The Arts Diva
Chico News & Review

July 27, 2006

By Carla Resnick

Giddyup Imagine, if you will, six to 10 decorated pretend horses being pushed or pulled around the city of Chico’s parking lot. It’s Chico Palio, the 2006 Artoberfest (www.artoberfest.org) kick-off event. Chico Palio is a concept loosely based on Siena Palio, a 500-year-old tradition in Siena, Italy, which uses real horses and riders who race around the plaza after a huge feast and drink-a-thon in the streets. Siena’s events (two per year) draw a huge crowd of people who pretty much live it up. Debra Lucero of Friends of the Arts (awarded a $50,000 contract from the city of Chico to develop ideas and market Chico as an arts destination in the month of October) is the organizer of said event and is hoping to recreate the community spirit of the Italian event. Some in the arts community attended the Artoberfest meeting July 18 to hear the working Palio plans and to offer feedback and suggestions. Gregg Payne suggested the pretend horses should be made out of shopping carts and each be filled with a little guy with a whip who would be pushed around the course by a big, athletic guy. It’s true. What I got from the meeting is that the event is still in planning stage. If anyone out there has some brilliant suggestions for making this event a huge community draw, contact Lucero at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .