More than 35 local holistic practitioners will set up shop at the Chico Creek Nature Center this Sunday for the 22nd annual Touch of Chico Wellness Fair, a free gathering in Bidwell Park that mixes bodywork, live music, food trucks and a raffle. Admission is free, but massage, bodywork and sound healing sessions run on a standardized $1-per-minute fee, giving visitors an affordable way to sample acupuncture, sound baths or a shoulder rub while supporting a decades-old piece of Chico's civic fabric.
According to Action News Now, the fair takes place Sunday, September 13, and is coordinated by Diana Suzuki and Leah McKean. The event is designed to raise awareness of holistic health options across Chico, the Sacramento Valley and the foothills, and proceeds support KZFR 90.1 FM, the community radio station that has organized the fair since it began more than two decades ago as an annual fundraiser for holistic health practitioners in Northern California.
The event runs from noon to 4 p.m. and spreads across two stages, per the station's own event listing. The main stage lineup includes Bruce MacMillan, Kim G, Samaria and Banyz, and Ska-T from Spark 'n Cinder, while the Bear's Lair side stage features Chris Wolf, Anna Meehan, the Jimmy & Janelle Duo, and Brenda the Harpist, the report notes. Vita Nova Entertainment will provide a demonstration on-site as well.
Skill Shares, Tai Chi and a Raffle
Beyond the music, organizers have built a schedule of free skill-share presentations starting at noon at the Chico Creek Nature Center. Attendees can catch a Sound Journey with Mikaela Hengst at 1 p.m., Move to Digest with Morgan Perry at 2 p.m., and an intuitive healing talk with Deb Deming at 3 p.m., the article notes. Rick Barber will lead a tai chi session, and the fair also includes a raffle, artisan and educational vendors, and more than 35 holistic practitioners offering hands-on bodywork, massage and sound healings.
Food vendors rounding out the afternoon include Om Foods, Adrianna's Bakery, Megan's Chocolates and The Sassy Squeeze, according to the same report. In past years, the fair has partnered with other local nonprofits to expand its offerings — the 2025 edition included a free Bike Valet from Chico Velo and a Mobile Art Bus from the Museum of Northern California Art, according to KZFR 90.1 FM.
A Two-Decade Fundraiser for Chico's Community Station
The Touch of Chico fair has long doubled as a fundraising engine for KZFR, which first went on the air on July 6, 1990, at 6,300 watts, the culmination of a nine-year effort led by Erik Mathisen to build an independent community station in Chico, according to KZFR's own history page. The station was originally envisioned in 1981 as a translator for Berkeley's KPFA before founders pivoted toward a station built around the Northern Sacramento Valley. Event co-coordinator Diana Suzuki, listed in station records as Diane Suzuki-Brobeck, has hosted KZFR's One World Music show on alternating Wednesdays since the 1990s, spotlighting indigenous, traditional and world music.
The fair leans on local business sponsors to keep general admission free while directing raised funds toward the listener-supported station. This year's sponsors include Chico Community Acupuncture, Chico Massage School, Embarc Chico, Perspire Sauna Studio Chico, Prana Endura Wellness Center, Serenity Wholebeing, and S&S Produce and Natural Foods, per KZFR's event page.
Century-Old Park Rules Still Apply
The gathering unfolds on 37 acres in Lower Bidwell Park that the City of Chico acquired in October 1921 from the University of California, Berkeley Forestry Station — land once known as Cedar Grove that now houses environmental education programs, according to the Friends of Bidwell Park. The park itself dates to July 10, 1905, when Annie Bidwell donated 1,903 acres to the city; it has since grown to 3,670 acres, making it the fifth-largest municipal park in California, per Wikipedia's entry on the park.
That legacy comes with restrictions still enforced today: under terms tied to Annie Bidwell's original 1905 donation deed, alcohol is banned everywhere in the park, a rule rooted in her personal stance as an active prohibitionist. The fair has also proven adaptable in leaner years — during public health restrictions in May 2021, KZFR reworked the event into a two-part virtual series called Uplift Community!, streamed on YouTube with recorded sessions from local bodyworkers demonstrating self-care techniques for viewers at home.
