CHICO — Plenty of sun, plenty of friends and thankfully, plenty of watermelon slices.
The city’s 49th Slice of Chico event seemed to go off without a hitch Saturday despite the heat and humidity as crowds quickly gathered to a portioned off West Third Street to take part in the yearly tradition and support local businesses, fueled by both community appreciation and free watermelon.
Before the event even officially started at 11 a.m. Saturday, families had begun to funnel in and visit shops and booths. Made in Chico Manager Patty Bonacorsi said the event places a large emphasis on bringing families out and about.
“It’s something that we all look forward to,” Bonacorsi said. “That is what it is. People look forward to the downtown sales, seeing what people have and just being together. They get the family together, they come down and they enjoy a slice of watermelon and see friends. It’s really a great event.”
Outside of Upper Park Clothing, people lined up around bins of discounted clothing, raising up shirts and showing off their finds to family. For Upper Park Clothing owner David Selkirk, this was the seventh time celebrating as a business owner downtown.
“It gets more people to the heart of downtown Chico,” Selkirk said. “It’s a really big and old event. Back in the day, it was a way to get rid of old stuff to bring in new stuff for the season, and so it’s kind of fun to keep that around.”
Selkirk said preparation for the event is composed of figuring out demand.
“As a business, we look at all of our products and analyze to see how they’re doing,” Selkirk said. “And then we try to think about what is fresh and then bring that in.”
Head start
By the time the event began, attendees were already roaming about and posing for photos, most with slices of watermelon in hand. Many had walked over from the farmer’s market just down the road.
Kasey Zampelli and Monica Abrego were taking their dog Mojo out for a walk and decided to swing by the event.
“This is my first (Slice of Chico) since coming back to Chico after being gone for almost 25 years,” Zampelli said. “It’s nice coming back to a community like this and seeing the events being put on again. It makes me very nostalgic for being back home, and I’m happy I am back home.”
Abrego said she frequently attends local events.
“I’ve been coming to it for years,” Abrego said. “It’s always a fun time for family and friends.”
As more people made their way downtown, games like cornhole and the nearby dunk tank began to have lines of people ready to play. Some tried their best to stick to the shade.
Mary Hartley, owner of Tomfoolery, was standing outside her store with Mary Malone, chatting. Hartley has owned Tomfoolery for about a year and a half.
Related Articles
Third cooling center opens in Oroville
All eyes on ears | Photos
Three things to do in Butte County this weekend
Community, library bring free summer lunches to kids
Generous donation | Snapshot
“It’s been pretty good,” Hartley said of the event. “We’ve had pretty good turnouts. Last year was extremely successful. I think the heat this year might affect that a little bit but I know that people love an excuse to come downtown, especially when they close the streets off. It’s a good vibe.”
Malone lives in Paradise and visited downtown Chico to go to a jewelry store when she saw the event.
“I’m actually glad I stopped in,” Malone said. “I love downtown Chico. I don’t come down too often anymore.”
+ There are no comments
Add yours