Donkey Derby, parade highlight the events for Gold Nugget Days
Camp Fire pet and wildlife memorial unveiling on Sunday
The annual Gold Nugget Days celebration is in full swing, with this morning’s events the annual Donkey Derby at the Magalia Community Church and the parade through downtown Paradise.
On Thursday night, the four- day celebration kicked off with the annual Gold Nugget Queen Contest which was won by Rachael Brennan.
Brennan will take a seat on the Gold Nugget Days float in Saturday’s parade which will also include her court of fellow contestants. Katie Elder, Alison Weber, Emily Livingston and Baylee Hovey.
The Donkey Derby will start at about 8:30 a. m. with a pancake breakfast at the Magalia Community Church. Later in the morning, the Donkey Derby obstacle course will take place after the donkeys complete their trek up from where the original 54-pound gold nugget was found in 1859.
The parade will start at noon and will conclude at 1 p.m.
The Grand Marshal of the 2022 parade is Phil Kelly. Kelly has been a Paradise resident since 1969 when he came to the Ridge to be the Paradise Irrigation District’s general manager. Kelly managed the district until 1985. But he has remained in Paradise since to take part in Rotary and the Johnny Appleseed Days.
It will be the second parade in Paradise since the 2018 Camp Fire, the 2019 parade was canceled because of the recovery work done in town at the time and COVID-19 canceled the 2020 celebration.
Those planning to attend the parade should be aware that Skyway will be closed to traffic at 11 a.m.
The parade will take the traditional route on Skyway from Holiday Market, with the new ending at the intersection of Skyway and Birch roads.
Organizers are also asking that attendees not park in the Holiday Market parking lot.
Also on Saturday is the Paradise Gem and Mineral show which will be held at the new Gold Nugget Museum site at 475 Pearson Road. There will be a kids’ zone, lapidary works, a silent auction and free admission. The show will start at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m.
Also on Saturday is a community tree planting which will be held at Bille Park starting at 11 a.m. and concluding at 4 p.m.
On Saturday night is the Gold Nugget Days Annual Hoe Down which will be held at the newly rebuilt Elks Lodge at 1100 Elk Lane. There will be a no-host bar, with hamburgers, hot dogs and chips available for sale and a 50/50 raffle. The evening begins at 6 p.m.
Also on Saturday will be a play at Theater on the Ridge called “Doublewide, Texas.” That is set to start at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $14, while reserved seating is $18.
On Sunday, the Camp Fire Pets Memorial spearheaded by Gina Schaeffer will be unveiled for the first time in Bille Park starting at 2 p.m. The memorial will be in lower Bille Park, near the pavilion, and honors all of the pets that were lost to the Camp Fire on Nov. 8, 2018.
Also, Sunday is the annual Gold Nugget Days horse festival at the Paradise Horsemen’s Horse Arena at 6705 Moore Road in Paradise.
Horses and their riders will traverse several obstacles on trails; they will compete around poles or barrels as well. Organizers say there will be different breeds of horses and there will be farm animals in a petting zoo. The Butte County Fire Safe Council is expected to attend along with the Cal Fire mascot Ready Raccoon.
Also on Saturday the gem and mineral show, craft fair and the play “Doublewide, Texas” will also occur. The play is expected to start at 2 p.m. with tickets at the door being $12. Both the craft fair and the mineral show are expected to close up at 4 p.m.