Explore Butte County Museum Weekend

The inaugural Butte County Museum Weekend is set for Feb. 29 & Mar. 1, 2020. The event was created to promote and celebrate history, art, and culture through Butte County’s extensive network of museums and cultural centers. Museums, galleries, and other cultural destinations across the county will be opening their doors for the first annual event.

All participating locations will be open from 10am to 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday, for free, so visitors can have full access to the wide range of Butte County’s cultural offerings. Select locations will also have extra offerings during or outside of the free admission hours, such as free print demonstrations at the Janet Turner Print Museum and the Wild and Scenic Film Festival Saturday night at the Historic Oroville State Theatre. For those already mapping out their visit, there will be a complimentary shuttle looping between museums in both Chico and Oroville.

By hopping on the shuttle, you can make a quick trip to the next participating museum without the worry of driving from one to the next. A downloadable map of the shuttle stops will be available on Explore Butte County’s website early next week. “We hope this is an opportunity for people to spend the day rediscovering these gems in our communities” said EBC Executive Director, Carolyn Denero. “With the addition of the free shuttles around Oroville and Chico, each with stops at local hotels, there’s no reason not to get out and explore. Our main goal is to remind people how valuable these cultural centers are and hopefully they’ll add them to their ‘favorites’ list of places to visit in the future.”

The inaugural Butte County Museum Weekend boasts 14 participating locations from across the county: the Valene Smith Museum of Anthropology, Gateway Science Museum, Museum of Northern California Art (monca), Chico Air Museum, and Chico Art Center in Chico; the C.F. Lott Home in Sank Park, Pioneer History Museum Feather River Nature Center & Native Plant Park, Historic Oroville State Theatre, Oroville Chinese Temple, and Bolt’s Antique Tool Museum in Oroville; the Gold Nugget Museum in Paradise; and the Gridley Museum. All participating locations are listed at www.explorebuttecounty.com/museum-weekend. Check back regularly as extra offerings are added.