Events We're Looking Forward to This September in Butte County

Float­ing down the Sacra­men­to Riv­er in a stur­dy inner tube remains the clas­sic local way to mark the end of sum­mer. Grab a tube, gath­er a group of friends, and take in a slow after­noon on the water cel­e­brat­ing the unof­fi­cial end of summer.

• When: Labor Day Weekend
• Where: Sacra­men­to Riv­er, Chico, CA
• Good for: Friends, fam­i­lies, and relaxed out­door adventuring

Take It from Us: Plan your exit spot ahead of time so you know where to park the sec­ond car of the shut­tle, and bring plen­ty of water and sun­screen for the float.

Come hun­gry and leave hap­py dur­ing the annu­al Taste of Down­town Restau­rant and Pub Crawl. Food lovers can sam­ple sig­na­ture dish­es and drinks from par­tic­i­pat­ing eater­ies across Down­town Chico. Cap off the after­noon with a free and fam­i­ly-friend­ly Con­cert in the Plaza to close out the day.

• When: Sun­day, Sep­tem­ber 6, 2026 from 11am-4pm; con­cert from 3:30pm‑5:30pm
• Where: Down­town Chico, CA
• High­lights: Local bite-sized dish­es, sig­na­ture drinks, live out­door music

The third annu­al Lega­cy Stage Fringe Fes­ti­val brings 25 dis­tinct acts to four local stages over Labor Day Weekend.

The line­up spans mul­ti­ple per­for­mance styles, includ­ing orig­i­nal the­ater and sto­ry­telling, stand-up com­e­dy and mys­tery acts, and dance, drag, and bur­lesque shows.

Fea­tured per­for­mances for 2026 include Drunk­en Shake­speare: Romeo & Juli­et, Mary’s Wed­ding, and A Fringe Mystery.

• When: Sep­tem­ber 4 – 6, 2026
• Where: Four venues across Chico, CA
• Tick­ets: Sin­gle-show tick­ets or All-Access Fringe Pass­es avail­able online

Step into a world of knights, wiz­ards, and cos­tumed char­ac­ters at the inau­gur­al Chico Renais­sance and Fan­ta­sy Faire at the Patrick Ranch Muse­um. Com­bin­ing his­tor­i­cal re-enact­ments with fan­ta­sy cul­ture, all atten­dees are invit­ed to come in cos­tume for a day filled with enchant­ment and adventure.

• When: Sat­ur­day, Sep­tem­ber 12, 2026 | 10am-7pm
• Where: Patrick Ranch Muse­um, Durham, CA
• Admis­sion: Free entry | Park­ing is $7 per vehi­cle (cars with 4+ pas­sen­gers park free)
• High­lights: Black­smithing demos, mini bicy­cle joust­ing, aer­i­al and fire danc­ing, inter­ac­tive per­for­mances, live per­for­mances, cos­tume contest

Oroville Salmon Festival

The annu­al Oroville Salmon Fes­ti­val in Down­town Oroville hon­ors the return of migrat­ing salmon to the Feath­er Riv­er. Explore an expan­sive street fair fea­tur­ing local arti­sans, edu­ca­tion­al exhibits, and fresh salmon dish­es, plus an always pop­u­lar car show.

And make sure to vis­it the near­by Feath­er Riv­er Fish Hatch­ery to go nose-to-nose with migrat­ing fish at their under­wa­ter view­ing windows.

• When: Sat­ur­day, Sep­tem­ber 26, 2026 | 9am-3pm
• Where: Down­town Oroville & Feath­er Riv­er Fish Hatch­ery, Oroville, CA
• Admis­sion: Free entry to the street fair and hatchery

Guid­ed Salmon Kayak Tours Down the Feath­er River

Host­ed by the Fore­bay Aquat­ic Cen­ter, these guid­ed tours run from the Feath­er Riv­er Fish Hatch­ery down to River­bend Park. Pad­dlers get a close look at the salmon migra­tion and learn more about their epic jour­ney from the ocean back to their birthplace.

• Tour Dates: Sep­tem­ber 26, Sat­ur­day Octo­ber 17 and 24, and every Sun­day in Octo­ber (two tours each day)
• Book­ings: Advance tick­et purchase required through the Fore­bay Aquat­ic Center

Clas­sic car and motor­cy­cle enthu­si­asts won’t want to miss the 47^th annu­al Chico Con­cours d’Elegance.

Since 1979, this com­mu­ni­ty event has dis­played restored vin­tage auto­mo­biles and clas­sic motor­cy­cles in a fam­i­ly-friend­ly setting. 

• When: Sat­ur­day, Sep­tem­ber 26, 2026
• Where: Sil­ver Dol­lar Fair­grounds, 2357 Fair St, Chico, CA
• Admis­sion: Free