Arts & Culture

‘Songs of peace’

Russian icon Boris Grebenshchikov’s music, like the man himself, is enigmatic. It is sometimes playful, often poignant, and always poetic; rebellious, yet reverential; and rooted in Russian culture, but embracive of global influences. This multiplicity […]


Arts & Culture

Hot dog summer

In the not-too-distant past, downtown Chico was a wiener wonderland. It used to be possible for us hot dog fiends, at reasonable and even unreasonable hours, to find a fix within a few block radius […]


Art

Art in the machine

At first glance, the rows of square, ceramic tiles laid out across two tables inside Idea fab Labs (IFL) look fairly similar: saturated, black-and-white designs vaguely resembling asymmetrical Rorschach images. A closer look, however, revealed […]


News

Getting back on track

This feature is part of the CN&R’s 2023 Bike Issue. Where other people may see nothing but a muddy tract of land past the Chico Regional Airport, Phil Wysocki and Jim Clancy—the track operator and […]


Arts & Culture

A tasty scene

The value of a windowed storefront in downtown Chico is—pardon the pun—clear, to business owners and patrons alike. This is especially true for eateries, as it offers built-in curb appeal and a natural sense of […]


Arts & Culture

Big top terror

Though commonly advertised as “wholesome fun for the whole family,” there’s an air of spookiness surrounding the circus. For one thing, clowns. On a deeper level, mystery, a touch of the supernatural and a peculiar […]


News

Nursing in Nigeria

As a Chico State nursing student, Kristina Chesterman dreamed of traveling to developing nations where she could use her skills to help those in desperate need. Sadly, while biking home from a marathon study session […]


News

Lifelong love and learning

After six years spent sailing down the coast of Central America and around the South Pacific, Mike and Mary McCluskey considered three different cities—the homes of their children—to (figuratively) drop anchor and call home. The […]


Arts & Culture

Ice cream dreams

This feature is part of the CN&R’s 2023 Entrepreneur Issue. In 2013, Shenlyn and Martin Svec’s lives were changed by, of all things, a few scoops of ice cream. The couple were vacationing in Texas […]


Art

From the ‘Shed of the Dead’

On June 4, 2021, after suffering a series of mysterious and increasingly concerning medical episodes, Maddie Quillin had a massive seizure in her car on the side of Interstate 5, an experience she refers to […]


Arts & Culture

New flavor on the block

With the recent opening of Pakistani restaurant Sofi’z Kitchen and Bar, it is now possible to sample food and culture from around the world within just a few steps along the 100 block of Broadway […]


News

Mission of mercy

A few pieces of clothing; family pictures; important documents. A reality of living in Northern California, especially in recent years, is that most residents have a mental list of what to grab in case of […]


Arts & Culture

‘Just play music’

In 1945, Charlie Robinson scored his first guitar gig, playing Saturday night dances at The Diamond Springs Hotel, in the heart of California’s Gold Country, for $5 a week. “The band was booked to play […]


News

Skate season

The Chico Ice Rink in the Plaza (pictured) is returning for its second year. The City of Chico is again partnering with the Downtown Chico Business Association, which will manage the temporary rink in the […]


Arts & Culture

A beautiful nightmare

One of infamous/legendary filmmaker Ed Wood’s many contributions to the horror-camp canon is the screenplay for 1965’s Orgy of the Dead. In the movie, a couple of squares crash their car near a graveyard, and […]