Tis’ the Season: Your Guide to Magical Holiday Events in Butte County

Chico Ice Rink in the Plaza

The Chico Ice Rink in the Plaza returns to Down­town Chico, cre­at­ing a fes­tive expe­ri­ence for mak­ing mag­i­cal mem­o­ries under the stars.

• Dates: Novem­ber 14, 2025 to Jan­u­ary 4, 2026
• Tick­ets: Priced at $12 online and $15 onsite.
• Dis­count­ed Admis­sion: Look for spe­cial ​‘Cheap-SKATE Nights’ on select Mon­days (Nov. 17, Dec. 1 & Dec. 15).
• Sched­ule: Check the Chico Rec web­site for reg­u­lar hours and spe­cial Thanks­giv­ing and Win­ter Break schedules.

Chico Christ­mas Preview

Expe­ri­ence one of Down­town Chico’s cher­ished hol­i­day tra­di­tions dur­ing the Chico Christ­mas Pre­view. As you stroll, soak up the fes­tive cheer pro­vid­ed by strolling car­ol­ers and live per­for­mances, and get ready to make some hol­i­day memories.

• Date: Sun­day, Novem­ber 23, 2025, from 4pm-8pm
• Shop­ping: Down­town mer­chants roll out the red car­pet with gor­geous dec­o­ra­tions and the best deals to help you check off your gift list.
• Enter­tain­ment: Enjoy strolling car­ol­ers, live per­for­mances, and bal­let dancers appear­ing in shop win­dows. A spe­cial vis­it from San­ta Claus is sched­uled, mak­ing this the per­fect oppor­tu­ni­ty for a fes­tive fam­i­ly photo.

Chico Com­mu­ni­ty Tree Light­ing Ceremony

Join the com­mu­ni­ty for an cel­e­bra­to­ry evening of music, ven­dors, and per­for­mances at the Chico Tree Light­ing ceremony.

• Date: Fri­day, Decem­ber 5, 2025, 6pm-8pm
• High­lights: Live music and per­form­ers, a vis­it from San­ta, and plen­ty of com­mu­ni­ty cheer

Stans­bury Home Vic­to­ri­an Christmas

Step back in time and cel­e­brate the time­less mag­ic of the hol­i­days at the Stans­bury Home Vic­to­ri­an Christ­mas. Beau­ti­ful­ly dec­o­rat­ed for the sea­son, the his­toric Chico man­sion glows with cozy Vic­to­ri­an charm dur­ing this clas­sic hol­i­day tra­di­tion. Explore the his­toric home, enjoy live car­ol­ers, and warm up with hot cider and home­made cookies.

• Dates: Decem­ber 5 – 7, 2025
• Admis­sion: $6 for adults and $3 for chil­dren under 12 years of age.

A Very Chico Nut­crack­er at Lax­son Auditorium

The fam­i­ly favorite A Very Chico Nut­crack­er pirou­ettes back to the stage at Lax­son Audi­to­ri­um at Chico State, bring­ing a home­grown sparkle to the beloved hol­i­day clas­sic. This beau­ti­ful­ly danced pro­duc­tion by Chico Com­mu­ni­ty Bal­let hon­ors the time­less tra­di­tion of The Nut­crack­er with a whim­si­cal twist inspired by Chico’s rich his­to­ry and charm.

• Dates: Decem­ber 4 – 7, 2025
• Show­times: Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 at 7pm; Dec. 6 at 1pm and 6pm; Dec. 7 at 1pm
• Expe­ri­ence: Enjoy a blend of Tchaikovsky’s beloved score with delight­ful sur­pris­es, waltz­ing wild­flow­ers, and local flair.

Lights of Hope

For a spec­tac­u­lar out­door hol­i­day expe­ri­ence, vis­it Lights of Hope in Oroville, run­ning for 18 select evenings in Decem­ber. The free event is per­fect for fam­i­lies, with more than 300,000 lights illu­mi­nat­ing the full mag­ic of Christmas.

• Dates: Dec. 4 – 7, Dec. 9 – 14 & Dec. 16 – 23 from 6pm-9pm each night
• Admis­sion: The light walk and pho­tos with San­ta are free.
• Activ­i­ties: This hol­i­day favorite includes a daz­zling light dis­play, a cus­tom-built sled­ding hill, self­ie stops, food and drink con­ces­sions, and more
• Fees: Unlim­it­ed sled­ding and inflat­a­bles are avail­able for sep­a­rate fees. Lux­u­ry fire pit booths are rentable by the hour or night.

Down­town Oroville Christ­mas Preview

Kick off your hol­i­day sea­son in His­toric Down­town Oroville dur­ing it Christ­mas Pre­view. The heart of Oroville trans­forms into a fes­tive won­der­land, invit­ing you to wan­der through shops decked out in their hol­i­day best. It’s the per­fect evening to feel the cozy com­mu­ni­ty spir­it as you get a head start on gift shopping.

• Date: Sat­ur­day, Novem­ber 22, from 4pm to 8pm
• Shop­ping: The his­toric down­town area trans­forms into a fes­tive won­der­land as shops offer deals and com­pli­men­ta­ry refresh­ments, help­ing you get a head start on your gift list.
• Enter­tain­ment: Enjoy fun for the entire fam­i­ly with live enter­tain­ment, win­dow per­for­mances by the North­ern Cal­i­for­nia Bal­let, free face paint­ing, and car­riage rides avail­able for purchase.

The Nut­crack­er at the Oroville State Theater

Sier­ra Pointe Bal­let proud­ly presents its 2025 pro­duc­tion of The Nut­crack­er, a mag­i­cal hol­i­day tra­di­tion brought to life at the beau­ti­ful His­toric Oroville State The­ater. This year’s pro­duc­tion fea­tures world-class guest artists from New York City, Los Ange­les, and San­ta Cruz Dance The­ater, join­ing an inspired cast of local dancers from across Butte County.

• Date: Sun­day, Novem­ber 30, 2025
• Show­times: 1:30pm and 4:30pm
• Expe­ri­ence: Be amazed by stun­ning cos­tumes and chore­og­ra­phy set to Tchaikovsky’s mag­i­cal, time­less musi­cal score.
• Com­pa­ny: Sier­ra Pointe Bal­let is a joint ven­ture between Bal­let Chico and Kinet­ics Acad­e­my of Dance & Gym­nas­tics, ded­i­cat­ed to bring­ing pro­fes­sion­al-lev­el pro­duc­tions to the North State.

Down­town Oroville Com­mu­ni­ty Christ­mas Tree Lighting

The Down­town Oroville Com­mu­ni­ty Christ­mas Tree Light­ing invites every­one to join in the cheer, enjoy free pic­tures with San­ta, and gath­er togeth­er for the offi­cial tree light­ing and a spec­tac­u­lar snow­fall finale.

• Date: Fri­day, Decem­ber 5^th, from 4pm-8pm
• High­lights:
  • 4pm-8pm: Car­riage rides around Down­town Oroville. $8 for adults, $5 for kids (ages 2 – 17), and chil­dren under 2 years of age ride for free
  • 4pm-6pm: Free face paint­ing at Tiny Hinies
  • 4pm – 6:30pm: Free pic­tures with San­ta inside the Con­ven­tion Center
• Tree Light­ing: The evening’s fes­tiv­i­ties cul­mi­nate with the offi­cial Tree Light­ing Cer­e­mo­ny and snow at 7pm.

Oroville Parade of Lights

The Oroville Parade of Lights is a daz­zling annu­al tra­di­tion that invites you to bun­dle up and enjoy high­ly dec­o­rat­ed vehi­cles and floats wind through the heart of Down­town Oroville.

• Date: Sat­ur­day, Decem­ber 13, 2025
• Craft Faire: The after­noon kicks off at 2pm with a large Craft Faire at the King­dom Com­mu­ni­ty Church park­ing lot.
• Parade: At 6pm, bun­dle up to enjoy the ​“Christ­mas at the Movies”-themed parade as dec­o­rat­ed vehi­cles, floats, and walk­ing entries wind through His­toric Down­town Oroville.

Home­town Christ­mas at the Yuba Feath­er Museum

Home­town Christmas is a free, fam­i­ly-friend­ly event where vis­i­tors can stroll along the board­walks under lantern light in Gold Trad­er Flat, a repli­ca town of the 1800s, right next to the Yuba Feath­er Museum.

It’s a per­fect hol­i­day gath­er­ing to expe­ri­ence the his­to­ry and warmth of the season.

• Date: Sat­ur­day, Novem­ber 29, from 11am to 7pm
• Loca­tion: 19096 New York Flat Rd., Forbestown
• Expe­ri­ence: Stroll through Gold Trad­er Flat (a repli­ca 1800s town) under lantern light.
• High­lights: Find unique ven­dors, deli­cious food, and hot drinks. Look for his­tor­i­cal char­ac­ters like fur trap­pers, traders, and ladies in gowns.

Gri­d­ley Win­ter Won­der­land Fes­ti­val and Parade of Lights

Cel­e­brate the sea­son in Down­town Gri­d­ley at its Win­ter Won­der­land Festival and Parade of Lights.

• Date: Wednes­day, Decem­ber 3, 2025
• Fes­ti­val: The fes­ti­val runs from 5pm to 8:30pm at Dad­dow Plaza, fea­tur­ing local ven­dors, food trucks, and live music.
• Tree Light­ing: The Annu­al Tree Light­ing Cer­e­mo­ny begins at 5:30pm, imme­di­ate­ly fol­lowed by the fes­tive Parade of Lights at 6:30pm.
• Char­ac­ters: Olaf and the Princess­es will be strolling down­town for pho­tos, and pic­tures with San­ta will be avail­able at the Gri­d­ley Muse­um after the parade.

Par­adise Com­mu­ni­ty Tree Light­ing and Light­ed Truck Parade

Dis­cov­er Christ­mas on the Par­adise Ridge this year with an all-day cel­e­bra­tion at the Ter­ry Ashe Recre­ation Cen­ter. Start the day with a craft faire, and stay through the evening for San­ta’s grand arrival, com­mu­ni­ty tree light­ing, and a pop­u­lar light­ed truck parade.

• Date: Sat­ur­day, Decem­ber 6, 2025
• Craft Faire: Start your day with a Hol­i­day Craft Faire (10am – 6pm) at the Ter­ry Ashe Recre­ation Center.
• Evening Events:
  • 4pm: Tiny Voic­es singing hol­i­day classics
  • 4:30pm: San­ta’s arrival
  • 5:30pm: Tree Light­ing Ceremony
• Parade: Just after dark, the Light­ed Truck Parade begins, wind­ing along Sky­way and Pear­son roads.

Big­gs Christ­mas Tree Light­ing and Street Market

Get ready for a dose of small-town charm and big hol­i­day cheer in Big­gs. The annu­al Tree Light­ing Cer­e­mo­ny and Christ­mas Mar­ket is the per­fect cozy gath­er­ing, fea­tur­ing a vibrant street mar­ket, local ven­dors, and even falling snow. It’s a guar­an­teed fun evening for everyone.

• Date: Sun­day, Decem­ber 7, 2025
• Mar­ket: The annu­al Tree Light­ing Cer­e­mo­ny and Christ­mas Mar­ket returns to Down­town Big­gs, fea­tur­ing a street mar­ket (3pm – 7pm), local ven­dors, and falling snow.
• Activ­i­ties: Includes Self­ies with San­ta (4pm) and a fes­tive ugly Christ­mas sweater con­test (5pm).
• Light­ing: The evening cul­mi­nates with the Com­mu­ni­ty Christ­mas Tree Light­ing at 6pm.