Top Events and Activities in May in Butte County

As Oroville’s pre­mier home­town cel­e­bra­tion, Feath­er Fies­ta Days is a tra­di­tion that spans generations.

This dou­ble-week­end fes­ti­val takes over the city with a clas­sic car show, craft ven­dors, and live music. The fes­tiv­i­ties kick off on Sat­ur­day, May 2 with ven­dors, food trucks, and live music, and cul­mi­nate on Sat­ur­day, May 9, with the pop­u­lar Feath­er Fies­ta Days Parade at 10am through Down­town Oroville.

• Date & Time: Sat. May 2‑Sat. May 9, 2026 | Times Vary
• Loca­tion: Var­i­ous loca­tions, Oroville

Expe­ri­ence the mag­ic of the 3^rd annu­al Spring Fae Fes­ti­val. The fan­ta­sy-themed fes­ti­val is free to attend and offers a full day of whim­si­cal fun for all ages. Browse over 6 local ven­dors sell­ing arti­sanal goods, art, and cloth­ing, or grab a clas­sic fes­ti­val turkey leg and a drink from the enchant­ed fairy bar.

The world of the Fae comes to life through live shows from Lega­cy Stage, live music by the Pub Scouts, and oth­er inter­ac­tive performances.

• Date & Time: Sun­day, May 3, 2026 | Noon-4pm
• Loca­tion: Patrick Ranch Muse­um, 10381 Mid­way, Durham

Cel­e­brate the vibrant cul­ture and tra­di­tions of local Native Amer­i­can tribes at the 4^th annu­al Butte Col­lege Big Time.

This free, fam­i­ly-friend­ly event fea­tures tra­di­tion­al feath­er dancers, craft and jew­el­ry ven­dors, and deli­cious food. It’s a mean­ing­ful way to expe­ri­ence the her­itage of the indige­nous peo­ple of the North State.

• Date & Time: Thurs­day, May 7, 2026 | 9am-5pm
• Loca­tion: Butte Col­lege Main Cam­pus, 3536 Butte Cam­pus Dr, Oroville

Sat­is­fy your sweet tooth at the Par­adise Choco­late & Music Fest. Held at Ter­ry Ashe Recre­ation Cen­ter, this event is ​“choc-ful” of fun, fea­tur­ing choco­late tast­ings, a choco­late pie-eat­ing con­test, and an ice cream eat­ing con­test. Between bites, enjoy live music across two stages and browse local craft booths in the shade of the pines.

• Date & Time: Sat­ur­day, May 9, 2026 | 10am-5pm
• Loca­tion: Ter­ry Ashe Recre­ation Cen­ter, 6626 Sky­way, Paradise

Cel­e­brate 11 years of music and com­mu­ni­ty at the Wild­flower Music Fes­ti­val, a fam­i­ly-friend­ly fundrais­er for the Wild­flower Open Class­room. Head­lined by The Broth­ers Comatose, the 2026 line­up also fea­tures Wolf Jett and the T‑Sisters.

While the music plays, explore over 30 arti­san ven­dors and a mas­sive silent auc­tion. Grab a Sier­ra Neva­da brew and din­ner from a wide vari­ety of local food trucks for a per­fect spring after­noon in the park. And make sure to bring the whole fam­i­ly to this famous­ly kid-friend­ly event, fea­tur­ing free jump hous­es, face paint­ing, and a ded­i­cat­ed crafts area.

• Date & Time: Sat­ur­day, May 9, 2026 | 2pm-8pm (gates open at 1pm)
• Loca­tion: 20^th St. Com­mu­ni­ty Park, 1900 Dr. Mar­tin Luther King Jr. Pkwy, Chico
• Note: Kids are free! Free and secure bicy­cle park­ing is pro­vid­ed by Chico Velo

A Gri­d­ley sta­ple since 1961, Red Sus­penders Day Street Faire & Parade hon­ors local first respon­ders with a day of clas­sic small-town fun.

The cel­e­bra­tion starts ear­ly with a pan­cake break­fast and a car and truck show, fol­lowed by the high-ener­gy Bed Races at 9:30am and the sig­na­ture parade through down­town at 11am.Stick around in the after­noon for the Firemen’s Games at Rotary Park, local ven­dors, and a tri-tip din­ner to wrap up the day.

• Date & Time: Sat­ur­day, May 16, 2026 | 8am-7pm
• Loca­tion: Down­town Gridley

Expe­ri­ence the North State’s pre­mier fly-in event, Oroville Air­port Day. Often referred to as the largest one-day gath­er­ing of its kind between Sacra­men­to and the Ore­gon bor­der, Oroville Air­port Day is a free, fam­i­ly-friend­ly spec­ta­cle fea­tur­ing over 125 air­craft of all types and more than 100 cus­tom vehi­cles on display.

The day kicks off with a pan­cake break­fast at 7:30am, fol­lowed by a full sched­ule of food trucks and dozens of arts and crafts ven­dors to explore through­out the airfield.

• Date & Time: Sat­ur­day, May 16, 2026 | 8am – 3pm
• Loca­tion: Oroville Munic­i­pal Air­port, 225 Labelle Way, Oroville

Kick off your sum­mer in Butte Coun­ty at the Sil­ver Dol­lar Fair! A beloved Chico tra­di­tion since 1950, the Sil­ver Dol­lar Fair is a true com­mu­ni­ty cel­e­bra­tion and the unof­fi­cial start to the sea­son, open­ing its door every Memo­r­i­al Day week­end.

Get ready for five days of clas­sic fair fun fea­tur­ing thrilling car­ni­val rides, live music, and icon­ic fair food May 21 – 25, 2026. From pig races to pet­ting zoos and cir­cus per­for­mances to all the rides you can han­dle, It’s the per­fect way to embrace the ener­gy of sum­mer in North­ern California.

• Date & Time: Thurs. May 21-Mon. May 25, 2026 | Var­i­ous Times
• Loca­tion: Sil­ver Dol­lar Fair­grounds, 2357 Fair St, Chico

Kick off your week­ends with Oroville’s Spring Con­certs in the Park at River­bend Park.

Every Fri­day in May, you can shop local ven­dors and grab din­ner from a rotat­ing line­up of food trucks start­ing at 5:30pm, with live music fol­low­ing at 6pm. It’s the per­fect low-key evening for fam­i­lies and music lovers alike.

• Date & Time: Every Fri­day in May | 5:30pm-8pm
• Loca­tion: River­bend Park, 50 Mont­gomery St., Oroville

Your Sat­ur­day night plans just got a seri­ous upgrade with Live on the Lawn, a free con­cert series in Down­town Chico. Every Sat­ur­day in May, the com­mu­ni­ty is invit­ed to gath­er at Children’s Park for an evening of live music, local mak­ers, and a relaxed out­door vibe.

While each week fea­tures a dif­fer­ent musi­cal style, the event is designed with fam­i­lies in mind; kids can burn off ener­gy on the play­ground or the ded­i­cat­ed bounce house and lawn games while adults browse hand­made goods from local ven­dors. Grab a blan­ket, meet up with friends, and enjoy a per­fect spring evening under the trees.

• Date & Time: Every Sat­ur­day in May | 6:30pm – 8:30pm
• Loca­tion: Children’s Park, 101 W. 1^st St., Chico

May is Nation­al Bike Month, and Butte Coun­ty offers some of the best ter­rain in the North State to cel­e­brate on two wheels. Whether you want to cruise through the orchard-lined Mid­way Bike Path in Durham or tack­le the more rugged Guardian Trail in Chico and Bid­well Canyon Trail in Oroville, there is a route for every pace.

So whether you’re rent­ing a bike or bring­ing your own, get ready to hit the trails and expe­ri­ence the nat­ur­al beau­ty of Butte Coun­ty up close. And remem­ber to pack a pic­nic lunch and some sun­screen to make the most of your bik­ing adventure.

Always the Fri­day before Memo­r­i­al Day, Nation­al Road Trip Day is the per­fect rea­son to hit the scenic byways of Butte County.

Whether you fol­low the Feath­er Riv­er on High­way 70 through the canyon, wind up the Sky­way along the Par­adise Ridge, or explore the vis­tas along High­way 32, each route fea­tures breath­tak­ing views of the moun­tains, val­leys, and rivers.

If you’re look­ing for a more guid­ed expe­ri­ence, check out our list of road trip itin­er­aries! So pack your bags, fuel up your car, and hit the road!

Butte Coun­ty in May is an excel­lent time to explore the region and par­tic­i­pate in some of the excit­ing events and activ­i­ties. Whether you’re a music lover, a choco­late enthu­si­ast, or an adven­ture seek­er, Butte Coun­ty has some­thing for everyone.