art Show in the City Plaza on Sat­ur­day, Octo­ber 26, with dozens of events and tours in-between.

Savor the har­vest sea­son dur­ing the Butte Coun­ty Wine Trail, Octo­ber 11 – 13, 2024. Dur­ing this pass­port week­end, explore award-win­ning winer­ies and dis­til­leries across the county. 

Your pass­port unlocks unique tast­ings and expe­ri­ences at nine bou­tique winer­ies. Meet pas­sion­ate wine­mak­ers, learn about their craft, and dis­cov­er your new favorite wine. Don’t miss this chance to tour pic­turesque vine­yards and con­nect with fel­low wine enthu­si­asts. Grab your pass­port and craft your own Butte Coun­ty wine adven­ture – your taste buds will thank you!

A major Par­adise pride point is its two-day fall fes­ti­val now known as the old­est har­vest in the state, one that dates back to 1888. All things apple are on dis­play in cel­e­bra­tion at John­ny Apple­seed Days, which pop­u­lar­ly fea­ture apple pie and ice cream as well as DIY apple pie kits, a children’s area with face paint­ing and games, non­stop enter­tain­ment over the course of the fes­ti­val, and even an appear­ance from John­ny Apple­seed, who shares some sto­ries with young visitors.

Cel­e­brate in 2024 on Sat­ur­day Oct. 5 and Sun­day Oct. 6.

A kick­off to the hol­i­day shop­ping sea­son, Down­town Chico gets things going with the Chico Har­vest Side­walk Sale on Oct. 12, 2024, with mer­chants show­cas­ing their busi­ness­es and goods with spe­cials and sales all week­end. Par­tic­i­pat­ing down­town restau­rants will offer fall-themed menu items and sig­na­ture dish­es, and Down­town Chico will adopt a dis­tinct­ly fall vibe as store­fronts and the town dec­o­rate appro­pri­ate­ly with hay bales, scare­crows and pumpkins.

Clas­sic car enthu­si­asts won’t want to miss the 45^th annu­al Con­cours d’Elegance, the county’s pre­mier car show. Held at lush and scenic Butte Creek Coun­try Club this year, the event dates back to 1979, when Chico Con­cours start­ed the annu­al endeav­or of show­cas­ing beau­ti­ful clas­sic auto­mo­biles. With grow­ing com­mu­ni­ty sup­port each year — and now the intro­duc­tion of clas­sic motor­cy­cles — the Con­cours d’Elegance is one of those events that start­ed with niche appeal and has grown into a full-fledged tradition.

The event takes place Sat­ur­day, Oct. 12, 2024.

Whole­some Hal­loween? Sold! Designed to be a safe adven­ture for chil­dren 12 and under, the set­up for Treat Street couldn’t be sim­pler: Super­vised chil­dren in cos­tumes cruise Down­town Chico going door to door trick-or-treat­ing, and busi­ness­es hand out treats for Halloween!

A ton of activ­i­ties and enter­tain­ment are on hand, plus local police and fire pros offer­ing safe­ty tips for trick-or-treaters who will be con­tin­u­ing their night into oth­er neigh­bor­hoods. Local Rotar­i­ans also will be present to help guests cross down­town streets safely.

Whether you are look­ing for a fam­i­ly-friend­ly way to appre­ci­ate the fall har­vest and Hal­loween or seek­ing a get­away to take in the local agri­cul­tur­al scene, Butte Coun­ty has plen­ty of activ­i­ties to fill your Octo­ber calendar.