Arts DEVO

Great things come in fours Don’t you go anywhere! Chico is about to go off! In addition to all the usual tacos and community goodness heading our way, here are few more goodies to announce:

• The Giants trophies are visiting: Saturday, Jan. 31, from 2-4 p.m., the 2010, 2012 and 2014 world championship trophies for your San Francisco Giants will be on display inside the field house at Community Park (1900 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy). It’s only $2 to enter, and you can start lining up as early as 9 a.m.

• Even greater state: The pro coffee roasters out at Great State Coffee Co. are putting the rest of their pro coffee skills to work as the southeast Chico roastery is now open for coffee service. Visit the storefront at 3881 Benatar Way Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

• Lyle Lovett is coming: Chico Performances just added the country great to its schedule. Lyle Lovett and his Acoustic Group perform Sunday, Feb. 22, at Laxson Auditorium. Season subscribers can purchase tickets starting today. General sales start Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. www.chicoperformances.com

• Comedy fest is coming: Since he left Chico, infamous impresario DNA has been in Santa Cruz making a name for himself as a comedian and as a comedy promoter, and this spring he’s bringing his latest, biggest plan back to Chico. Saturday, April 18, DNA will present the “First Annual Chico Comedy Festival,” a 50-plus comic extravaganza that will feature top West Coast comics hopping from venue to venue (10 total—confirmed so far are Duffy’s Tavern, 1078 Gallery, Madison Bear Garden and El Rey Theatre) for one power-packed evening. Stay tuned for details.

Stop what you’re doing. This is important. The 1078 Gallery requires your immediate attention and assistance. We all know that the city of Chico is no longer investing in one of its most critical resources: art. And for the 1078—the gallery that has been at the heart of Chico’s arts scene for 34 years—that means that if other forms of income aren’t generated, and soon, it will go away. Especially given the fact that Avenue 9 Gallery is already leaving us next month, it would be a crippling blow to Chico to lose such a vital, vibrant piece of its arts soul (go to www.1078gallery.org and click on “Calendars” then “Past Events” and get a load of what’s been produced there in the last three years alone).

Simply put, the gallery needs to host more events and needs to serve beer and wine at those events to make enough dough to keep the doors open. To facilitate this, they are applying for a permanent ABC license (the usual practice of getting temporary licenses on an event-by-event basis has become prohibitive), and since the City Council has to approve new filings, the 1078 will be asking council members at their Tuesday, Feb. 3, meeting to approve its application. What can you do to help? Write a letter to the council telling them some version of what I’m telling them: The 1078 Gallery is critical to the health of Chico and recent cuts in funding have put the community resource in jeopardy. Since the city can no longer provide support, and since having beer or wine at art events is a reasonable thing for adults to do, approve their application and allow them to reasonably and responsibly raise money and thus be able to continue contributing to the health of Chico.

Visit www.chico.ca.us/city_council/home_page.asp and click on “E-mail City Council,” or go to 1078’s site and fill out their online petition. Go now.