The Best April Events and Activities in Butte County

The long-run­ning Butte Coun­ty cel­e­bra­tion high­lights the splen­dor of the local environment’s flo­ra and fau­na, in addi­tion to pro­vid­ing all man­ner of activ­i­ties for the whole fam­i­ly. While you shop for unique, hand­made Butte Coun­ty prod­ucts, you can also enjoy food from local ven­dors, lis­ten to live music, and set the kids up at the children’s craft area. They’ll be sure to enjoy see­ing spring come alive in Oroville’s River­bend Park, where the fes­ti­val runs from 10am to 4pm on April 5. 

It’s a great start to a day of out­door sight­see­ing or as a relax­ing stop before explor­ing every­thing Down­town Oroville has to offer.

For those who need a lit­tle more mag­ic in their lives, Butte County’s Chico Spring Fae Festival is the best oppor­tu­ni­ty you’re like­ly to find. Cel­e­brat­ing both the mag­ic of spring and con­ju­ra­tions of the imag­i­na­tion, this fairy-themed fes­ti­val is packed with hand­made goods of all vari­eties (mag­i­cal and oth­er­wise), fan­tas­tic food, and plen­ty of activ­i­ties to keep kids busy while their par­ents shop for unique trea­sures they won’t find any­where else. 

Set at The Barn in Chico’s beau­ti­ful Meri­am Park, this free event is a guar­an­teed good time, rain or shine, on Sun­day, April 27 from Noon to 4pm.

A beloved Butte Coun­ty insti­tu­tion, the Thurs­day Night Market in Down­town Chico is a must-vis­it. There’s some­thing for every­one, from local goods to the fresh­est of organ­ic produce. 

Mild spring tem­per­a­tures bring with them the per­fect oppor­tu­ni­ty to walk between 2^nd and 4^th Street on Broad­way (includ­ing side streets) every Thurs­day from 6pm-9pm begin­ning April 10 and run­ning through Sep­tem­ber. Many local restau­rants also bring their best dish­es, and if you’re still hun­gry after all that, the rest of Down­town Chico is just steps away.

Noth­ing says ​“spring” like bid­ding farewell to the win­ter weath­er and get­ting out­side to enjoy food and friends on a com­fort­able patio. Dur­ing Down­town Oroville’s First Fri­day Spring Fling, enjoy deli­cious local cui­sine while perus­ing a bustling selec­tion of retail estab­lish­ments. With Spring Fling spe­cials, raf­fles, and even in-store treats on offer, it’s a per­fect way to spend a warm afternoon. 

So come vis­it Down­town Oroville on Fri. April 4 from 4pm to 8pm — if you spend $10 at par­tic­i­pat­ing loca­tions, you can earn extra raf­fle tick­ets, and a com­plet­ed pass­port pro­vides even more chances to win!

Spring is an excit­ing time if you’re a young angler thanks to the annu­al Kids Free Fish­ing Day. This fish­ing der­by starts prompt­ly at 6am on April 12 at Magalia’s beau­ti­ful Par­adise Lake, and par­tic­i­pants 15 and younger can enjoy the fes­tiv­i­ties for free! 

If you’ve got a big fam­i­ly or a group that includes folks with no desire to fish, there are still great activ­i­ties to take part in, and those with­out their own gear can even take advan­tage of a lim­it­ed num­ber of spon­sored poles. 

With prizes, raf­fles, and hot dogs aplen­ty, this Butte Coun­ty tra­di­tion is sure to be a good time for everyone.

If you’re inter­est­ed in some­thing that show­cas­es local her­itage and his­to­ry, Par­adise, one of the gems in Butte County’s crown, offers the Gold Nugget Days celebration. 

This annu­al fes­ti­val cel­e­brates local his­to­ry, pro­vid­ing all-ages activ­i­ties over four beau­ti­ful spring days of fun. Begin­ning with the Queen Con­test pageant on Thurs., April 24, the cel­e­bra­tion of the area’s biggest Gold Rush dis­cov­ery — a 54-pound gold nugget! — has a gem and min­er­al show, a horse fes­ti­val, an Elks hoe­down, Rotary bean feed, and, of course, the beloved Gold Nugget Days Parade on Sat­ur­day, April 26 from Noon-1pm. 

Much of the fun is free, and tick­et­ed events are rea­son­ably priced so the whole fam­i­ly can enjoy.

Whether you’re an avid bike rid­er or some­one who just enjoys an occa­sion­al week­end of scenic cycling, the annu­al Chico Velo Wild­flower Ride and Festival is a sure­fire way to ele­vate any spring vis­it to Butte County. 

The fun starts at Chico’s Sil­ver Dol­lar Fair­grounds on Sat., April 26, which kicks off with a pre-ride fes­ti­val that’s got food trucks, beer, a bicy­cle rodeo, and a ven­dor expo, all free and open to the pub­lic from Noon-6pm.

April 27 is when the rides hap­pen, where you can try out 8 dif­fer­ent bike routes designed to accom­mo­date rid­ers of every age and skill lev­el. Routes even have rest stops, snacks, hydra­tion, and repair sta­tions, with on-road SAG sup­port to make sure every­one makes it to the fin­ish line.

Ben­e­fit­ing the Butte Humane Soci­ety, one of the spring season’s best-loved events is the Woof­s­tock Chico, a fes­ti­val that cel­e­brates not only Butte County’s love of music, but also its fur­ry friends. With local beer and food avail­able all day, plus some of the most tal­ent­ed local musi­cians that Chico has become known for, humans (and their dogs!) will have end­less fun jam­ming to great tunes, shop­ping, and enjoy­ing a vari­ety of fam­i­ly- and dog-friend­ly activities.

Well-behaved dogs on leash and their humans are invit­ed to bring a blan­ket or lawn chair to the Sil­ver Dol­lar Fair­grounds on April 12 from 11:30am to 5pm for an entire day of fun you can feel good about. VIP tick­ets are also avail­able, which come with a swag bag and exclu­sive access to the Hard Paw Café!