After a two-year pause forced by the Park Fire, Cohasset’s signature summer gathering returned Saturday with vendors, live music, a parade and a community still rebuilding. The 55th annual Cohasset Bazaar and Music Festival was more than a routine fundraiser—it was a visible sign that the mountain community is making room for tradition again.
The event brought together local vendors, nonprofits, musicians and visitors from across California, according to Action News Now. Booth attendees arrived from as far away as San Jose, with some reaching Cohasset the night before, while the festival also featured fire-safety education and outreach.
The 2024 Park Fire began east of Chico and placed Cohasset under evacuation orders, according to CAL FIRE. The agency’s incident record lists 429,603 acres burned and 713 structures destroyed across the fire’s footprint, while recent Park Fire trial coverage notes that rebuilding in Cohasset and Forest Ranch remains slow.
A Return After A Painful Pause
Seth Mitchell, vice president of the Cohasset Community Association, told Action News Now that the bazaar was skipped the year after the fire. Its return gave residents a chance to gather around familiar traditions while acknowledging how much the community has had to overcome.
The Cohasset Community Association describes the bazaar as one of its recurring community events, alongside fundraisers, neighborhood activities and preparedness efforts. The association’s website also notes that some community groups had to pause because of the Park Fire, making Saturday’s festival a meaningful restart for more than just one weekend.
Aid Remains Part Of The Gathering
The festival also highlighted the network of volunteers and organizations that helped Cohasset through the fire’s aftermath. Members of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, which has worked with residents on recovery, attended the event and helped connect the celebration to the longer process of rebuilding; the group has raised about $300,000 for Cohasset since the Park Fire, according to Action News Now.
That support is part of an ongoing recovery effort. In a recent account, Tzu Chi USA described helping displaced Cohasset residents move toward stable housing while rebuilding after the 2024 disaster.
For a community where one of its most familiar annual traditions had to go dark, the bazaar’s return carried its own message. The vendors, music and parade brought back the festive side of Cohasset—but the gathering also showed that recovery sometimes looks like putting the calendar back together, one tradition at a time.
