CHICO — Families donned rain coats and rubber boots, braving rainy weather Saturday in lower Bidwell Park, for the 61st annual Spring Jamboree.
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.
