“They mean everything to me,” Olson said. “I don’t want to have a day without my babies.”

Canine siblings Dink and Tidd have their own Instagram account, @dinkandtidd, run by their owner who loves them dearly.

Woofstock is a festival that raises money for the Butte Humane Society. The event featured live music, food, various  vendors and “The Play Yard” a beer, wine and spirit garden. Many of the activities took place in an enclosure, with vendors situated outside, though morning rain gave way to sunshine by the time attendees arrived.

The Butte Humane Society is a nonprofit animal shelter, operating since 1911, that provides aid to dogs and cats through various services. The group offers a pet food and supply pantry for those in need, training for animals with behavior issues, and spaying and neutering services, to name a few.

In addition to monetary donations, the best ways to support the Butte Humane Society are to volunteer, donate food and to spay and neuter your pets, said Katie Gonser, president of the Butte Humane Society board of directors.

However, due to veterinary shortages, Gonser said she acknowledges it isn’t so easy to spay and neuter pets right now. Though it may be difficult, Gonser said it is important, and if people were aware of how many animals are euthanized each year, they might care more. According to Shelter Animals Count, 690,000 shelter animals were euthanized in 2023 — 330,000 cats and 360,000 dogs.

Gonser said her job is to advocate for “animals that have no voice and no choice.”

Pets offer emotional support and become like family, and often those who work with animals prefer them over people, Gonser said.

“Besides my children, and mostly my man, I prefer animals,” Kelly Lesser, member of the Butte Humane Society board of directors, said with a laugh.

Above all, Gonser said, the goal of the Butte Humane Society is to find homes for animals that need them and to prevent animals from needing homes.

The event — put on by CARD, the Chico Area Recreation and Park District — featured an Easter-themed scavenger hunt through Sycamore Field and Caper Acres playground, along with live music, spring-themed crafts, yard games, face painting, a mini petting zoo, food trucks and the Easter Bunny himself.

“I think what’s great about this event is that it’s at Caper Acres,” said CARD public outreach specialist Erin Horst. “There are stations with things to do, but you can also play on the playground.”

Despite rain early on in the event, families showed up in droves, seemingly unaffected by the dreary weather. By 11 a.m., the sun began peeking through the clouds and the rain subsided.

The event is always held the weekend before Easter, Horst said. The only main difference in this years event compared to last year is the absence of bounce houses due to the rain.

Activities

Aiva and Martin See, 5-year-old twins, said their favorite activity was the carrot toss, where they got to throw toy carrots through a sign that had a bunny on it with a cut out hole in the stomach.

After the carrot toss, the twins jumped for joy as they waited to get their faces painted like bunnies at the face paint station.

“It’s fun. I mean, it’d be better if it wasn’t raining,” said the twins’ mom, Rikki See. “But they’re enjoying it.”

Kelly Sutton and her 9-year-old son, Oliver, set up a table with Ama Posey Studios where attendees could make ornaments and pinwheels.

“I like how you can kind of do whatever you want,” Oliver said about art. “It’s like freedom through your emotions.”

With the help of his mom, Oliver said he learned not to compare his art to others’ and that a good way to look at someone’s art is to appreciate what makes it unique.

“I didn’t really think my art was as good as mom’s,” Oliver said. “But since mom was like, ‘All art is different,’ it made me feel better about my art.”

Furry friends

In addition to the friendly — but undoubtedly soggy — Easter Bunny with whom kids could take pictures, a mini rex rabbit named Flower could be pet by the entry.

Tina Cardin, owner of Two By Two Ranch & Petting Zoo, brought five small animals to the Jubilee to star in the mini petting zoo. Phyllis the Polish chicken, Wiz the Abyssinian guinea pig and two unnamed baby Nigerian dwarf goats accompanied Flower the rabbit.

Eager children petted the animals with wide eyes and toothy smiles. Cardin reminded the children to be gentle as they visited with the animals.

One little girl approached the goats and said, “Dogs!”

Cardin said her favorite part of her job is providing education on animals meeting people. She takes her animals to schools, nursing homes and even on one-on-one visits for those who purchase their loved ones Goat Grams.

“Owning animals, you have to take care of them 365 days a year,” Cardin said. “It’s a labor of love.”

Cardin shielded the animals from the rain with a canopy. She said they don’t mind the cold, but do not like the rain.

The term “Big Time” is “the regional term for what people in the Midwest would call a powwow,” said Leo O’Neill, president of the Butte College Native American Club.

The event took place at the Butte College main campus and featured dance performances, Supaman’s headlining show and vendors selling traditional Native American items and food.

Supaman is member of the Apsaalooke Nation and is known for his fusion of traditional Native American music and contemporary rap.

“I love Supaman,” O’Neill said. “His lyrics, his dancing, his beats: it touches the soul.”

This is the second annual Big Time put on by Butte College and Supaman’s second time headlining the event. Attendees filled the bleachers of the gym where he performed while groups of young school children sat on the floor smiling and cheering.

Supaman’s story and message

Supaman’s performance involved callbacks with phrases such as “prayers up, tobacco down” and “love each other, no matter what the color.”

At one point, Supaman opened up about his upbringing living on a reservation in Montana. His parents were both alcoholics and his father was abusive. At a young age he and his siblings were put in foster care.

He shared that he lost his father to suicide, but that his mother is now sober. The crowd cheered when he talked about his mother’s sobriety, and cheered again when he said that DJ Element, the DJ he performed with, is 10 years sober.

According to the American Addiction Centers, “There are several factors that affect American Indians and Alaska Native communities, which can increase their risk of developing alcohol addiction. Some of the major risk factors that these communities face include historical trauma, lack of easy access to healthcare, lower educational attainment, poverty, housing problems, unemployment, violence, loss of connection to culture, and mental health issues.”

Supaman said he never got into alcohol because he saw the harm it caused those around him.

“It’s a good choice,” Supaman said about sobriety. “It doesn’t make us better than anyone but it’s a good choice.”

Throughout his performance he harped on the message of equality and love.

Feather River Tribal Health had a table at the event offering Narcan and information on wellness services.

“We really try to integrate culture and healing,” said Feather River Tribal Health wellness director Ashley Weiss.

Weiss said it is important to have support and community when reaching out for help with addiction.

“I think there’s nothing harder than struggling alone,” Weiss said.

Traditional jewelry

Vendors at the event sold ornate jewelry, ribbon skirts and and a variety of crafts. Tables covered in black cloth displayed what appeared to be millions of glistening beads and shells.

Vendor Rose Alley didn’t start making jewelry until after she had open heart surgery. During her recovery she had extra time, and filled it with jewelry making and crocheting.

Alley said events like the Big Time bring the community together, those of Native American descent and those not of Native American descent.

“I’m probably related to all of them,” Alley said about the attendees. “I’m getting to meet all my cousins.”

Alley has one Native American parent and one white parent. She said she is a descendent of multiple tribes, but mainly Mechoopda.

“I was what they called a ‘half-breed,'” Alley said. “So I wasn’t rejected by both sides.”

Food

Food vendors sold various items including fry bread, Indian tacos, corn and rez dogs.

Fry bread is a traditional Native American bread that is puffy and can be eaten plain, with powdered sugar or with meat and vegetables which makes it an Indian taco. A rez dog is a hot dog wrapped in fry bread.

Debbie Steele wore an apron with a picture of her grandma on it as she made countless orders of fry bread with Bald Rock Fry Bread.

“I get nervous every time I make it,” Steele said. “Everybody says it turns out real good. They like it.”

Steele, 68, has been attending Big Time events her whole life.

“It’s like our church,” Steele said. “It’s real spiritual …  lots of love, lots of love.”

The 10th annual Local Nursery Crawl spans Saturday and today and includes 15 plant nurseries in Butte County.

For the event, participants were offered a flyer with the names of each participating nursery on it. If participants got the flyer stamped by six different nurseries, they could enter into a raffle for a gift certificate at the final nursery they went to. “This event is to get the public to visit/discover the many independent nurseries in the area and inspire loyalty and community support for local business,” states the event’s Facebook page.

This year is Hassur’s “fifth or sixth” year participating in the crawl. At Little Red Hen Plant Nursery she bought dwarf mondo grass she plans to plant in between the sandstones of her walkway.

In 2023, the event was held in February. However, this year it was moved to March.

“It’s been a lot busier with more people coming in,” said Little Red Hen Nursery instructor Karen Brewster. “They’re (customers) more ready to plant. February is too early.”

During the crawl, Little Red Hen Nursery offered 15% off everything except tomatoes.

Fair Street Nursery hosted the Chico Bonsai Society on Saturday. Some of the small trees on display were over 40 years old.

In addition to Fair Street Nursery’s many out door plants for sale, the company also sell indoor plants in a warm heated room. It also sells artisan decorations from local artists for the garden.

At Harvests and Habitats Nursery perennials, vegetables and wildflowers sold the most, said employee Suzie McAllister.

“People are starting to dream about their garden for the spring and summer,” McAllister said.

Harvests and Habitats Nursery owner Sherri Scott said it is nice having the crawl in March because more plants are blooming.

“I like that, but it’s also the really busy time for me planting everything because we grow everything ourselves, or like 95% of it ourselves. … I have not slept,” she said with a laugh.

For those looking a well rounded plant that smells amazing and is low maintenance, McAllister and Scott recommend scented geranium.

“They’re like a low key superhero,” McAllister said. “They don’t have a big showy a blossom, they still attract pollinators and they just smells so good.”

Other plants that are easy to take care of are rosemary, sweet bay and lettuce, Scott said. Another popular option she recommends is succulents.

“It’s just about getting it right,” Scott said.

“They’re pretty ideologically apart,” said Bipartisan Policy Center co-director Jonathan Perman about LaMalfa and Tokuda. “But what they do have in common, somewhat sadly, is that they both in their districts experienced deadly fires.”

Tokuda is the representative of Lahaina, the Maui city that experienced the worst U.S. fire in over 100 years, which killed 101 people. LaMalfa is the representative of Paradise, where over five years ago the Camp Fire devastated Butte County killing 85 people and displacing thousands.

LaMalfa will visit Lahaina next week to learn about the recovery efforts there.

The two representatives, of opposite political parties, are “united by fire,” Tokuda said.

The visits are part of the American Congressional Exchange Program hosted through the Bipartisan Policy Center. These organizations work together to bring members of the U.S. Congress from different political parties together to learn from each other.

The following people were also in attendance at the Saturday meeting: Paradise Town Council member Steve Crowder; Katie Simmons, Paradise Disaster Recovery director; Ron Lassonde, Paradise mayor; and Jennifer Gray Thompson, founder and CEO of After the Fire USA.

Crowder began the meeting by providing context on the Camp Fire and drawing parallels between Lahaina and Paradise.

“Our hearts go out to your community because we know how tough it is,” Crowder said.

At the meeting, Paradise Recovery and Economic Development Director Colette Curtis, gave a presentation on Paradise and the recovery efforts that have been made in the past five years.

Tokuda asked questions and took notes during the presentation.

Part of Curtis’ presentation focused on the Building Resilience Center, which Curtis said is a “one stop shop” for people who are rebuilding. At the center, people can get things like building permits and  help planning their rebuilding efforts.

“I think it’s an outstanding thing that the city did that here,” Tokuda said about the Building Resilience Center. “We need to do something like that back at home.”

Another big topic at the meeting was insurance rates going up after the fire.

Lassonde said there is “… example after example of the insurance slowing down or inhibiting people from repopulating Paradise.”

In 2023, State Farm stopped offering new policies in the California.

LaMalfa said State Farm pulling out of California is “devastating.”

Also of interest to Tokuda, are problems that policy making and disaster relief programs can’t necessarily fix.

“The other thing I would love to talk to some folks about is how they dealt with things we can’t rebuild, the emotional part,” Tokuda said. “We have so much emotional trauma that’s taken place, so much hurt, fear … how can people feel safe?”

After the meeting Tokuda and LaMalfa went on a tour of Paradise to see the rebuilding efforts in Paradise.

LaMalfa will leave for Maui on Monday for a visit similar to Tokuda’s.

Roger Lederer and Carol Burr, retired Chico State professors and co-creators of the book “The Wildflowers of Bidwell Park,” said the area near the North Rim Trailhead and the Easter Cross is the best place to view wildflowers in Bidwell Park this spring.

When to see wildflowers

In about two weeks the flowers will really take off, and the parking lots in upper park will likely be packed, Lederer said. “Things are just getting started.”

The wildflower season depends highly on the amount of rainfall, Lederer and Burr said.

In January and February, 9.28 inches of rain fell on Chico and Durham. So far 1.7 inches of rain have fallen in March.

If there is more rain, the wildflower season will often start later and last longer, Lederer said.

In 2023, 14.14 inches of rain fell January through March. This was a steep increase from 0.91 inches of rain in January through March 2022.

“Last year was exciting just because after a lot of drought things (wildflowers) really went ‘woo!'” Burr said.

The duration of each wildflower’s bloom varies, but heat is a huge factor.

“Soon as it gets really hot a lot of things go away,” Burr said.

While spotting wildflowers in near the Easter Cross on Thursday morning, Burr and Lederer came across a white wildflower they didn’t recognize. Lederer used the app PictureThis to take a picture of the flower and identify it as false garlic, sometimes called crow poison.

“These look like they’re coming to an end already,” Burr said about the false garlic.

Some wildflowers won’t begin to bloom until June, Burr said.

“You can find wildflowers actually all year round, but this is the best time,” Lederer said.

Where

Near the Easter Cross and the North Rim Trailhead is the best place to see wildflowers because of its accessibility and the vastness of its hills, said Lederer and Burr.

Parking in this area gives easy access to a variety of flat and slightly steep trails.

Lederer said the blooms in this area are “spectacular, because you can see big fields of them.”

There are hundreds of different wildflowers in Bidwell Park and some tend to grow in different areas.

“Upper park is more hilly, and more rocky,” Burr said. “And so you might see stonecrop and some other different plants up there.”

In lower park, periwinkle, a non-native flower, is blooming near the creek. Because lower park is the most used part of the park, there is less variety in this area, Burr said.

What’s in bloom?

Some of the wildflowers currently in bloom are “belly flowers” which is a much more fun way of saying “really small flowers.”

They’re called belly flowers because you have to theoretically lie down on your stomach to see them. In reality, kneeling down close to the ground, or even looking closely while standing will suffice.

If you want a really good look at them you can do what Lederer does, bring a magnifying glass.

Some of the belly flowers currently in bloom are popcorn flower, cowbag clover and Johnny-Tuck.

Popcorn flower looks like tiny white popcorn. Cowbag clover, also called dwarf sack clover, resembles a cow’s udder if it were a more reddish purple shade.

Johnny-Tuck, sometimes called “eggs and butter” for its yellow shade, is thought to be named after John Bidwell. However, the origins of the “Tuck” part of the name are unknown according to Lederer’s entry on the flower in “The Wildflowers of Bidwell Park.”

Pineapple weed is also sprouting in the park. Though Lederer has a strict rule against picking flowers or any plant in the park, he said pineapple weed smells like pineapple or vanilla when you crush the head of the plant between your fingers.

Each flower has multiple common names that vary depending on who you ask. Each flower, as with every plant, has a scientific Latin name that is universal.

“Common names are just all over the place,” Lederer said. “The only thing that botanists go by is the scientific names.”

Trail etiquette

To ensure a lasting wildflower season that everyone can enjoy, Burr and Lederer said people should stay on trail, keep their dogs on leash and leave the park the way they found it.

“It’s a natural area, and it’ll do fine all by itself,” Lederer said. “You don’t need to do anything to it.”

In addition to “The Wildflowers of Bidwell Park,” the couple also published “The Trees of Bidwell Park” and “The Birds of Bidwell Park.” Lederer, who studied and taught biological sciences, wrote the content of the books. Burr, who taught English and developed multiple programs at Chico State, illustrated the books.

The books can be found online at chicobooks.com and at various downtown businesses.

The annual festival featured environmental education booths, food trucks and vendors, many selling a variety of plants.

Radley got his face painted to look like a character from the video game Minecraft. He said he really enjoyed seeing all of the rocks and minerals that were for sale.

Arbor Day was started by a Nebraskan newspaper editor who greatly valued trees and decided to implement a tree planting holiday in 1872. More than 150 years later, the holiday has grown into a sustainability focused organization, the Arbor Day Foundation.

Oroville is a “Tree City.” The Arbor Day Foundation deems a town a Tree City if there is enough tree cover in the area. The  Arbor Day Foundation’s website lists the following benefits of being a Tree City: “Cooler temperatures. Cleaner air. Higher property values. Healthier residents.”

The Butte Environmental Council tabled at the Arbor Day Festival and offered free giveaways such as seeds and bookmarks. At the event they advertised their new subplots in the Oak Way Community Garden.

“We built smaller subdivisions of our big plots to create more accessibility to people who want to try their hand gardening … just to create equity and access,” said Butte Environmental Council executive director Patrizia Hironimus.

A part of Hironimus’ main focus is to get the community civically engaged in fun and free ways that benefit the environment.

“I learned that people who are civically engaged are more likely to graduate, to graduate on time and be civically engaged later on in life,” Hironimus said.

The Chico Bonsai Society displayed and sold a variety of bonsai trees at the event. Martin Schwab, treasurer of the Chico Bonsai Society, said growing bonsai trees teaches “patience.”

He pointed to a bonsai tree with a thick trunk and large fuchsia flowers.

“That one there is probably about 20-years-old … somebody has had that in their care for that long,” Schwab said.

One of the bonsai trees he brought to the event was a juniper he’d been growing for one year.

“Bonsais are pretty low maintenance, but they require a lot of time,” he said.

On top of patience, Schwab said bonsais can teach about “understanding.”

“Every once in a while a tree will die,” Schwab said. “And so I guess you learn a little bit about mortality.”

An attendee at the event pointed at a maple bonsai tree and asked Schwab if the tree was “a marijuana plant.” The two laughed, and Schwab said that growing marijuana the way you grow a bonsai tree probably wouldn’t work too well.

Charlotte Freer, owner of Unique Gardens and Gifts, sold plants, earrings and garden decorations at the the festival. Tomato plants were her top seller.

A tip she offers customers who by tomato plants is to cut the bottom two leaves off of the stem, and then plant it deep in the soil.

The movie shows a complete performance of Swift’s Eras Tour show. It is compiled from performances that took place at three separate Los Angeles concerts.

In her 3.5-hour-long Eras Tour show, Swift performs songs from each of her albums. The show consists of multiple costume changes and dance routines.

At the Eras brunch, Discovery Bar served 10 specialty cocktails that each represented a Swift era, and displayed the movie on a large screen for this special themed brunch. The drinks were named playfully after Swift’s songs including “Teardrops on my Margarita” and “Champagne Problem.”

Piver saw the Eras Tour live in Vegas, and plans to see it again later this year in New Orleans.

The tour, and later the film, became a meteoric cultural phenomena that continues to sweep the nation. Multiple attendees at Discovery Bar’s Eras brunch saw the live concert and had seen the movie multiple times.

However, the brunch consisted of more than just diehard “Swifties” (the name given to Swift’s fans).

Jenifer Stockwell, who accompanied Piver to the brunch, had never seen the movie or the concert.

“I am fully open to embracing all of it,” Stockwell said.

What Piver and Stockwell do have in common is their affinity for Discovery Bar and the trivia nights that take place each Tuesday.

Zachary Thomas, like Stockwell, hadn’t seen the movie prior to the Eras brunch and didn’t know the movie was going to be shown Saturday morning. He said Discovery Bar has a good brunch and it seems like a lot of people don’t know about it.

Elizabeth Aguirre-Quezada, who donned a black-and-white Taylor Swift shirt to the brunch, came with her husband Adrian. Her favorite Taylor Swift Eras are the albums “Red” and “Folklore.”

“I think you can see the crowd’s a lot older than people think her fans are,” Aguirre-Quezada said. “(The Eras Tour movie) is everything that maybe you didn’t get a chance to see when you were younger and you’re getting to see it now.”

Aguirre-Quezada didn’t think there was that big of a Swift following in Chico, but when she went to see The Eras Tour movie “all the shows were like jam packed.” When she saw the movie attendees were out of their seats dancing.

“(The movie theater employees) came in and shut the show down, and said ‘you guys got to sit down because of safety’ which is totally understandable,” Aguirre-Quezada said.

Swift will continue performing The Eras Tour throughout the year, ending in Vancouver, Canada on Dec. 8.

Heimlich, who has been teaching at Butte College for 3 years, recently received the California Music Educators Association John Swain College/University Educator of the Year award.

“I love working with him,” said Butte College student and saxophone player Mathew Lor. “He has a lot of passion, a lot of fire in his energy.”

Students, community

Heimlich’s favorite part of his job is “the students,” and seeing them succeed.

The hardest part of his job is, “the students,” he said with a laugh.

“I mean, I’m kind of joking but you know there’s a lot that needs to happen in order to to see their success,” Heimlich said.

Butte College student and guitar player Sean Harrington said Heimlich gives good “constructive criticism.”

“It doesn’t feel like he’s ever just telling you, ‘Oh, yeah, you’re doing good’ and not helping you improve,” Harrington said. “And it’s also like, he’s not being just mean and telling everything you’re doing wrong.”

One of Heimlich’s student’s, Ryan Cotton, used to go to Chico State for its music program. He said Chico State felt more individualistic, and that he feels a bigger sense of community at Butte College.

Cotton said a big part of the Butte College’s music program is the support Heimlich offers each student.

“He has a way of connecting with people, where he can connect you with the right people that you need for success,” Cotton said. “He’s also just a great person.”

At his Tuesday Jazz ensemble class, Heimlich encouraged students to use earbuds to protect their ears, listen to their assigned music and practice.

“Taking the instrument home doesn’t magically make it practice,” Heimlich said.

During the class Heimlich walked around the room singing the beat of the songs they played, and shouting to cue in sections and give praise

In between songs and sections he asked students to rate their performance, say what they did well on and what they could improve on. He lightheartedly joked with students and encouraged creativity.

“Rhythm section I want you to do something you feel is ridiculous,” Heimlich said.

Background

Heimlich wears many musical hats. In addition to directing the concert, jazz and pop bands, as well as teaching studio instruction and music theory, he is the Performing Arts Department Chair.

Outside of Butte College he plays clarinet in the North State Symphony. He is also in a band made up of teachers called Rigamarole, though he said they don’t play very much these days.

Heimlich is originally from Mammoth Lakes, California. After getting his Bachelor of Arts in music from UC Berkeley, he moved to Chico in 2005 to get his Master of Arts in music at Chico State.

Heimlich grew up in a family that loved music. In fourth grade, he started playing clarinet with his music teacher George Vest whom Heimlich described as, “excellent.”

“He really got me excited about it and I just never stopped since then,” Heimlich said.

The award

The California Music Educators Association is an organization made up of music teachers that promotes diversity and equity in music education.

CMEA is a state-wide organization broken up into nine geographical sections. Heimlich won the award for the northern section, which includes 15 inland Northern California counties.

The award Heimlich received is named after John Swain, who worked in the music department at Cal State Los Angeles for 19 years in various roles. Swain died from colon cancer at 52 years old.

“Ryan Heimlich was chosen for this award based on his wonderful work at Butte College with our future music educators,” said CMEA executive administrator Trish Adams. “More students have access to a high quality and meaningful collegiate music education because of the efforts of Ryan Heimlich at Butte Community College.”

“(Officers) searched the building but weren’t able to locate a suspect, but they’re still doing follow up and investigating the incident,” DeLeon said.

The pharmacy is usually open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Around 3 p.m. Thursday, the answering machine for the pharmacy relayed this message: “Please note, we are closed due to unexpected circumstances. We will reopen as soon as possible.”

The message also said the pharmacy was still accepting refill requests.

Chico Pharmacy is in the same building as Enloe Regional Cancer Center. However, Chico Pharmacy a separate entity to Enloe, said Enloe marketing production coordinator Daniela Contreras.

Chico Pharmacy’s website states the company is “locally owned” since 1993.

DeLeon said if anyone has any information regarding this incident they can call Chico police’s non-emergency line at 530-897-4911 and reference case number 24-001717.