Out-of-Chico experiences

Why suffer? Nobody’s making you languish in another hot summer in Chico.

While the local temperature’s doing its typical tango above the one hundred mark for weeks on end, you can be enjoying yourself somewhere else! Here are a few hot spots you can visit and have a cool time. So bunge a few clothes in a bag, gas up the car and tell everybody you’re headin’ thataway! ‘Cause summer ain’t too bad, just so long as it’s outta here!

June

Sacramento Heritage Festival
Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3. Joe Louis Walker & The Bosstalkers, Mother Hips, Leroy Thomas & The Zydeco Road and others perform during this eighth annual weekend festival. More than 70 regional acts perform on six different stages. Tickets are just $10/person/day and include a complimentary all-day pass on Regional Transit. Happens on the Gibson Ranch, Elverta Road just west of Watt Avenue in Sacramento. Proceeds benefit local school music programs. For phone orders and more information: (916) 481-2583. Web site: www.sacheritagefest.com.

Carson City Rendezvous
Friday, June 8, through Sunday, June 10. Experience the wild frontier and learn some Nevada state history at this yearly event (rated among the top 100 events in the country!). There’s a mountain man encampment, Native American dancing, farriers’ contest in the pavilion, Civil War bivouac, gun fights, a Renaissance gathering (that’s what it says!) and much, much more! Friday features a free concert from David John & The Comstock Cowboys. Saturday begins with a parade led by the likenesses of Abraham Lincoln and Kit Carson; that night features a free concert with Juice Newton, Lacy J. and Janie Fricke. Food, arts and crafts booths and more will be available. Happens in Mills Park, Carson City, Nev. Information: (775) 687-7410 or (800) NEVADA-1. Web site: www.Carson-city.org.

Health & Harmony Music & Arts Festival 2001
Saturday, June 9, and Sunday, June 10. This 23rd annual event takes place at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. Six stages provide nigh continuous entertainment, this year including the fabulous Judy Mowatt, Babatunde Olatunji, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Pride & Joy, Dr. Loco’s Rockin’ Jalapeño Band, The Ali Khan Band and many more! Guest speakers include KSRO talk show host Pat Thurston and diet author John Robbins. Festival also features arts and crafts exhibits, eco village, health expo, goddess temple, industrial hemp expo, Rainbow Center for children, psychic readers and much more. Tickets: $20, adults; $10, seniors/teens; free for kids under 10. Tickets and more information: (707) 547-9355. Web site: www.harmonyfestival.com.

Music in the Mountains Summer Festival 2001
Tuesday, June 12, though Tuesday, July 3. The San Francisco Brass Company, The Side Street Strutters, and many more appear during this month-long 20th-anniversary celebration of music at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Nevada City. Ticket prices: Indoor concerts, $14-$26; outdoor concerts/advance, $15; outdoor package (six tickets and a picnic table), $110; outdoor at the gate, $17. For a list of performers and dates and more information: (530) 265-6124 or (800) 218-2188. Web site: www.musicinthemountains.org.

Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Thursday, June 21, though Sunday, June 24. This year’s festival features John Hiatt & The Goners, Emmylou Harris, Béla Fleck, Keller Williams, Shawn Colvin, Alison Krause & Union Station, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ricky Skaggs and many more. Happens in beautiful Telluride, Colo. Campground permits are selling fast; regular four-day festival passes are still available at $155. For tickets and more information: (800) 624-2422 or (303) 823-0848. Web site: www.bluegrass.com.

Sierra Nevada World Music Festival 2001
Friday, June 22, through Sunday, June 24. Moved this year from Marysville to Angels Camp, this three-day festival features such music greats as Eek-A-Mouse, Rocker T, Ozomatli, Gregory Isaacs, and many, many more! Event includes two stages, a dance hall, kids’ program and a village of international crafts and cuisine. On-site camping with weekend pass only; paid at the gate. Weekend pass: $75. Kids under 12 free; no dogs. For tickets and more information: (415) 472-5550. Web site: www.snwmf.com.

July

Mendocino Music Festival
Tuesday, July 10, through Saturday, July 21. The 15th annual M.M.F. presents the following musicians: The Los Angeles Piano Quartet, Susan Waterfall, Lara Downes, San Jose Taiko, and Charlie Musselwhite, to name only a few. Plus, the Festival Orchestra performs the finale to Beethoven’s Third Symphony, as well as pieces by Bizet, Debussy, Bernstein, Rossini and even more. Concerts take place in the festival tent, next to Ford House Museum, Main Street, Mendocino Headlands State Park. Tickets and other information: (707) 937-2044. Web site: www.mendocinomusic.com.

California World Music Festival 2001
Thursday, July 12, through Sunday, July 15. Five stages of music, a children’s program, workshops, artisans and international food highlight this year’s event at the Fairgrounds in Grass Valley. Performers include bluegrassers The Sam Bush Band, Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser, Australian band Fruit, Afro-popsters Kotoja, Chilean musicians Tatamonk, Seattle’s Jill Cohn and many, many more! Tickets: 3 day camp tickets, $70 before Wednesday, May 30; $90 at the gate. To order and for more information: (530) 891-4098; www. worldmusicfestival.com; by mail: make checks out to Maple Creek Presents, Inc. and send to California World Music Festival, PO Box 5198, Chico, CA 95927.

August

Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival at Sand Harbor
Saturday, July 21, through Sunday, Aug. 26. It’s the 23rd season of performances for this Shakespearean festival. This year’s featured plays are the Bard’s The Comedy of Errors and The Two Gentlemen of Verona performed by the Foothill Theater Company on alternating evenings. Seating begins at 6:30 p.m., performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission to Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday shows is $20 for general admission, $30 for early admission, and $12 for children 15 and younger; rates for Friday and Saturday shows are $25 for general admission and $35 for early admission. Special VIP seating is available for $50 and includes wait staff, pre-set deluxe chairs and other amenities. The festival has a food court that features complete dinners, children’s portions, desserts, coffee, and a selection of premium beers and wine.

For tickets and other information: (800) 74-SHOWS, or (775) 832-1616. Web site: www.laketahoeshakespeare.com.

Nevada County Fair
Wednesday, Aug. 8, through Sunday, Aug. 12. Exhibits, livestock shows, carnival, nightly culinary competitions, blacksmithing exhibit and queen pageant are just a few of the great attractions at this year’s fair. Grandstand event: Wednesday, Aug. 8, country legend Ronnie Milsap performs. Tickets: $29, adults; $90, family package (two adults and three children under 17); available at the fair office beginning Monday, July 9; 274-7599. Also in store at the grandstand: monster trucks, a battle of the bands and the sensational destruction derby. Nevada County Fairgrounds, 11228 McCourtney Rd., Grass Valley. More information: (530) 273-6217. Web site: www.nevadacountyfair.com.

All summer long

The Britt Festival
It’s the 39th season of great shows at this outdoor music and performing arts festival in Jacksonville, Ore. A diverse set of musicians entertains here all summer long, with music to please the most eclectic of tastes—from country to classical, Tchaikovsky to Chuck Mangione. This year, the Britt Pavilion features Ricki Lee Jones, Dr. John, Al Jarreau, Village People, The Wallflowers, Janis Ian, acoustic Hot Tuna, Ani DiFranco, Lyle Lovett, Indigo Girls, Peter, Paul & Mary, and a whole bunch more! For tickets and more information: (800) 882-7488 or (541) 773-6077. Web site: www.brittfest.org.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Currently running now through Wednesday, Oct. 31. This year’s bevy of plays features the Bard’s The Tempest and The Merchant of Venice, as well as Scott Wentworth’s witty “backstage” musical Enter the Guardsman, Regina Taylor’s jazzy drama Oo-Bla-Dee and David Lindsay’s “disturbingly funny” Fuddy Meers. For brochure and ticket information: (541) 482-4331. Web site: www.orshakes.org.